I have mentioned in previous posts how much I am enjoying having a running coach and actually achieving results. To me it's an awesome process. Coach this is my goal, help me work to it! Coach - follow this program, provide feedback and work together. Ultimately, I am the one doing the work. But the coach is doing the assessment of how I am going and how to tweek the program based on the feedback I'm providing.
All of this reflection about my running coach led me to think, would I get the same result with a career coach? What things would I need to reflect on? How would they help me? What would they need to know about me in order to establish a good, effective relationship?
I'd love any readers to jump in with comments, thoughts etc regarding careers coaches as I really don't know much about them and how it all works!
Other than the running coach reflection bringing about these thoughts, I have recently been reflecting on where I want to be with my career - which brought me to the career coach thing.
The move to where I am now was where I needed to be at that time in my life. After 8 years, I'm not sure if this is still where I want to be. As my daughter gets older the focus changes. For a while it was all about family and it really still is, but it slowly starts creeping back towards what makes me happy. Well really it is still about making the family happy but the focus is shifting slightly.
I'm hitting the big 40 next year, is this the organisation I want to be working for? Is this the position I want to be working in? Is this the place I want to be living? Do I have gaps in my skills/knowledge that I want to fill, but can only be filled if I move to a different position in a different organisation? And always, the pull of family and friends in Qld is constant.
Sounds all very self absorbent, doesn't it? But I'm sure others have had these thoughts or are having them. I think it is good to reflect on where you are and where you want to be. I've been ignoring it for a while but I think now is as good as time as any to put myself out there and see what happens!
Showing posts with label future. Show all posts
Showing posts with label future. Show all posts
Thursday, June 2, 2016
Wednesday, June 19, 2013
#blogjune Post 20 - Embedded Librarianship in Public Libraries
This morning I read this post - Embedded Librarianship - Not as Painful as it Sounds by @GeocachingLibn.
While the post refers more to Embedded Librarianship in academic libraries - which seems to be discussed a lot - what about Embedded Librarianship in public libraries.
The Embedded Librarian recently posted about Embedded Librarianship across all sectors, including public libraries - The Embedded Model, the Future of Librarianship and What to Do at Work Tomorrow!
In their post, they explained how they see Embedded Librarianship as being part of a team with an Embedded Librarian being one whom:
I believe a librarian working in a public library can be an Embedded Librarian.
Think for a minute about the Council you work for. How can you become an Embedded Librarian within that Council? What can you offer the Council team(s)? How can you project your unique set of skills to the Council team(s)?
I think if more public librarians did this for their Council's then our profession would receive greater recognition rather than being the service to the community that has no economic value. Just note that I know there is research that shows our economic value but not all Council staff/community members believe that, especially when that economic value isn't visable in the Council budget.
However, the Embedded Librarian also notes that there are differences between Embedded Librarianship and Traditional Librarianship:
I think it can to a certain extent, depending on the size of the library and number of resources available. I think public librarians have to focus on what they can offer to their Council team(s), but also focus on what they can offer to other community organisations and move out from the library. I think this is more than outreach services.
What do you think? I'm certainly going to ponder this a bit more and may even post about it again, once I gather more thoughts together. But I'd love to hear other's thoughts on this topic.
While the post refers more to Embedded Librarianship in academic libraries - which seems to be discussed a lot - what about Embedded Librarianship in public libraries.
The Embedded Librarian recently posted about Embedded Librarianship across all sectors, including public libraries - The Embedded Model, the Future of Librarianship and What to Do at Work Tomorrow!
In their post, they explained how they see Embedded Librarianship as being part of a team with an Embedded Librarian being one whom:
- develops strong working relationships with members of a team or community;
- achieves mutual understanding with the team, which means that the librarian understands the team's goals and operations, and the team understands the librarian's role and value;
- shares responsibility for achieving the team's goals;
- and makes customised, highly-valued contributions to the team;
I believe a librarian working in a public library can be an Embedded Librarian.
Think for a minute about the Council you work for. How can you become an Embedded Librarian within that Council? What can you offer the Council team(s)? How can you project your unique set of skills to the Council team(s)?
I think if more public librarians did this for their Council's then our profession would receive greater recognition rather than being the service to the community that has no economic value. Just note that I know there is research that shows our economic value but not all Council staff/community members believe that, especially when that economic value isn't visable in the Council budget.
However, the Embedded Librarian also notes that there are differences between Embedded Librarianship and Traditional Librarianship:
- Embedded Librarianship focuses on relationships not transactions;
- The embedded model requires the librarian to specialise, not try to be all things to all people;
- The Embedded Librarian is out of the library and fully engaged with other employees and groups of the enterprise;
- Embedded Librarians aren't just service providers;
- Traditional Librarianship has become a commodity. Embedded Librarianship finds new value in new roles.
I think it can to a certain extent, depending on the size of the library and number of resources available. I think public librarians have to focus on what they can offer to their Council team(s), but also focus on what they can offer to other community organisations and move out from the library. I think this is more than outreach services.
What do you think? I'm certainly going to ponder this a bit more and may even post about it again, once I gather more thoughts together. But I'd love to hear other's thoughts on this topic.
Wednesday, December 5, 2012
Blog December Post 6 - Tomorrow's Library
The future library trend continues into today's post as Victoria releases stage 1 of the Tomorrow's Library report.
The key finds state:
The key finds state:
The environment in which public libraries operate is
changing rapidly. It is challenging for public library services to keep pace
with changes in technology and the phasing out of obsolescent technology.
Identifying emerging trends and changes can be difficult, as is anticipating
the impact on library usage, particularly for smaller services. There is an ad
hoc approach to implementing new services. For example, some public libraries
are providing commercially acquired ebooks while others are not.
The future of public library services is set to be exciting
and innovative. To ensure public libraries remain valued and treasured public
institutions, they must continue to adapt and evolve. At the same time, public
libraries must continue to deliver high-quality services that meet the needs of
their communities. It is important that public libraries position themselves to
adequately embrace and meet the challenges of the future.
The MAC concluded that the public library sector needs to
increase collaboration and take a unified, strategic approach if it is to
effectively adapt to the future and remain relevant in a globalised, digital
world.
The statewide initiatives and responsibilities include:
·
Increase accessibility to a quality statewide collection developed
and owned by local government.
·
Establish a statewide languages other than English (LOTE) collection.
·
Improve access to the statewide interlibrary loan service.
·
Expand the statewide courier system to more efficiently
deliver interlibrary loan requests.
·
Develop a common platform for digital material consisting of
two parts: access to downloadable ebooks and eresources and digitised local
history and heritage material.
·
Establish a single library management system.
·
Investigate best value collection procurement options.
·
Establish common processing and cataloguing practices.
·
Deliver shelf-ready material directly to branches.
·
Install RFID readers at all public library services
and tag all items in the statewide collection.
·
Develop one library card with local branding.
·
Develop a single discovery layer and integrated content management system.
·
Develop a Victorian Library app.
·
Establish a Victorian Library social media presence.
·
Investigate central procurement options for hardware (computers,
tablets, eresources) and other services.
They also go on to talk about a statewide marketing approach.
These are all great ideas and I am wondering if other states will follow and do a review/report on their library services.
Monday, December 3, 2012
Blog December Day 4 - It's the end of the (library) world as we know it - and I feel fine!
This morning I was going through my RSS feeds and came across a post from the What's Next: Top Trends blog which showed an extinction timeline.
According to this timeline by 2019 libraries will be extinct.
Of course, this is not the first time we as library professionals have heard/read/talked about the demise of libraries, but honestly, I'm a bit over it all.
If I had a dollar for everytime I've been introduced to someone as a librarian and they have said to me - well with eBooks libraries aren't going to be around anymore. Prior to that it was - well with Google libraries aren't going to be around anymore. The same can be said with any major technological change that impacts on what libraries do and how we do it.
Well sorry everyone but libraries are bloody good at taking advantage of these changes and running with them.
However, I must stop and make comment based on my own library community. While some libraries have found that their members are ready to jump on the eBook wagon and embrace eReaders, tablets and iPads - I find that my own library community are still embracing the print book and traditional library services.
You may say, but Sharon, they may be ready but may not be coming into the library. All those with eReaders and tablets may be buying online and satisfying their information needs in a different manner than walking into the physical library. That may well be but in the four years I've been working in my library community, I have not noticed people not coming into the library - in fact I would say more are coming into the library.
I have had a handful of people ask about eBooks because they have purchased a Kindle - and guess what?? While they purchase eBooks via Amazon, they also continue to borrow print books!!
So while we may often get caught up in the doom and gloom of possible extinction - I think there is still something to say with the traditional services we provide - they are still relevant. And I actually think that in the future there will be a move away from technology and people will be wanting to get back to basics. Or we may even be forced to turn away from technology due to economic or environmental reasons.
I know this might be a little bit left of centre but one of the more successful shops in our little town of Bellingen is the Bellingen Sweet Shop. And guess what? It is set up in the old fashioned traditional way the sweet shops used to be and you can also purchase the sweets you used to buy as a child those many years ago.
So my bet is that in 2019, there will still be libraries and there will still be print books and traditional library services!!
According to this timeline by 2019 libraries will be extinct.
Of course, this is not the first time we as library professionals have heard/read/talked about the demise of libraries, but honestly, I'm a bit over it all.
If I had a dollar for everytime I've been introduced to someone as a librarian and they have said to me - well with eBooks libraries aren't going to be around anymore. Prior to that it was - well with Google libraries aren't going to be around anymore. The same can be said with any major technological change that impacts on what libraries do and how we do it.
Well sorry everyone but libraries are bloody good at taking advantage of these changes and running with them.
However, I must stop and make comment based on my own library community. While some libraries have found that their members are ready to jump on the eBook wagon and embrace eReaders, tablets and iPads - I find that my own library community are still embracing the print book and traditional library services.
You may say, but Sharon, they may be ready but may not be coming into the library. All those with eReaders and tablets may be buying online and satisfying their information needs in a different manner than walking into the physical library. That may well be but in the four years I've been working in my library community, I have not noticed people not coming into the library - in fact I would say more are coming into the library.
I have had a handful of people ask about eBooks because they have purchased a Kindle - and guess what?? While they purchase eBooks via Amazon, they also continue to borrow print books!!
So while we may often get caught up in the doom and gloom of possible extinction - I think there is still something to say with the traditional services we provide - they are still relevant. And I actually think that in the future there will be a move away from technology and people will be wanting to get back to basics. Or we may even be forced to turn away from technology due to economic or environmental reasons.
I know this might be a little bit left of centre but one of the more successful shops in our little town of Bellingen is the Bellingen Sweet Shop. And guess what? It is set up in the old fashioned traditional way the sweet shops used to be and you can also purchase the sweets you used to buy as a child those many years ago.
So my bet is that in 2019, there will still be libraries and there will still be print books and traditional library services!!
Friday, August 3, 2012
Public Libraries NSW Imagine Conference Continued
Nigel Marsh then came and shared with us how to make reading cool. Just because something is interesting/important to you doesn't mean it is interesting/important to others. Use authenticity and honesty to sell and make it cool, don't use tricks! Be brand appropriate - reading does not have to justify itself. Use your brand attic - get people to remember the stories. Remember the McDonald's ad where the kids came out of the adults and headed to McDonald's for lunch? This was connecting with consumers memories of having McDonald's as kids. Now think of how a library could do this? Be creative - money should not be an issue if you are creative. Unfortunately, the thing that stuck out most for me during Nigel's presentation was his video of how they made a Wrangler's ad. There was lots of cowboys and bull riding!!
Jane Caro, Cheryl Kernot, Jaye Ford and Dr Bernie Curran then confessed their favourite reads and their guilty secret read.
Cheryl Kernot = The ascent of man by Jacob Bronowski and A scandalous life is her guilty read.
Jaye Ford = crime and Lee Child, Sue Grafton, Raymond Chandler and Steven King. Her guitly reads are Mills & Boon and Jane Austen.
Dr Bernie Curran = manuscripts as you get to watch the language grow. The scarlet pimpernel is his guilty read.
Best practice sessions saw me attend the session about Tweet Reading. This group meets on Twitter on the last Tuesday of every month. They try to cover a wide range of topics and people can participate from anywhere. They have been following the National Year of Reading monthly themes this year and have already developed the themes for next year. I try to particpate in this event each month either through contributing to the conversation or observing to learn about some good reads. The group has been going since 2011 and won a 2011 Marketing Award for NSW Public Libraries. Why does it work? Supportive environment, learn as you work, suits variables workloads, covers geographical distance. So why don't you participate in this month's discussion theme "question" at the end of the month?
Sue McKerracher then spoke about how we can continue the momentum of National Year of Reading. She shared with us some of the activities/events that had already happened including Flash mob reading groups, displays, giveaways, Simultaneous Storytime--over 2500 events in libraries, schools + more. The flower logo is going to be continued to be used. And libraries need to continue working with the partnerships already developed to keep it going.
A lovely session on storytelling with Ashley Ramsden was next. He reminded us that eveyone can tell a story and it is not necessary for us to understand every story we tell. Stories are a way of getting to know each other and hold the roots of community. Stories are little mirrors as we enter into them we find ourselves. It is not about the story but the act of attention.
I then attended another best practice sesson discussing community driven collection development with Alex Mills from Singleton Public Library. Alex discussed the teething problems from their first few community book buying sessions but have now found a process that works. This is timely for me as we will be offering a community book buying session in September as part of our National Year of Reading events - however we hope to continue it in the following years. It was good to hear that it does work but you need to find what works well. Thankfully, our book supplier has been involved in these before and has a system that works - I'll keep you posted.
I won't discuss the fun debate - Is the book always better than the movie? Because I can't give it the justice it deserves via the written word - you really had to be there!!
Marcus Barber was the last speaker of the conference and he gave us an insight into the future. Which unfortunately I didn't capture in tweets/notes because my tablet battery died. So I will share others tweets. Define the future your want, work out barriers, remove barriers, then do. Use crowdsourcing as a way of making sure you are providing what your users want. His presentation was rushed because the conference was going overtime, and that was disappointing as he had a lot of good things to say that was missed due to it being rushed.
I will do one more post on my overall feel and thoughts from the conference tomorrow but I'd love to hear/read what others thoughts were from those that attended.
Jane Caro, Cheryl Kernot, Jaye Ford and Dr Bernie Curran then confessed their favourite reads and their guilty secret read.
Cheryl Kernot = The ascent of man by Jacob Bronowski and A scandalous life is her guilty read.
Jaye Ford = crime and Lee Child, Sue Grafton, Raymond Chandler and Steven King. Her guitly reads are Mills & Boon and Jane Austen.
Dr Bernie Curran = manuscripts as you get to watch the language grow. The scarlet pimpernel is his guilty read.
Best practice sessions saw me attend the session about Tweet Reading. This group meets on Twitter on the last Tuesday of every month. They try to cover a wide range of topics and people can participate from anywhere. They have been following the National Year of Reading monthly themes this year and have already developed the themes for next year. I try to particpate in this event each month either through contributing to the conversation or observing to learn about some good reads. The group has been going since 2011 and won a 2011 Marketing Award for NSW Public Libraries. Why does it work? Supportive environment, learn as you work, suits variables workloads, covers geographical distance. So why don't you participate in this month's discussion theme "question" at the end of the month?
Sue McKerracher then spoke about how we can continue the momentum of National Year of Reading. She shared with us some of the activities/events that had already happened including Flash mob reading groups, displays, giveaways, Simultaneous Storytime--over 2500 events in libraries, schools + more. The flower logo is going to be continued to be used. And libraries need to continue working with the partnerships already developed to keep it going.
A lovely session on storytelling with Ashley Ramsden was next. He reminded us that eveyone can tell a story and it is not necessary for us to understand every story we tell. Stories are a way of getting to know each other and hold the roots of community. Stories are little mirrors as we enter into them we find ourselves. It is not about the story but the act of attention.
I then attended another best practice sesson discussing community driven collection development with Alex Mills from Singleton Public Library. Alex discussed the teething problems from their first few community book buying sessions but have now found a process that works. This is timely for me as we will be offering a community book buying session in September as part of our National Year of Reading events - however we hope to continue it in the following years. It was good to hear that it does work but you need to find what works well. Thankfully, our book supplier has been involved in these before and has a system that works - I'll keep you posted.
I won't discuss the fun debate - Is the book always better than the movie? Because I can't give it the justice it deserves via the written word - you really had to be there!!
Marcus Barber was the last speaker of the conference and he gave us an insight into the future. Which unfortunately I didn't capture in tweets/notes because my tablet battery died. So I will share others tweets. Define the future your want, work out barriers, remove barriers, then do. Use crowdsourcing as a way of making sure you are providing what your users want. His presentation was rushed because the conference was going overtime, and that was disappointing as he had a lot of good things to say that was missed due to it being rushed.
I will do one more post on my overall feel and thoughts from the conference tomorrow but I'd love to hear/read what others thoughts were from those that attended.
Thursday, August 2, 2012
Public Libraries NSW Imagine Conference Part 4
Day 2 started with a bookcamp facilitated by Angela Meyer. The broad theme was Booking into the future: transforming and supporting storytelling with new media. Angela asked for some members of the audience to come up and help assist the conversation along it's way so the first part of the conversation focused on the never-ending story engaging readers + the power of story.
How do we get current and future readers into the library? Some ideas included the Bookstart program (from memory this was where a bag of books and library information is provided to new mothers). Offer a variety of events to cater for all ages. Does it matter if the person doesn't enter the library but uses it virtually? Getting people into the library is getting people using library resources and tools, wherever they are. Some libraries used local bands to draw the young people in by having Live and Loud sessions.
The conversation then moved on to print vs digital. Libraries should be role models for using new technologies. We should offer technology petting zoos. Library staff should have a wide range of digital skills. Some libraries use volunteers who are technologically savvy to assist library users to use technology. Library staff should be open to trying, learning and providing opportunities to our communities. Some libraries have trouble convincing coucil of the importance in having new technology and being able to access it. We should not forget our core business but the shelf is now also digital.
Does digital change the way we read? An e-device makes it easier to read titles that the reader may be embarassed to be seen reading e.g. 50 Shades of Grey. Reading in the digital world is rewiring our brains to how we read and we do more skimming over text. eReading great for home library service as you can adjust the text size. And then there are the digital reading groups like the Twitter reading group.
The topic then moved onto trends and constants. We do have transient genre and must know what our community wants and will read. How do we predict a trend? eBooks make supply of popular books easier. Libraries need to be aware of male readership and cater to their interests as well as those of others. We must have a balanced collection.
And finally library users as content creators. Must have qualitative assessment of what you are getting in content creation from your community. And how do libraries integrate econtent into their collections?
And once more my blogging has been cut short as I have to go to work - more from day 2 tomorrow.
How do we get current and future readers into the library? Some ideas included the Bookstart program (from memory this was where a bag of books and library information is provided to new mothers). Offer a variety of events to cater for all ages. Does it matter if the person doesn't enter the library but uses it virtually? Getting people into the library is getting people using library resources and tools, wherever they are. Some libraries used local bands to draw the young people in by having Live and Loud sessions.
The conversation then moved on to print vs digital. Libraries should be role models for using new technologies. We should offer technology petting zoos. Library staff should have a wide range of digital skills. Some libraries use volunteers who are technologically savvy to assist library users to use technology. Library staff should be open to trying, learning and providing opportunities to our communities. Some libraries have trouble convincing coucil of the importance in having new technology and being able to access it. We should not forget our core business but the shelf is now also digital.
Does digital change the way we read? An e-device makes it easier to read titles that the reader may be embarassed to be seen reading e.g. 50 Shades of Grey. Reading in the digital world is rewiring our brains to how we read and we do more skimming over text. eReading great for home library service as you can adjust the text size. And then there are the digital reading groups like the Twitter reading group.
The topic then moved onto trends and constants. We do have transient genre and must know what our community wants and will read. How do we predict a trend? eBooks make supply of popular books easier. Libraries need to be aware of male readership and cater to their interests as well as those of others. We must have a balanced collection.
And finally library users as content creators. Must have qualitative assessment of what you are getting in content creation from your community. And how do libraries integrate econtent into their collections?
And once more my blogging has been cut short as I have to go to work - more from day 2 tomorrow.
Monday, July 30, 2012
More PLNSW Conference Soon
I was planning on writing another reflective piece - must practice written reflection as I don't think I've mastered yet - this morning but I have to leave early to go to HQ in Grafton to do some book selection today so I have limited time.
I will say one comment by futurist Marcus Barber before I forget it. You see my battery on my tablet ran out before his presentation so I didn't get to take notes (tweet). He said something along the lines of "Beware the cloud as the cloud will blow away."
Something to ponder.
I will say one comment by futurist Marcus Barber before I forget it. You see my battery on my tablet ran out before his presentation so I didn't get to take notes (tweet). He said something along the lines of "Beware the cloud as the cloud will blow away."
Something to ponder.
Friday, June 22, 2012
Blog June Post 23 - Ebooks Ebooks Ebooks
Thoughts about ebooks have been bouncing around in my head for some time. Well since ebooks started becoming a trend (not sure if that is the right word for it), anyway you get the picture. Then yesterday I came across this interesting article: Will Your Children Inherit Your eBooks.
I must admit the lifespan of ebooks is something that worries me. I even asked the question to a panel of authors at the Bellingen Readers and Writers Festival this year. Are authors only writing for the now? Do they believe that their books will still be available in 5, 10, 20, 100 years time? A person who works for ebook publishing (I think or they knew a fair bit about how it works) said that publishers had the responsibility to continue to make an ebook available even as formats and devices changed/updated. So when your Kindle becomes outdated and you decide to upgrade then your collection of books on the old Kindle should still be able to be read on the new Kindle - it all comes with you.
Ok, so I don't know enough about how the technology of ebook readers work but I do know that if I buy an ebook reader now and fill it with books that I think are wonderful and I would really like to keep until my daughter is old enough to enjoy them - I'm not quite convinced that I will be able to do that.
Technology changes so much and how many of us have documents from when Word etc first came out that no longer work - mainly because we probably didn't update them but at the same time we probably didn't think about whether there would be a use for them in the future. So again, if I read a book on my ebook reader and then when my daughter is older think, bugger I really should've upgraded that ebook so she could read it - but alas it is too late. However, with a print copy I don't have to worry about it - other than make sure that it doesn't get eaten by bugs or burnt or wet.
So you see my dilema? I would love to hear from anyone who understands all the technology more than I do and can reassure me that my collection of ebooks (when I have one - which will happen) will be around when my daughter is older.
Then that brings me to libraries. While we try to weed our collections regularly, there are some books that we (the universe) deem classics (see my past post on this) and don't weed - unless of course they are falling apart. How, if we move toward an ebook collection, do we keep the classics and make them accessible when platforms, technology, subscriptions etc change?
Also, if you read the Bookend Scenarios: Alternative Futures for the Public Library Network in NSW in 2039 and the scenario suggesting the fall of the internet and technology happens -- what then??
Anyway, this is what I have been pondering and I would really love to hear other's thoughts on these issues.
I must admit the lifespan of ebooks is something that worries me. I even asked the question to a panel of authors at the Bellingen Readers and Writers Festival this year. Are authors only writing for the now? Do they believe that their books will still be available in 5, 10, 20, 100 years time? A person who works for ebook publishing (I think or they knew a fair bit about how it works) said that publishers had the responsibility to continue to make an ebook available even as formats and devices changed/updated. So when your Kindle becomes outdated and you decide to upgrade then your collection of books on the old Kindle should still be able to be read on the new Kindle - it all comes with you.
Ok, so I don't know enough about how the technology of ebook readers work but I do know that if I buy an ebook reader now and fill it with books that I think are wonderful and I would really like to keep until my daughter is old enough to enjoy them - I'm not quite convinced that I will be able to do that.
Technology changes so much and how many of us have documents from when Word etc first came out that no longer work - mainly because we probably didn't update them but at the same time we probably didn't think about whether there would be a use for them in the future. So again, if I read a book on my ebook reader and then when my daughter is older think, bugger I really should've upgraded that ebook so she could read it - but alas it is too late. However, with a print copy I don't have to worry about it - other than make sure that it doesn't get eaten by bugs or burnt or wet.
So you see my dilema? I would love to hear from anyone who understands all the technology more than I do and can reassure me that my collection of ebooks (when I have one - which will happen) will be around when my daughter is older.
Then that brings me to libraries. While we try to weed our collections regularly, there are some books that we (the universe) deem classics (see my past post on this) and don't weed - unless of course they are falling apart. How, if we move toward an ebook collection, do we keep the classics and make them accessible when platforms, technology, subscriptions etc change?
Also, if you read the Bookend Scenarios: Alternative Futures for the Public Library Network in NSW in 2039 and the scenario suggesting the fall of the internet and technology happens -- what then??
Anyway, this is what I have been pondering and I would really love to hear other's thoughts on these issues.
Sunday, June 10, 2012
Blog Post 11 - You've got the music in you
It's cold and wet here today. We had over 26mm overnight and being a public holiday, it means that I will have to write this post quick before little one gets up and wants to play Moshi Monsters on the computer.
I promised I'd write about music a few posts ago so here we are.
I don't think there is anyone I have met that doesn't like some form of music. My tastes are pretty much all over the place.
As a child it was basically what my parents were listening to - country, 60's and 70's. And what my sister was listening to (since we shared a room I didn't have much choice) 80s in particular Prince, Michael Jackson, then she moved into a phase of heavy metal (don't really like at all). In my teens I became obsessed with New Kids on the Block, but I also remember really liking Daryl Braithwaite, but mostly NKOTB.
Now I listen to the whole range 50's, 60's, 70's, 80's, 90's, country music, etc. However, I do feel that I'm a bit out of touch with what is currently popular. I have to say that it is only the odd few that catch me. Perhaps it's because I don't get to watch all the music shows on the weekend anymore, and I'm restricted to the 20 or so minutes of radio time that I have each morning - which really only plays past hits rather than what's a hit now.
Some of you may discover that at times I like to listen to music and share the lyrics on my Facebook account. One of my fellow bloggers is having a guess the song "competition" on her blog during #blogjune.
There is nothing I like better than singing my heart out to my favourite songs. As a child I would pretend I was on Young Talent Time and do various moves down the back ramp. It was especially fun doing it at my nana's house in Gympie - as she had a back patio with stairs in the middle so you could do various positions as you walked down the stairs. I was destined to be a star - however I suffer stage fright so it never did eventuate.
I haven't bought a CD since 2001. I have a lot of music on my computer which I have got from various places but not really anything new - I think Pink and Taylor Swift are the newest music on my PC. I do wonder what will happen when my computer decides not work anymore - all my music will be lost.
Which brings me to how most of us purchase our music now - online. I don't know much about online music purchasing or iTunes - mainly because I don't have an iPod. I do have an MP3 player but listening to music via one has never really appealed to me. Some have suggested I listen to it when I exercise - but I prefer to hear cars coming up behind me or the sound of the ocean/street/neighbourhood. So I'm a bit behind on this method of technology.
So what will happen to your music collection when the format changes? I suppose with my huge collection of CD's the same can be said - will there be a point in the future when you can no longer access a CD player. Although you can still purchase vinyl players so perhaps it will never happen.
What about when you iPod/MP3 becomes full - where do you store all your purchases? If you store them on your computer and iPod/MP3 player but then they stop working - how do you access your collection again?
These same issues scare me about the move to ebooks. Are we purchasing for "now" rather than to keep forever? Are authors/song writers/singers only for "now" rather than forever?
I'm wondering how my daughter's music collection will be stored/housed. Will it all be electronic in a virtual space? And what happens when technology fails?
Our library doesn't have music CD's in the collection. We talked about it recently - is this something we should collect like we have finally introduced DVD's. I said no it probably wasn't worth it. Most people purchase songs online. Many libraries are now offering Freegal - I'd like to hear from those out there that have used Freegal and what they think? And other music download subscriptions.
Do you think it is still worth offering music CD's? What are your loan statistics like if you work in a library who offers music CD's for loan? Have they dropped off over the years? Are they still popular?
I promised I'd write about music a few posts ago so here we are.
I don't think there is anyone I have met that doesn't like some form of music. My tastes are pretty much all over the place.
As a child it was basically what my parents were listening to - country, 60's and 70's. And what my sister was listening to (since we shared a room I didn't have much choice) 80s in particular Prince, Michael Jackson, then she moved into a phase of heavy metal (don't really like at all). In my teens I became obsessed with New Kids on the Block, but I also remember really liking Daryl Braithwaite, but mostly NKOTB.
Now I listen to the whole range 50's, 60's, 70's, 80's, 90's, country music, etc. However, I do feel that I'm a bit out of touch with what is currently popular. I have to say that it is only the odd few that catch me. Perhaps it's because I don't get to watch all the music shows on the weekend anymore, and I'm restricted to the 20 or so minutes of radio time that I have each morning - which really only plays past hits rather than what's a hit now.
Some of you may discover that at times I like to listen to music and share the lyrics on my Facebook account. One of my fellow bloggers is having a guess the song "competition" on her blog during #blogjune.
There is nothing I like better than singing my heart out to my favourite songs. As a child I would pretend I was on Young Talent Time and do various moves down the back ramp. It was especially fun doing it at my nana's house in Gympie - as she had a back patio with stairs in the middle so you could do various positions as you walked down the stairs. I was destined to be a star - however I suffer stage fright so it never did eventuate.
I haven't bought a CD since 2001. I have a lot of music on my computer which I have got from various places but not really anything new - I think Pink and Taylor Swift are the newest music on my PC. I do wonder what will happen when my computer decides not work anymore - all my music will be lost.
Which brings me to how most of us purchase our music now - online. I don't know much about online music purchasing or iTunes - mainly because I don't have an iPod. I do have an MP3 player but listening to music via one has never really appealed to me. Some have suggested I listen to it when I exercise - but I prefer to hear cars coming up behind me or the sound of the ocean/street/neighbourhood. So I'm a bit behind on this method of technology.
So what will happen to your music collection when the format changes? I suppose with my huge collection of CD's the same can be said - will there be a point in the future when you can no longer access a CD player. Although you can still purchase vinyl players so perhaps it will never happen.
What about when you iPod/MP3 becomes full - where do you store all your purchases? If you store them on your computer and iPod/MP3 player but then they stop working - how do you access your collection again?
These same issues scare me about the move to ebooks. Are we purchasing for "now" rather than to keep forever? Are authors/song writers/singers only for "now" rather than forever?
I'm wondering how my daughter's music collection will be stored/housed. Will it all be electronic in a virtual space? And what happens when technology fails?
Our library doesn't have music CD's in the collection. We talked about it recently - is this something we should collect like we have finally introduced DVD's. I said no it probably wasn't worth it. Most people purchase songs online. Many libraries are now offering Freegal - I'd like to hear from those out there that have used Freegal and what they think? And other music download subscriptions.
Do you think it is still worth offering music CD's? What are your loan statistics like if you work in a library who offers music CD's for loan? Have they dropped off over the years? Are they still popular?
Wednesday, June 6, 2012
Blog June Post 7 - Dismantling the Stack
So yesterday I was once again in Grafton at HQ. I'm really over driving and am so glad that my commute is only 15mins each way and not an hour and half to two hours.
Anyway, my reason for being at HQ yesterday was to dismantle our stack collection. You see our library service is made up of three councils and as from 30 June one of those member councils is leaving us. Therefore, we have to ensure that the member council leaving us gets 23% of all collections - including stack.
What is stack? Our stack collection is made up of fiction and non-fiction items that are so old but also so useful/valuable that instead of leaving them on the browsing shelves in the branches, they are housed in stack in HQ. Library users can still access them via reservations.
So the process we followed is that we allowed the two staff from the leaving member council to go through stack and choose the items they would like for their branch libraries. The staff from the remaining member council libraries then went through and made a decision on whether it was something that was not being used by our users or if it was something we wanted to negotiate with.
Most of the ones chosen for negotiation were things that would break up a book series, or there was no other copy in our branches. If there was no other copy we applied the weeding concept - if it hasn't been used in the last two years then perhaps it's not going to be used again. This is a hard rule to apply to stack because the lack of use could be because people don't know they are available because they are not in a browsing collection. So there was some hard decisions made - but they had to be made.
I then go thinking about should or when a library only has ebooks - how do you create a stack? Can you even create a stack collection? What if formats and ereaders change and how then can you still access these resources? Will licenses allow libraries to keep items "forever"? Should we be keeping items "forever"?
So while this post is rather short compared to my previous posts - I do leave you to ponder the future of stack and the impact of ebooks on such collections.
Anyway, my reason for being at HQ yesterday was to dismantle our stack collection. You see our library service is made up of three councils and as from 30 June one of those member councils is leaving us. Therefore, we have to ensure that the member council leaving us gets 23% of all collections - including stack.
What is stack? Our stack collection is made up of fiction and non-fiction items that are so old but also so useful/valuable that instead of leaving them on the browsing shelves in the branches, they are housed in stack in HQ. Library users can still access them via reservations.
So the process we followed is that we allowed the two staff from the leaving member council to go through stack and choose the items they would like for their branch libraries. The staff from the remaining member council libraries then went through and made a decision on whether it was something that was not being used by our users or if it was something we wanted to negotiate with.
Most of the ones chosen for negotiation were things that would break up a book series, or there was no other copy in our branches. If there was no other copy we applied the weeding concept - if it hasn't been used in the last two years then perhaps it's not going to be used again. This is a hard rule to apply to stack because the lack of use could be because people don't know they are available because they are not in a browsing collection. So there was some hard decisions made - but they had to be made.
I then go thinking about should or when a library only has ebooks - how do you create a stack? Can you even create a stack collection? What if formats and ereaders change and how then can you still access these resources? Will licenses allow libraries to keep items "forever"? Should we be keeping items "forever"?
So while this post is rather short compared to my previous posts - I do leave you to ponder the future of stack and the impact of ebooks on such collections.
Friday, December 30, 2011
Professional Development in the Future
I did this offline because my internet is down so hope the links work:
I have written briefly about professional development in my past blog posts but this post will not discuss staff reluctance to commit to professional development but will be more about how I think PD will work in the future.
As you have gathered I reside in a regional area. The closest capital cities (we are smack bang
in the middle) are both 500km away – over 5 hours away by car. I mentioned that the State Library offers some wonderful PD opportunities during the year and they assist regional and
rural professionals to attend by offering travel funding assistance. I always use planes to travel to Sydney and these flights cost over $300 return. The State Library will reimburse the cost of an economy rail ticket which is about $170 odd return. So that really helps in reducing costs.
My POW grants the library staff a reasonable conferences and training budget, and as I have mentioned before, other staff are not keen on attending, most of it is spent on me!
There are two public library associations in NSW – Public Libraries NSW and Public Libraries NSW – Metropolitan. Public Libraries NSW used to be Public Libraries NSW Country but in the
hope of forming one association in NSW, (note they have been trying to merge Country and Metro for many many years), they changed their name and offer membership to all NSW public libraries not just metro. The association issue is for another blog post so I won’t delve into it now.
As a result of having two associations there is always a conference each year – used to be one country and one metro – this will remain. So there is SWITCH in Sydney one year and the newly branded IMPACT in whichever country town decided the next – next year it’s in Port Stephens http://www.plnsw.org.au/conference.htm
The registration costs of these conferences are very reasonable (half of a national conference and they go for the same amount of time 2-3 days or longer with satellite events) so permission to attend is not hard to obtain. And they are good quality conferences.
In comparison, and you really can’t compare a state conference with a national one but I will to justify my non-attendance, I have looked at the ALIA Biennial that is being held in Sydney next
year. The rego cost exceeds $900. Add to that accommodation costs which would also be around $900 it is very hard to justify. And while you may be saying that should work be paying for theses conferences – we are a single income family and the income I get in my position is at least $20,000 less a year than I would earn in the same role in a metro area. Yes the choice is mine to be in this job and live in a regional area but I just put that in there for greater understanding.
The other problem I have is that a state conference is being held in the same financial year so that would be two conferences in one year. A big hit to the training budget. Some may say that why don’t you miss out on one and go to the other. Yes I could do that but I actually feel that I get more out of a state conference than the national conferences – possibly because the state conference is totally focused on public libraries. So there lays my decision. Perhaps I will
change my mind on seeing the program for biennial but at this stage, probably not. Besides, I’ve never been to Port Stephens!!
Ok, I didn’t mean to spend so much time on that but it leads into my next line of thought which concerns the future of conferences. I’m sure I’m not the only one who took part in the Library 2.0 worldwide virtual conference. I thoroughly enjoyed participating via webinar/Blackboard technology. I actually see this as conferencing of the future. Library finances aren’t growing and the world is concerned about their global footprint – what better way to offer conferences. You still get audience interaction due to forums, chat and the ability to use voice to ask questions. And you get Twitter activity – this deserves a whole other post, but as a person living in a regional area I value conference/workshop/seminar/forum tweets – so to those that Tweet when they attend a PD activity – please continue to do so!!
I also like the idea of conference offering live web streaming. I haven’t yet paid to have live web streaming – mainly due to the inconsistency of internet access in my area (I know that this is not a problem restricted to regional/rural areas). But my net is down right now so I’m doing this offline, and when online my speeds are not that great so I haven’t gone down the web streaming path as yet. But it will be something I consider but I feel for me the interaction will be less than through the virtual conference due to the delay in video streaming and the possibility of drop out. But if they offered it at a slightly less price for delayed broadcast – eg supply after the conference, then perhaps I would be more likely to jump on board.
Anyway, I’ve rambled enough today. Here I was thinking I wouldn’t have much to write when blogging but it seems I do. I appreciate those who are taking the time to read it and comment so I don’t feel I’m interacting with an internet black hole!!
I have written briefly about professional development in my past blog posts but this post will not discuss staff reluctance to commit to professional development but will be more about how I think PD will work in the future.
As you have gathered I reside in a regional area. The closest capital cities (we are smack bang
in the middle) are both 500km away – over 5 hours away by car. I mentioned that the State Library offers some wonderful PD opportunities during the year and they assist regional and
rural professionals to attend by offering travel funding assistance. I always use planes to travel to Sydney and these flights cost over $300 return. The State Library will reimburse the cost of an economy rail ticket which is about $170 odd return. So that really helps in reducing costs.
My POW grants the library staff a reasonable conferences and training budget, and as I have mentioned before, other staff are not keen on attending, most of it is spent on me!
There are two public library associations in NSW – Public Libraries NSW and Public Libraries NSW – Metropolitan. Public Libraries NSW used to be Public Libraries NSW Country but in the
hope of forming one association in NSW, (note they have been trying to merge Country and Metro for many many years), they changed their name and offer membership to all NSW public libraries not just metro. The association issue is for another blog post so I won’t delve into it now.
As a result of having two associations there is always a conference each year – used to be one country and one metro – this will remain. So there is SWITCH in Sydney one year and the newly branded IMPACT in whichever country town decided the next – next year it’s in Port Stephens http://www.plnsw.org.au/conference.htm
The registration costs of these conferences are very reasonable (half of a national conference and they go for the same amount of time 2-3 days or longer with satellite events) so permission to attend is not hard to obtain. And they are good quality conferences.
In comparison, and you really can’t compare a state conference with a national one but I will to justify my non-attendance, I have looked at the ALIA Biennial that is being held in Sydney next
year. The rego cost exceeds $900. Add to that accommodation costs which would also be around $900 it is very hard to justify. And while you may be saying that should work be paying for theses conferences – we are a single income family and the income I get in my position is at least $20,000 less a year than I would earn in the same role in a metro area. Yes the choice is mine to be in this job and live in a regional area but I just put that in there for greater understanding.
The other problem I have is that a state conference is being held in the same financial year so that would be two conferences in one year. A big hit to the training budget. Some may say that why don’t you miss out on one and go to the other. Yes I could do that but I actually feel that I get more out of a state conference than the national conferences – possibly because the state conference is totally focused on public libraries. So there lays my decision. Perhaps I will
change my mind on seeing the program for biennial but at this stage, probably not. Besides, I’ve never been to Port Stephens!!
Ok, I didn’t mean to spend so much time on that but it leads into my next line of thought which concerns the future of conferences. I’m sure I’m not the only one who took part in the Library 2.0 worldwide virtual conference. I thoroughly enjoyed participating via webinar/Blackboard technology. I actually see this as conferencing of the future. Library finances aren’t growing and the world is concerned about their global footprint – what better way to offer conferences. You still get audience interaction due to forums, chat and the ability to use voice to ask questions. And you get Twitter activity – this deserves a whole other post, but as a person living in a regional area I value conference/workshop/seminar/forum tweets – so to those that Tweet when they attend a PD activity – please continue to do so!!
I also like the idea of conference offering live web streaming. I haven’t yet paid to have live web streaming – mainly due to the inconsistency of internet access in my area (I know that this is not a problem restricted to regional/rural areas). But my net is down right now so I’m doing this offline, and when online my speeds are not that great so I haven’t gone down the web streaming path as yet. But it will be something I consider but I feel for me the interaction will be less than through the virtual conference due to the delay in video streaming and the possibility of drop out. But if they offered it at a slightly less price for delayed broadcast – eg supply after the conference, then perhaps I would be more likely to jump on board.
Anyway, I’ve rambled enough today. Here I was thinking I wouldn’t have much to write when blogging but it seems I do. I appreciate those who are taking the time to read it and comment so I don’t feel I’m interacting with an internet black hole!!
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