Congratulations to our first place winner ($500) Nicolette Warisse Sosulski, for her article “Excuse Me, Is There a Loss Section? Readers Advisory to the Grieving and Bereaved.” The Public Libraries Advisory Committee selected Sosulski’s article from among 11 articles written by a public librarian or public library worker and published in the 2017 volume year.

Five further articles were selected to be put to a Facebook ‘Readers Choice” vote, for an “Honorable Mention” award ($300). Go here to cast your vote for the Honorable Mention winner. Voting ends Friday, June 1, 2018.

The post Article on RA Services to the Grieving Wins First Place in PL Contest first appeared on Public Libraries Online.

If you’ve read any of my previous columns, you’ve probably noticed that I prefer to impart life lessons by telling stories. While this is a practice that drives my teenage daughters crazy, it has been effective for me in getting my point across. I’d like to reveal an important lesson that all librarians need to understand by telling a story that opened my eyes to the power of libraries and of librarians. There are a number of lessons to be learned from this story, but most important may be the realization that we can’t keep underestimating our community’s respect and love for what we provide them.

More than eight years ago, I had just taken over the director’s position at the Cleveland Public Library and was introduced to the Great Recession right from the start. At my first board meeting, the chief financial officer warned us that it was quite likely that our local tax collection would fall by more than 20 percent. A few months later, the democratic governor of Ohio would release a budget that would cut library funding by $200 million from the state’s biennial budget. A reduction that would have chopped state funding to libraries by nearly 50 percent.

Ohio libraries like mine envisioned a financial catastrophe at a level that had never been experienced. As you can imagine, anxiety and fear among the library directors were very high and with the nation’s financial realities becoming clearer, there was confusion about how to move forward. Fortunately, our state library association, the Ohio Library Council (OLC), wasn’t having it. In a letter to the directors across Ohio, OLC’s director of government and legal services challenged the directors to stand up and fight. Within forty-eight hours, the OLC had created an action campaign to Save Ohio Libraries. The campaign didn’t hold back and was very aggressive in its demand that legislators fix the governor’s budget.

Library supporters were urged to contact their local representatives, senators, and the governor’s office. They were asked to send emails, make phone calls, send letters to the editor, and forward postcards urging support to save Ohio’s libraries. The result was surprising: not only had the large metro libraries in the state adopted the campaign, but nearly all of the 251 library systems across the state had signed on as well. Within two days of the campaign being announced, legislators found themselves being overwhelmed with emails and phone calls. The governor’s office and legislators found their phone systems crashing from the overwhelming numbers of emails flooding their online correspondence.

Ultimately, the legislators relented and the reduction that libraries accepted in the budget was less than 20 percent. However, the governor’s office never forgot or forgave the OLC for this effort. Libraries had proven to legislators that their community residents love their libraries and were willing to voice that affection. Last week, I was walking through the halls of the statehouse to talk to legislators about a much smaller cut to the state budget for libraries, and found an enduring respect for libraries. The legislators and our present governor better understand the role of libraries, but it was clear that they also know about our ability to mobilize when needed. One legislator even said we should receive more funding and that we should get the troops ready to battle like eight years ago. That legislator had not been in office in 2009.

So what’s the lesson to be learned? The lesson is that as funding for our libraries is being attacked at the federal level, we must never forget that we are beloved by our customers. Being loved is not enough, the lessons we can learn from the Ohio example is that when we are attacked, we should fight back. The campaign requires all libraries to acknowledge the importance of the need for the campaign. It requires that it it consists of more than just the librarian community, but closely involves our library supporters. Finally, it requires that we are relentless. In the Ohio example, libraries stepped on toes and lost support with some influential people. These decisions cannot be made lightly, there are ramifications that follow.

This is why I’d like to commend Emily Sheketoff, the outgoing executive director of the American Library Association’s Washington Office. Emily has deftly managed our federal legislative agenda for seventeen years and I want to thank her for those efforts. Her departure will not be a quiet one though. After the release of the president’s federal budget recently, Sheketoff and ALA President Julie Todaro forged an aggressive legislative response. The Fight for Libraries campaign is asking all of us to be relentless, I just hope that it is as successful as its Ohio predecessor.

The post Being Loved is Not Enough first appeared on Public Libraries Online.

At the time of this writing, many of us are angry and sad and frustrated, if the news and social media are any indication. And for many of us, books serve as a refuge when life becomes difficult. Yet while books can provide an escape from harsher realities, they can also provide a lens through which we can better view and understand what is unfolding around us.

As a readers’ advisory librarian, I believe in the power of story as one way to gain knowledge of the lives of others. Strong narratives with believable people navigat­ing tough situations can help stimulate a conversation between readers with differ­ent backgrounds and experiences.

Stories can be used to pull readers and viewers into the complex lives of ordi­nary people. Stories can help us understand complicated issues and form relationships by putting readers in unfamiliar, difficult, uncomfortable places.

Sharing a common reading experience may seem like a small place to start for many people just beginning to comprehend the underlying realities that helped give rise to the Black Lives Matter movement. But libraries have been havens for civil civic discourse through reading for centuries.

These are only a few lesser-known books, movies, and podcasts to include in displays and online lists that will help us continue that tradition. Hopefully these works will help stimulate empathy and thoughtful, positive dialogue among our patrons who have always turned to their libraries in troubled times.

I’ve seen quite a few fantastic reading lists with the hashtag #BlackLivesMatter. If your display needs some inspiration, start with either of these from Seattle Public Library’s Shelf Talk blog: “Reading Race: Best Fiction of 2015” (http://bit.ly/2aXhcCj) and “Reading Race: Best Nonfiction of 2015” (http://bit.ly/2axU6CK).

Oakland (CA) Public Library compiled “Listen, Learn, Participate: A #BlackLives­Matter Resource Series” for books, articles, poems, and documentaries. Librarian Amy Sonnie posted the list (http://bit.ly/2aSyJ0m) in December 2014 and has kept it fresh with materials for teachers, students, parents, and community members.

One of the most recent lists is Lawrence Public Library’s #BlackLivesMatter list in BiblioCommons (http://bit.ly/2awSkhO), which primarily includes contemporary fiction and nonfiction “to educate, spark reflection, and stimulate dialogue.”

Consider adding some of these novels or poetry collections that draw readers into the lives and experiences of black characters. Connie Porter’s Imani All Mine (1999) is a fiercely graceful novel of a teenage rape victim raising her infant daugh­ter in the inner city. Pair it with Sapphire’s popular novel Push (1996).

Ntozake Shange’s choreopoem, for colored girls who have considered suicide/ when the rainbow is enuff (1975), has become a fixture in the theatre since it was first staged. This groundbreaking theatrical work has seven unnamed women tell­ing stories of struggle and oppression in a sexist and racist society. The language is elegant, harsh, and arrhythmic.

Steer library patrons to the recent documentaries When the Levees Broke: A Re­quiem in Four Acts (2006) and The Loving Story (2011). In Levees, Hurricane Katrina devastates a city, and the city, in turn, devastates its poor and underprivileged citizens. The Loving Story is an eye-opening and tearful portrait of a marriage that went on trial during the Civil Rights era.

Citizen Stewart’s podcast “Rock the Schools” (http://citizenstewart.org/ podcast) is a weekly education reform program from highly respected educa­tion advocate and activist, Chris Stewart. Episode 35 features an interview with Ne­kima Levy-Pounds about the education of some members of the #BlackLivesMat­ter movement. Levy-Pounds hosts her own podcast, Real Talk, in which she has intense conversations about race with experts in the fields of public policy, mass media, education, politics, and history (http://bit.ly/2aCQsW1).

No #BlackLivesMatter resource list would be complete without The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot (2010), the story of the poor black woman who gave modern medicine the cells that affected millions of lives. Lacks’ was a singular black life that will matter into perpetuity.

The post UNDER THE RADAR | The Power of Story first appeared on Public Libraries Online.

Originally published in Mar/Apr 2016, PUBLIC  LIBRARIES,  VOLUME 55, NUMBER 2.

Jessica is currently reading The BFG by Roald Dahl and A God in Ruins by Kate Atkinson. Christina is currently reading The Third Wave: A Volunteer Story by Alison Thompson and Just Being Audrey by Margaret Cardillo.

For public service staff, summers at the library are both exhilarating and exhausting. The increased demand for library services coupled with the excitement of the summer reading program are a welcome reassurance that libraries are still active hubs for literacy, lifelong learning, and community connections. However, with limited staffing budgets, libraries find their staffs stretched thinner than ever during the busy summer seasons.

In summer 2014, the Cedar Rapids (IA) Public Library (CRPL) an­ticipated this stretch of staffing resources more acutely than ever before. That May, CRPL was operating 94,000 more square feet than the previous summer after reopening its main facility follow­ing a devastating flood in 2008. Having also opened a full-service branch on the growing west side of the city, the library doubled its operational hours to two 68-hour facilities. With the addition of only thirty-five new part-time employees totaling 665 staffing hours, the library needed to implement a new staffing model to meet the demands of the library’s first summer in its new home.

Two new sources of human capital were developed to supple­ment the library’s traditional staff: (1) seasonal employees (seasonals) and (2) volunteers. Goals for the new staffing model were to alleviate the burden on staff, enhance the organization’s capacity to connect with the community, and expand outreach opportunities.

The following outlines how the library identified seasonal and volunteer roles, developed hiring and training processes, engaged community volunteers in new programs, and provided existing staff with training to facilitate a smooth adoption of the new staffing model.

Incorporate Seasonals: The Right Dose of Help at the Right Time

The specific purpose for the development of the temporary seasonal position was to decrease excessive demands on public service staff and provide additional programming support during the busy summer season. By working openly with the library’s union steward, library management was able to facilitate a shared understanding that these temporary roles would provide better fiscal solvency to protect funding for traditional, year-round library positions. The union steward also helped library management address limitations on tasks that the union felt would not be acceptable for seasonals to perform. This collabora­tive process expedited the implementation of seasonals while preventing grievances and adhering to the spirit of the union contract.

Two seasonals and a volunteer work alongside two traditional staff members to assist customers at CPRL’s summer reading kickoff party in May 2015. Seasonals and volunteers provided approximately 20 percent of the library workforce each week in the summer of 2015. (Photo by Cedqar Rapids Public Library)

Figure 1. Using the week of June 14-20, 2015 as an example, the chart below shows the number of hours worked and percent of the total workforce hours by CSAs, shelvers, seasonals, and volunteers at CPRL.

As a department within the City of Cedar Rapids’ local govern­ment, CRPL utilized a similar seasonal employee structure as their peers in the parks and recreation department. The positions were hourly, non-benefited roles and were not included in the library’s union. In 2015, the cost per hour for a seasonal employee was $8.25. The average cost of a traditional public service employee was $23.46 per hour (the cost of a full-time, benefited customer service associate (CSA) averaged with a part-time, non-benefited shelver). From a cost-savings perspective, this saved the library more than $43,800 in staffing expenses in the summer of 2015.

Determine Library Needs with Staff Input

Staff from all departments conducted a needs assessment to determine which summer-based tasks would benefit from additional seasonal assistance. This process of identifying library needs was critical in establishing staff support for working with the new seasonal staff.

Staff identified such core work compo­nents as helping with library events and programs; staffing the summer reading registration desk; providing logistical assistance and supervision to external customers utilizing library spaces (e.g., weddings, graduation parties, fund­raisers); assisting staff with outreach programs; shelving media and children’s materials; providing general customer assistance such as giving directional infor­mation, helping customers use the self-check stations, and assisting customers with basic catalogue searches. Seasonals did not have access to the library’s ILS system. This limitation helped allay staff concerns about customer confidentially and data integrity.

In year one, the library hired five sea­sonals that could work up to forty hours per week. At the end of the summer, it was determined that the library had too many seasonal positions and most were not working the full forty-hour schedule. In the following year, the library reduced the number of seasonal positions to four. All seasonals worked nearly full-time over the course of the summer. Adapting the hours of seasonals on a summer-by-summer basis—and even a weekly basis within the course of the summer—provided the li­brary with a level of flexibility that was not easily managed through a more traditional staffing model in a unionized environment.

Consider Employee Traits, Timelines, and Training for Successful Onboarding

Key characteristics sought in applicants included schedule flexibility, ability to adapt to a wide variety of duties, and personal initiative. The library has had considerable success hiring seasonals that work within a school system during the academic year. These seasonals quickly and capably related to all age groups and worked exceptionally well with youth. They also successfully worked indepen­dently, freeing up staff for other work and minimizing the need for constant supervision. Mature teens and collegiate students on summer break have also been reliable, hardworking seasonals.

Seasonal positions were posted with an “open until filled” end date. This al­lowed the library to continue to gather applicants after positions had been filled—a tactic that proved useful in year one when a seasonal left employment early in the summer and the library was able to quickly backfill the position from a pool of applicants.

The hiring timeline included a two-week training period for orientation and training as well as hands-on learning. Acknowledging that the library learn­ing curve is steep and that working with the public creates many unexpected scenarios, training focused on educating seasonals on how to access resources when challenges presented themselves: asking fellow staff members or referenc­ing manuals, posters, or cheat sheets. Trainers encouraged seasonals to seek support, thus alleviating concerns that they had to “know it all” for a temporary role with a limited training period.

Engage Volunteers: Community Partners with Purpose

For some libraries, incorporating commu­nity volunteers into their summer reading program might be standard practice. For CRPL in 2014, however, this represented a cultural revolution and a seismic opera­tional shift.

After a twenty-year hiatus, the library’s volunteer program was launched in the spring of 2013. In its first year, the volunteer program successfully brought on more than 180 volunteers in many different operational roles. Staff quickly embraced volunteers stuffing summer reading prize envelopes and counting heads at programs, but concerns were still prevalent that volunteers shouldn’t provide direct customer service.

In the summer of 2014, the library began partnering with community vol­unteers to provide customer service in support of the library’s summer reading program. These new volunteer roles have focused on three areas: program promo­tion, the summer reading registration table, and summer meals outreach.

Volunteers Promote Summer Reading in Schools

A common concern at CRPL was the lack of resources to promote the library’s sum­mer reading program in schools. Recog­nizing staffing limitations and opting to approach the challenge from a different angle, the library responded to the need by tapping into short-term, project-based volunteers.

Volunteers promote the library’s summer reading program at an elementary school. Volunteers presented information about the library to over 3,900 students as part of Day of Caring in May 2015. (Photo by Cedar Rapids Public Library)

The catalyst for the project was the community’s existing United Way Day of Caring, an annual event that connects local corporate employee volunteers to nonprofit agencies in one-day service projects. Through Day of Caring, the library recruited and trained corporate volunteers to present a short skit and deliver summer reading promotional materials to area schools. In May 2015, twenty-four volunteers visited more than 3,900 students in eleven schools. Since its inception in 2013, the Day of Caring summer reading outreach project has made it possible for the library to promote its summer reading program to more than 9,000 students in a fun, interactive way.

Volunteers Lead the Summer Reading Registration Table

Historically, the summer reading regis­tration table was staffed entirely by paid library employees. In the summer of 2014, volunteers covered the desk a total of 181 hours each week. This translated into a savings of more than $4,600 per week compared to the prior year (based on the cost of a full-time, benefited CSA averaged with a part-time, non-benefited CSA). Additionally, this allowed the library to reallocate these highly trained staff members to provide more customer service in other areas. This transforma­tional shift in the library’s staffing model was made possible due to three main ar­eas of support: (1) partnerships, (2) effec­tive volunteer training, and (3) dedicated resources to volunteer management.

A volunteer registers customers for the 2015 summer reading program. (Photo by Cedar Rapds Public Library)

Cultivate Strategic Partnerships

In its first summer working with volun­teers CRPL developed partnerships with the Foster Grandparent Program and the AARP Senior Community Service Employ­ment Program to work with dedicated older adult volunteers. These volunteers were the foundation of the library’s new volunteer role at the summer reading registration table. They quickly demon­strated to staff that they were a reliable workforce, capable representatives of the library’s values, and passionate about engaging young readers. Culturally, these partnerships led the way to thoughtfully expanding volunteer roles in providing direct customer service.

Develop Effective Training

As a short-term, summer-only volunteer opportunity, the summer reading reg­istration table was an ideal fit for youth volunteers, educators on summer break, families looking to volunteer together, and collegiate students. However, given the short timeframe of the opportu­nity, the onboarding process for these volunteers had to be quick and efficient to maximize their gift of time and promptly meet the library’s immediate needs. Volunteers needed to understand the library’s overall philosophy in working with the community, the structure of the summer reading program, the basics of good customer service, how to trans­fer customers to staff, and how to use the technology required for the online summer reading program registration process.

The library utilized its existing bimonthly new volunteer orientation to provide volunteers with the basics of library operations, values, customer service skills, and team expectations. Additionally, staff developed training for the summer reading registration desk volunteer role that (1) outlined the pur­pose and structure of the summer reading program, (2) trained volunteers on how to register participants and update their reading progress, (3) provided hands-on practice sessions in the registration software with test-participant data, and (4) answered frequently asked questions from customers about the program. With several trainers and flexible staffing, train­ings were booked as frequently as needed and included multiple new volunteers per session. This made for a swift onboard­ing process for new volunteers during the busy summer schedule.

Invest Resources in Volunteer Management

Cultivating partnerships and onboard­ing new volunteers takes time. Since developing the volunteer program in 2013, CRPL has strategically dedicated resources to volunteer management in­cluding a full-time volunteer coordinator and a part-time administrative assistant. The return on this investment per week in the summer reading registration table volunteer role alone was 181 volunteer hours for fifty-nine staff hours in 2014.

Understandably not every library can staff a volunteer program to this level, but identifying a point person (staff or volun­teer) to cultivate community partnerships and manage the process of bringing on new volunteers will have a significant return on the time invested.

Volunteers Run Summer Meals Outreach Program

In addition to supporting the library’s tra­ditional summer programming, volunteers also made possible the launch of a new summer outreach program in 2015. In partnership with other local organizations hosting a free children’s lunch program, the library developed a pilot outreach pro­gram to take its resources to children with barriers to accessing the library.

Led by the library’s AmeriCorps VISTA (Volunteers in Service to America) member, five volunteers brought books and LeapPad tablets over a twelve-week period to a community center that served a free lunch to neighborhood children. More than 290 children received over 440 books donated by the Friends of the Cedar Rapids Public Library and used more than 4,350 minutes of tablet time at the off-site location.

A survey of children participating in the program reported that

• 52 percent did not have a library card;
• 88 percent were not registered for any summer reading program; and
• 81 percent did not participate in any other library programs outside of the summer meals outreach program.

Barriers existed on both sides of the equation for these children; they couldn’t get to the library and the library’s staffing limitations prevented the development of new outreach opportunities. Due to the expansion of library outreach by the VISTA member and the volunteers, these children were able to access many of the library’s resources in their own neighborhood with essentially no additional library costs.

Support Staff—Build on a Strong Foundation

Since opening two new facilities in 2013, the library had strategically realigned its staffing resources for more effective scheduling based on circulation statis­tics, door counts, program attendance, and computer usage statistics. Through automation and streamlined processes, the library had already implemented efficiencies to better balance task-based operational duties and provide active customer service. Many of these prior adaptations also led to the successful ad­dition of seasonals and volunteers.

Create a Flexible Staff with Cross Training

CSAs are the majority of the library’s public service staff. The CSA role is a generalist position and covers all library depart­ments and service desks, back of house duties, phone service, and programming at both locations. By cross training CSAs, the library developed a flexible pool of resources to accommodate shifting needs within all departments at each library. This allowed for more rotation during shifts which gave staff variety in their work day and opportunities to work both behind the scenes and with the public. The general­ized workforce fostered an inclusive, team-focused working environment that shared knowledge, resources, and job duties—a prime environment for incorporating new seasonal and volunteer roles.

Facilitate Consistent Training for New and Existing Staff

Over the course of three months in 2013, the library added thirty-five new em­ployees to its thirty-three existing public service employees. The experienced staff played a key role in designing and deliver­ing a robust training program. Addition­ally, trainings were developed for existing staff to accommodate new facilities and processes as well as reinforce consistent training across the organization.

In 2013, the library developed a new training program with several modules and training checklists. The trainings in­cluded a refresher on standard processes and procedures; an overview of core competency requirements; and messag­ing about the library’s mission, vision, and values. A variety of training methods were employed including self-guided reading, informal check-ins with trainers, formal training sessions, and hands-on practice.

A critical component of the trainings was the creation of staff experts known as mentors. These experts received in-depth training on targeted areas of library service including library card making, processing incomplete materials, meeting room reservations, and so forth. Mentors then led individualized trainings for new hires and refresher group trainings for ex­isting staff. This promoted staff leadership and created a team of experts that could assist new staff with unexpected ques­tions in real time on the service floor.

The consistent training model ensured that staff at all levels understood the library’s processes and culture, and enhanced a peer-supported atmosphere. In turn, volunteers and seasonals ben­efited from the staff’s overall uniformity in answering questions and modeling the organization’s culture.

Communicate New Roles and Responsibilities

As the library added seasonals and volun­teers to its traditional staffing structure, it was crucial to outline and communicate the roles and responsibilities of these new team members. Job descriptions and duties lists were developed and shared for each volunteer role and for the seasonal positions. Information about these new positions, along with a summary of the summer reading program and related events, were presented to staff in various trainings, meetings, and written com­munications. This set the stage for the new staff hired in the fall of 2013, many of whom had not worked at a library before nor experienced the crunch of a summer schedule at the library. These trainings also allowed staff to ask questions and gave library leaders the opportunity to address concerns.

In 2015, based on feedback from the previous year, library leadership used multiple means of communication to address any overarching questions from the first year of the new staffing model. Primarily, traditional staff questioned what volunteers and seasonals were to do during less busy times of their shifts. For seasonals, a poster outlining differ­ent tasks that could be completed during slower shifts was posted in staff areas. For volunteers, training was provided to both staff and volunteers that detailed what was and was not permissible at the summer reading registration desk when volunteers were not helping custom­ers. Explanations were given to help all parties understand why there were differences in expectations for volunteers versus for staff: length of service and shifts, cross-training limitations, primary focus of duties, and physical limitations. This clarification of volunteer roles and the reasoning behind them helped better communicate expectations and guide­lines to both volunteers and library staff.

Conclusion

Over years, the tremendous stretch of the library’s diminishing staffing resources during its busy summer season had resulted in an increased demand on per­sonnel. Since integrating volunteers and seasonals with the library’s skilled staff, CRPL has cultivated a better balance for staff during its peak season, thus empow­ering the entire workforce to stay more energized and evenly engaged through­out the year.

Library leadership has been transpar­ent with traditional staff that the intent of the new staffing model is to supplement its professional staff during the library’s summer season. While not a replacement for professionally trained and compen­sated staff, volunteers and seasonals are a creative and resourceful way to economi­cally and effectively provide additional assistance to staff and customers. The strategically aligned work of CRPL’s staff, seasonals, and volunteers has enhanced the organization’s ability to make connec­tions with the community and expanded library services to children with barriers to accessing its facilities.

The post FEATURE|Give Staff a Break this Summer first appeared on Public Libraries Online.

RICHLAND LIBRARY BUSINESS AND JOB CENTER STAFF includes Chris Barstow, Kris Dempster, Charletta Felder, Sylvie Golod, Janet Hatch, Andrena King, Bland Lawson, Diane Luccy (Business and Job Center Manager), Megan Mathis, Debra Talton, Jennifer Thompson, and Mary Vicks. Contact Diane at dluccy@richlandlibrary.com. She is currently reading The Little Book That Still Beats the Market by Joel Greenblatt.

Originally published in Mar/Apr 2016, PUBLIC  LIBRARIES,  VOLUME 55, NUMBER 2.

With the onset of the Great Recession in 2008 and the resulting surge in unemployment, public library systems throughout the United States saw increased demand for services related to job searching. The Job Center at Richland Library in Columbia (SC) was established in 2010 with a $438,000 grant from the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation. This funding made possible the acquisition of eighteen comput­ers for job search–related tasks as well as the hiring of a career specialist and a job readiness trainer to meet individually with customers for résumé review and advice on job searching

After a few months of assisting jobseekers with résumés and job searching, the Business and Job Center staff realized that they needed to include interview practice sessions as part of their career services. Customers were getting calls for interviews, which indicated that their résumés were effective, but in many cases they were not receiving job offers. It became apparent that they needed to learn how to promote themselves, during inter­views, as the best candidate for the position.

In order to demonstrate that there was more to finding employment than simply writing a résumé and uploading a job application, staff members developed a career process model involving the following steps: Discover It, Define It, Present It, and Promote It. Through the process of writing and revising a résumé (Present It), customers would learn where they had been and where they were now in their career (Discover It). Perhaps most importantly, this process would help them clarify their career aspirations (Define It). The résumé would become more than a “marketing tool” to introduce the customer to a prospective em­ployer; it would serve as the script for the interview (Promote It).

The Business and Job Center decided to begin offering weekly interview practice sessions for customers to overcome their fears, learn storytelling techniques to better promote them­selves, and gain confidence in presenting their qualities as job candidates. These practice sessions have proven to be one of the most popular services offered by the center.

Many types of job seekers have availed themselves of the interview practice service at Richland Library, as is illustrated by the remarks of a Business and Job Center librarian describing her interview practice experience in the course of one morning:

My first customer was a mature woman looking for a position in a finance office; her dream job was to work for the University of South Carolina athletic department. My second customer had twenty-eight years of experience in medical sales. She wanted lots of direct feedback about everything from the suit she was wearing to how to handle questions about a termination from several years ago and her lack of a college degree.

The next customer was a Hungarian immigrant with a Ph.D. in immunogenetics who was hoping to transfer from eighteen years in academia to a new career in pharmaceutical research. He felt that he was solid with discussing his CV and accomplishments but that he needed some practice with traditional interview questions and with pleasing an HR representative.

Finally, I interviewed a college senior who wanted to work for Barnes & Noble while pondering her application to graduate school. This young woman was the most polished interviewee of the day.

Creating an Interview Practice Service for Less

For libraries that would like to offer more employment-related services for their customers but face budget constraints, the establishment of an interview-prac­tice program is an attractive option. With a little study and training, staff can take on the role of interviewer in practice ses­sions. The only equipment requirements are a desk and a relatively private area of the library.

The first step in developing an interview practice service is to designate team lead­ers in order to ensure consistent training. The Business and Job Center’s career specialist and job readiness trainer took on the leadership roles, and soon four busi­ness librarians joined the team. Once staff members were trained, they had a greater appreciation of what the interview process involved and became more intuitive about how to advise job seekers.

The team leaders developed a staff training guide identifying topics to dis­cuss with customers regarding interview preparation, the interview itself, and follow-up. Points to consider for prepara­tion include what to bring to the interview and the proper attire to wear. For the interview, the training guide advises staff to address issues such as nonverbal com­munication (posture, eye contact, and so on), best practices for phone interviews, and the use of storytelling techniques in responses to interview questions. For the follow-up, topics include the importance of writing a thank-you letter and what to do if no response is heard from the pro­spective employer after the interview.

The staff guide also discusses resources to share with customers, the most im­portant of which is the evaluation form the interviewer completes at the end of the session (see image, upper right). Staff may also consider referring customers to resources such as Richland Library’s vocational databases (Career Cruising and Ferguson’s Career Guidance Center) and O*Net OnLine (an occupational informa­tion source sponsored by the US Depart­ment of Labor) if it appears they need to gain a better sense of what their career goals are and the kind of job they can realistically hope to obtain.

Richland Library’s Interview Practice

The interview practice area at Richland Library features a desk and chairs donated by a local office-supply store. Mannequins nearby provide examples of proper attire (a clothing-store donation) for the employment in­terview. Unlike one-on-one career coaching sessions, which require the scheduling of an appoint­ment in advance, the practice interviews are conducted on a first-come, first-served basis, with customers signing up at the refer­ence desk for a half-hour session. These sessions are conducted biweekly on Wednesdays from 10 a.m. to noon.

After an introduction, the staff member conducting the interview determines whether the customer has a résumé, asks a few questions about the type of position being sought, and records the information on the evaluation form. The interviewer explains that the purpose of the evaluation is to provide constructive feedback. At the end of the interview, the evaluation is reviewed, with the customer receiving a copy.

Richland Library Job Center’s Interview Practice Evaluation Form [click to enlarge]

Situation: Describe a situation you found yourself in or a task that you needed to accomplish. This situation can come from a previous job, volunteer experience, or any relevant event.

Task: What goal were you working toward?

Action: Describe the actions you took to address the situation with an appropriate amount of detail, and keep the focus on yourself.

Result: Describe the outcome of your actions, and don’t be shy about taking credit for your accomplishments

The interviewer stresses the impor­tance of showing passion and enthusiasm in an interview. Allison M. Vaillancourt of the University of Arizona notes that job candidates often unwittingly come across as aloof before search committees because they don’t wish to appear “des­perate,” or they feel that a nonchalant attitude will somehow shield them from the embarrassment of rejection, when in truth “which of the finalists seems to want the job most is often factored into the decision” the employer reaches.[2] A candidate who comes across as uncom­mitted may strike an employer as a risky hire, since the time and resources needed for training would be wasted if the new employee were to become dissatisfied and leave the position after a short time.

The staff member conducting the practice session also covers issues that prospective employees (as well as em­ployers) should watch out for, such as illegal interview questions. Any question that could come into conflict with Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act, which bars discrimination in hiring based on factors such as race, gender, age, religion, or nationality, is considered illegal.[3] Ex­amples include “Are you a US citizen?” “How old are you?” and “Are you planning on starting a family soon?” The informa­tion sought in questions such as these can usually be obtained legally through rephrasing—for instance, “Are you autho­rized to work in the US?” instead of “Are you a US citizen?” Business and Job Cen­ter staff have found illegal questions to be an important concern: several customers have reported that they encountered such inappropriate questions and were caught off guard by them.

At the end of a practice session, the interviewer completes the evaluation form, highlighting positive aspects of the interviewee’s responses as well as areas needing improvement, and then reviews it with the customer. The staff member may also provide supplemental handouts for further study. These cover issues such as the “elevator speech” (or “elevator pitch”), a pithy summary of one’s experience and abilities. Like the impromptu sales pitch that a salesman delivers in the course of a brief elevator ride with a potential custom­er, the elevator speech in the context of an interview should quickly convey to the employer the qualities that would make the candidate a promising hire. As Denise Leo writes, it should “give your audience concrete and memorable ways in which you solve problems or help people.”[4]

Customers participating in interview practice are also advised to ask questions during an interview as another way of demonstrating interest in a position. Doing some research on the prospective employ­er allows the job candidate to ask informed questions, and libraries are, of course, well-positioned to provide the resources for this research. Online reference tools such as ReferenceUSA and Business Insights: Essentials, as well as print resources such as the International Directory of Company Histories, can provide useful information to help the interviewee craft thoughtful ques­tions to ask at the end of an interview.

Customers who have participated in an interview practice session are encouraged to return for further sessions in order to reduce anxiety and gain the perspective of a different interviewer. Staff members have found that interviewees who attend multiple practice sessions generally have greater success in gaining employment. One customer summarized the benefits of taking part in two practice sessions, noting the constructive criticism provided by the interviewer in each case:

Interviewer 1:

1. Provided positive feedback that helped reinforce the things I did well, such as smiling, making eye contact, and answering questions by describing a problem, identifying the actions taken, and stating the results.

2. Advised me to end on a positive note when discussing the reasons I left my previous job.

3. Provided general feedback after every question, so that I knew what I did well and what I needed to improve.

4. Interview practice helped me regain the confidence I had lost.

Interviewer 2:

1.Advised that I state the facts surrounding why I left my previous job.

2. Summarized my main strengths; also advised me to incorporate them in my answers.

3. Advised me to review the bullet points in my résumé prior to the interview, so that I would know how to present myself well.

The six interview practice team mem­bers of Richland Library’s Business and Job Center have conducted more than 535 sessions since the opening of the center in 2010. The number of custom­ers served represents a rich return on an investment that chiefly involved only the time required for training. Customers who take advantage of every aspect of the career process model (including interview practice) have a greater chance of find­ing employment. Libraries interested in establishing an interview practice service are encouraged to contact the Richland Library Business and Job Center at (803) 929-3401.

References

[1] Deborah Walker, “Behavioral Interviews: 3 Steps to Great Answers,” PA Times 30, no. 9 (Sept. 2007): 22.

[2] Allison M. Vaillancourt, “Job Seekers, Don’t Curb Your Enthusiasm,” Chronicle of Higher Education 60, no. 42 (July 25, 2014): 21A.

[3] Jane Thomas, “Beware of Illegal Interview Questions,” Women in Business 51, no. 4 (July-Aug. 1999): 14.

[4] Denise Leo, “Finding the Right Words,” California Job Journal 26, no. 1122 (Feb. 17, 2008): 11.

The post FEATURE|Interview Practice Service at Richland Library first appeared on Public Libraries Online.

MARY GRACE FLAHERTY is Assistant Professor, School of Information and Library Science, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Contact Mary Grace at mgflaher@email.unc.edu. Mary is currently reading The Light Between Oceans by M. L. Stedman.

Originally published in Mar/Apr 2016, PUBLIC  LIBRARIES,  VOLUME 55, NUMBER 2.

Anyone who has worked in or patronized a small public library knows that in order for the organization to thrive, the manager must employ a wide variety of skills on a daily basis. “From chief cook to bottle washer” is a commonly heard phrase when public library managers are asked to describe their duties. While there are skills that can be taught and learned ahead of time to maximize success in the public library manager role, many of the management skills necessary for success are acquired on the job. The job doesn’t necessarily have to be in the public library setting, however. There are commonalities across library and organizational settings that allow for managerial skills to be acquired and transferred so that the public library manager can excel, no matter how he or she might have gained that experience.

The effective manager must be highly skilled at interacting with and dealing with people on many levels, including patrons, staff members, boards (or similar oversight committees), local and state legislators, community members who are potential patrons, community leaders, other organization leaders and members, and vendors. Logistics—from staffing, to programs, to budgets and advocacy—also play a role in managerial tasks and day-to-day library functioning. In many small libraries, another major duty that demands regular, if not constant, attention is likely to be management of the physical facility.

It’s All about Dealing with People

Patrons and Customer Service

Any job or volunteer activity that requires interaction with the public can be a training ground for all types of employment, including public library management. Learning how to provide high quality customer service (sometimes by attempting to reproduce personal encounters of great service) starts with understanding how to interact with and respond to your user community. In every setting, the first step is to identify their needs. How you go about that obviously differs across settings; for example, in the special corporate setting where you may serve a small number of researchers, you can interview them individually to ascertain their interests. In the academic setting, faculty members are likely to seek you out to make their interests known. In the public library setting, there may be some vocal patrons who make their interests known, but the effective manager must be sure to also reach out to the community of potential users as well. This can be done informally as well as formally.

Informal Patron Needs Assessments

There are a number of venues where you can meet with people and gather information about their information needs, through casual conversation with little effort:

• Attend local organizational meetings (for example, Chamber of Commerce, Rotary, Kiwanis, and so on).
  • Often these groups will welcome a presentation about the library.
  • Consider joining, as membership can have its advantages.
• Attend town council (or the community’s equivalent) and school board meetings.
  • Take the opportunity to increase the number of library advocates in the community.
  • Tell them about the latest formats, programs, and so on.
• Take a walk on your lunch break and greet people on the sidewalk.
  • Ask what the library could be doing for them if they’re non-users.
  • Attend local events (for example, Memorial Day parade, school sports events, and so on).
  • Chat with folks on the sidelines and see if they have library cards.
• Patronize local businesses.
  • See if they need help learning how to use business software, for example.

These approaches not only can be used for assessing needs but have the added benefit of increasing the visibility of the library in the community. There is extensive literature available on how to conduct more formal research to assess your user community’s needs.[1] Formal needs assessment generally falls into three categories: surveys, focus groups, and interviews.[2] Keep in mind that you can delegate and rely on knowledgeable staff, community members, and graduate student interns (if available) to assist with more formal research efforts.

Counselor or Coach? Working with Staff

Working with staff can be the most rewarding as well as the most challenging part of running a library. It doesn’t take long to discover that different individuals require differing levels of support, feedback, guidance, reassurance, and training to bring out their best attributes. If you’ve ever been a coach, a parent, an aunt or uncle, a sibling or team member, you’ve already been acquiring tools for dealing effectively with staff. Skills I learned in settings as diverse as the concession stand at a state park (as server), gymnastics camps (as coach), rehabilitation centers (as recreational therapist), jewelry manufacturing (as hand crafter), and corporate and academic libraries (as librarian) have readily been applied to the public library setting. What were the common threads of those experiences that were used to effectively engage staff?

• Mutual respect—to be respected, show respect.
• Positive outlook and attitude—your staff (and those around you) will follow your example.
• Flexibility—there is likely to be more than one path from problem to solution.
• Gratitude and recognition—praise in public; provide constructive criticism in private.
• Compassion—show true interest in staff members’ well-being and concerns.
• Patience—it may take time to win over the majority and it may take time before you see the results of your efforts.

Playing Well with Others

The same attributes for working with staff can be applied to working with boards, members of consortia, and colleagues from other institutions. In Hernon’s and McClure’s classic study, stunning findings indicated that patrons rated reference encounters as successful even if they may have not received an answer to their questions, basing their opinions on the affability of the encounters they had with reference librarians.[3] Of course, we should strive to supply accurate and authoritative information to our patrons, but Hernon’s and McClure’s findings demonstrate that patrons place a high value on pleasantness of encounters with library staff when they are seeking out information. It is likely the same effect occurs in encounters with colleagues across organizational levels. In order to be an effective leader, the following attributes can go a long way to inspire cooperation among colleagues at all levels:

• Preparedness
  • Time is a valuable commodity; prepare so that you maximize meeting times.
  • Familiarize yourself with the agenda ahead of time.
• Organization
  • Be ready with information, data, and so on, so that decisions can be made easily and readily.
• Willingness to go the extra step
  • Paying it forward exacts large dividends in the long run.

Logistics and the Day-to-Day

Planning

Have you ever helped with a wedding, relocated or moved to another state, gone on a big trip or family vacation, or carpooled for kids’ activities? It’s likely that you’ve had extensive planning experience, but as it’s a regular part of daily living, you may not have characterized it as such. For any type of successful planning, key components include knowing when to involve others, willingness to delegate, and taking charge with authority when it’s warranted. Keep in mind the following whether you’re crafting a long range plan or working on the details for your summer reading program:

• Gather the necessary data.
• Be willing to take calculated risks.
• Involve staff in the process.
• Don’t be afraid to delegate.
• Celebrate successes.

Budgets

Do you regularly balance your bank account? Pay your bills on time? Management of library budgets is similar to personal budgeting processes, just with more categories and on a larger scale. If crunching numbers is not your strong suit, then work to surround yourself with staff and board members who can offer support in this area. Software programs, such as QuickBooks, can help to streamline budgeting and make it a more straightforward task. Using previous years’ data and comparator libraries can aid in setting targets, evaluating your status, and setting benchmarks. Key aspects of successful budgeting include:

• continuous review of expenditures;
• continuous planning;
• ongoing assessment of spending activities;
• ongoing assessment of revenue generation;
• involvement of key staff (including board members);
• transparency;
• annual audits; and
• annual reports to your constituents.

Fundraising

Were you ever a band booster or Boy or Girl Scout? Did you sell cookies, or do fundraising for a group you (or your child, neighbor, niece, or nephew) were involved in? There are countless books and references dedicated to fundraising in the nonprofit sector (see, for instance, the highly readable Yours for the Asking: An Indispensable Guide to Fundraising and Management by Reynold Levy, 2009), so we won’t duplicate those efforts here.

The small library director is increasingly being asked to do more with less these days. Some ways to stretch funds may seem obvious, such as grant applications to local foundations for program and materials support, but don’t overlook less obvious mechanisms. For example, service organizations such as the Rotary and Kiwanis are often looking for worthy causes to sponsor, such as children’s materials. Keep an active “wish list” so that when they offer support, you can provide tangible opportunities. If you don’t have an active Friends group, start or revive one—they can be a huge support, not only for fundraising, but for advocacy within your community. Think out of the box. Is there a local company that produces solar panels and can use the library as a model installation? Opportunities such as these will not only raise the library’s visibility but can also reduce electricity bills and thereby reduce expenditures at the same time. Remember, if you don’t ask, they won’t know to give.

Advocacy

Have your ever pitched an idea to a friend? Interacted with a health care provider on behalf of a loved one? Have you ever stood up to a “bully” for yourself or someone else? Acts of advocacy are happening somewhat invisibly all the time and can be formal or informal efforts to ensure support of a cause. Please see the case study sidebar for an example of advocacy in the public library setting that had the ultimate result of dramatically reducing fees paid by the library to the cooperative public library system of which the library was a voluntary member.

Programs

Programming in public libraries can be an undertaking that involves whole departments, budget lines, and dedicated staff. While that may be the ideal, for small libraries it may not be a realistic model. Have you ever been a member of a book or gardening club, shared recipes, hosted a dinner party or read a book to a child? It’s likely that there are many resources within your community that you can “exploit” for program opportunities at your library.

Consider some of the following options for relatively low-cost, low-effort program provision in your library community:

• staff members with an interest in a hobby—for example, card making, quilting, soap making, and so on;
• local extension agents for demonstrations on a wide variety of activities;
• community members with interests—for example, car enthusiasts, collections to display, ethnic cooking demonstrations, and so on;
• film night—bring your own popcorn, library provides the screening;
• local theater groups—”dress rehearsal” at the library; and
• big equipment day—invite local contractors, the fire department and ambulance to park “big rigs” in the library parking lot and allow children to explore and interact.

The possibilities can be limitless, depending on your imagination, community resources, and facility accommodations.

The Facility

Did or do you participate in any kind of sports or fitness activities? Have you worked in a circus? Is your sister a plumber? Do you own a home? Facilities management in the small public library can cover an array of activities, planned and unplanned. You may find yourself shoveling entryways when your contractor can’t make it, plunging a toilet when your custodian is out sick, or clearing roof vents when there’s a leak during unprecedented amounts of snowfall. When it comes to troubleshooting facilities issues, it’s likely that you’ll have to deal with unexpected circumstances more often than you’d like. In order to meet these challenges with grace and poise, remember:

• Learn about the physical facility ahead of time.
  • Know where shutoff valves, emergency switches, and so on are located.
• Take charge; don’t shy away from what may be a noxious chore.
  • Lead by example; you’ll earn your staff’s respect and gratitude.
  • Do remember to keep safety as the first priority.
• Be as prepared as you can be.
  • Make sure you have an updated, regularly reviewed disaster plan.
  • Complete regular facility audits—internally and externally checking for issues.
  • Have fire drills and mock emergency situations so that staff can “practice.”
  • Make friends with emergency responders—know the fire and police chiefs, and town engineer (or equivalents).
• Don’t ask your staff to do anything you’re not willing to do.
  • Very often when they see you stepping up to the plate they’ll do the same.
  • Different staff members will have different gifts—learn what those are and use them to the best effects.

Individual Characteristics that Foster Success

Besides experience, there are basic qualities to keep in mind when striving to be an effective manager or leader. The primary characteristics that I’ve found to be common among truly effective, even visionary supervisors include:

• curiosity,
• flexibility,
• adaptability,
• humility,
• compassion,
• strong work ethic,
• passion for what they’re doing, and
• when all else fails, a well-developed sense of humor.

Summary

As it’s difficult to anticipate all the skills an individual might need to run a library and to teach those skills through formal coursework or training, we can augment our skills through other job and life experiences. Whether the setting is retail or realty, waiting tables or renting boats, previous employment experience can be put to good use in the public library setting.

Case Study

Advocacy in a Public Library System: Making Your Case with Data and Endurance

After I had been in my position as the director of a small, rural public library for about two years, I attended the state’s annual conference. In this state, libraries were members of larger systems that offered support through ILL and resource sharing; but individual libraries were autonomous entities with their own governance, oversight, and budgets. In a casual conversation, I asked the woman next to me what their system charged her library for providing the service of their online automation system (the ILS).

I was stunned to discover that we were paying more than eight times the amount her library paid (in real dollars, not as a rate) even though we were a much smaller library. I decided to investigate, and see if this was a fluke, or if we were being overcharged within our system.

First I found six more comparable libraries in other library systems (based on population chartered to serve) and phoned the directors and asked what they paid for their ILS. I found that we were paying between four and ten times more than those six libraries. When I looked at the same data on a per capita basis, our residents were paying close to $3 per capita, and residents from five of the other six libraries were all paying less than $0.50 per capita, with the sixth library’s per capita rate at $0.80.

To ensure that our particular vendor agreement was not the reason for the high expenses, I then sought out libraries that were similar in population and whose systems used the same vendor. My findings were the same; we were still paying four to ten times more than comparable libraries for the same service. These findings led to the obvious question: Why were our fees so high compared to other systems? There seemed to be three possible explanations: (1) we received more services for our fees, (2) our system was comparatively underfunded, or (3) our system charged member libraries more for services.

In order to examine the first possibility, I administered a twenty-question survey to twelve library directors in other similar systems to assess the services they received. Services were similar across systems, including interlibrary loan and computer support. Workshops and Internet were also provided, though our system charged for these, while the other systems didn’t. To assess funding level discrepancies, I examined square miles served by the systems, median average household income, and federal and state income received by the systems. Our system fell in the middle range for all of these indicators, implying lower funding rates or higher service area were not the reason for our higher fees. The primary difference I found between the other systems and ours was that our system had the highest number of personnel and highest personnel costs. After presenting these multiple iterations of research and negotiating with the library system board, our fees were dramatically reduced.

In one year, they went from $23,600 to $13,000; and in the following four years while I was director, they increased only slightly, and they never returned to the 2004 level. My previous experience working in medical and health research settings provided a mindset of using data to understand and explain phenomenon. In this case, the data showed member libraries were being overcharged. The lesson of this experience was: don’t take for granted that your library’s best interests are being looked after by others, don’t be afraid to ask questions, investigate, and follow through on your findings.

References

[1] Shannon Crawford Barniskis, “Embedded, Participatory Research: Creating a Grounded Theory with Teenagers,” Evidence Based Library & Information Practice 8, no. 1 (2013): 47–58; Katherine Becker, “24 Hours in the Children’s Section: An Observational Study at the Public Library,” Early Childhood Education Journal 40, no. 2 (2012): 107–14; Alan Bryman, Social Research Methods, 4th ed.( New York: Oxford Univ. Pr., 2012); Ian Chant, “Impact Survey Aims to Help Libraries Increase, Explain Their Worth,” Library Journal 138, no. 20 (2013): 1. John W. Creswell, Research Design: Qualitative, Quantitative, and Mixed Methods Approaches, 4th ed. (Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Pub., 2014).

[2] Richard A. Krueger, Focus Groups: A Practical Guide for Applied Research, 4th ed. (Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Pub., 2009). Steinar Kvale and Svend Brinkmann, InterViews: Learning the Craft of Qualitative Research Interviewing, 2nd ed. (Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Pub., 2009). Floyd J. Fowler, Survey Research Methods, 5th ed. (Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Pub., 2013).

[3] Peter Hernon and Charles R. McClure, “Unobtrusive Reference Testing: The 55 Percent Rule,” Library Journal 111, no. 7 (1986): 37–41.

The post Applying Previous Library and Non-Library Experience to Best Advantage first appeared on Public Libraries Online.

• The Diverse Needs of Public Libraries
• Cultural Literacy – Ability to understand one’s own culture and the culture of others
• Recruiting Diverse Public Librarians
• Collection Development for Serving Diverse Populations/Communities
• Experiences in the Profession (Are we as accepting as we think we are?)
• LGBT Programming/LGBT Teen Services
• Serving Patrons with Disabilities
• Creating a Diverse Collection Overall (Children/Adults/Everyone)

Feature articles are generally 2500-5000 words and Verso columns (opinion pieces) are 1500 words. For this special issue, we will select three feature articles and two opinion pieces. The deadline for receipt of all articles is December 21, 2015. All submissions will go through a peer-review process. More information about writing for PL can be found here. Please submit articles via our article submission system. Please let me know as soon as possible if you will be submitting an article, or please feel free to contact me with questions or queries (khughes@ala.org).  Kathleen Hughes, Editor, “Public Libraries”

The post PL Theme Issue to Focus on Diversity first appeared on Public Libraries Online.

Gale/Cengage has been focusing very strongly on educational services and just launched a new resource, Miss Humblebee’s Academy, specifically for children in preschool through kindergarten. Miss Humblebee’s Academy offers more than 700 lessons, all based on Common Core Standards. The lessons cover language and literacy, math, science, social studies, art, and music.

A parent or caregiver has the choice of creating an account or using a guest account. The guest account lets you access the lessons, however when you create an account you have the ability to add as many children to it as you’d like. You have the option to have each child take a cognitive skills assessment and you are emailed weekly progress reports that help you identify a child’s’ strengths and weaknesses. The progress reports can be accessed via the account as well. Once you’ve chosen your account type you can start your learning adventure. If there are multiple children you are asked to select a student. All children within one account can access Miss Humblebee’s Academy simultaneously. You can access the lessons in two ways a guided step-by-step approach that progresses sequentially or you can choose a specific lesson.

The interface is engaging and interactive. While all the lessons are in English, the interface is available in 100 languages. All lessons are read aloud. When you complete a lesson you are awarded one of three awards coins, stickers, and puzzle pieces or some combination based on the difficulty of the lesson. In addition to the lessons, there is the Music Room, Library, and Art Box where you can access the songs, books, and art that are used in the lessons. The Music Room has sixty-one songs, some familiar like “The Alphabet Song” and “Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star,” but many wonderful catchy tunes unique to Miss Humblebee’s Academy. The Library has nineteen books, and the Art Box has images you can print out to color, which you can also access from the Printables tab which has practice sheets from all the lessons.

Miss Humblebee’s Academy is available for Windows and Mac computers and laptops, iPads, and Android tablets and phones. iPhone access is coming soon. For a trial of Miss Humblebee’s Academy, visit http://learn.cengage.com/LIB_SP_LIBP_PA_15EGL0406.

ABCmouse.com

ABCmouse.com was developed by Age of Learning, Inc. and provides a curriculum designed to help children ages two through seven build a strong foundation for future academic success. ABCmouse.com provides more than 3,500 learning activities across all major subject areas reading, math, science, social studies, art, and music.

There are two ways to get started, with a guest account or by creating a personal account. With a guest account, patrons simply choose a child’s age and select an avatar. Guest accounts do not save a child’s progress after they log out. Personal accounts do enable patrons to save their child’s progress when a session ends and resume where they left off when they return to the library. With more than 3,500 activities it can be a little overwhelming and the bestplace to start is your homepage. From here you can access all the sections of ABCmouse.com: My Learning Path, Classroom, Zoo, Map, Farm, What’s New, Featured Activities, and Things to Do. My Learning Path has a series of step-by-step learning activities based on the child’s selected age. You work through a progression of lessons, with each having a number of activities that you advance through to reinforce that lesson. Along the way you earn tickets, gold stars, and special prizes that you can use to purchase items for your virtual space. The Classroom takes you into a classroom setting where you can access most sections of ABCmouse.com in a variety of ways, just like in a classroom! What’s nice about this screen is as you mouse over all the items it announces what the items are, and some items link to additional activities. The main ones are the Whiteboard and eight icons at the top of the screen: (1) reading, (2) math, (3) world around us, (4) art and colors, (5) music and songs, (6) libraries, (7) puzzles, and (8) games. There is a What’s New icon for selected activities that have been recently added,a Featured Activities icon that provides several activities based on your age level, and a Things to Do icon with math and reading basics. Statistics are provided for librarians, including number of users, time spent, activities completed, and books read. These can be can be viewed by last week, last month, or last year. To help librarians promote ABCmouse.com to patrons, free flyers, bookmarks, table tents, and posters are provided, as well as sample descriptions and images for listing ABCmouse.com on your website. There are no ads or third-party links. It will soon be accessible on tablets and smartphones through your library’s Wi-Fi network by downloading the free Early Learning Academy app from the iTunes App store, Google Play Store, or Amazon Appstore. This is available free for libraries for use in the library at www.abcmouse.com/libraries.

LaunchPad from Playaway

After doing research and learning that libraries are buying tablets and apps to circulate, Playaway created Launchpad, a secure, preloaded app learning tablet for ages three through thirteen that can be circulated. Each Launchpad is preloaded with at least ten learning apps grouped by age and subject or theme and comes in a carrying case with a USB/AC charger. The device is a seven-inch, highdefinition screen enclosed in a plastic protective bumper. All the apps are ad-free and were tested and reviewed individually to make sure they are appropriate for each age group and that the technology works—that there are no bugs, errors, or glitches. The content was checked to determine if the apps engage children over multiple uses; if there is a low level of adult assistance needed; if there is learning reinforcement; and if it is effective, fun, and engaging. The apps come from sources such as Little Pim, SandraBoynton, and Speakaboos.
There are 100 different packs tochoose from. Each pack is designed for four age groups: (1) ages 3-5 or pre-K; (2) ages 5-7 or K-grade 2; (3) ages 8-10 or grades 3-5; and (4) ages 10+ or grades 5 and up.Each age group gets apps organized by theme or subject. For the theme
packs, the apps are on a variety of subjects based on themes such as dinosaurs or transportation. For the subject packs,
all the apps focus on the same subject such as math. There are six subjects or learning areas: (1) English language arts, (2) language learning (foreign languages and ESL), (3) math, (4) critical thinking, (5) science, and (6) creativity.

The interface uses Android OS and is very simple and easy to use. Once a child logs on, he or she is prompted to create an avatar, then to click the start-playing button to be taken to the homepage. On the homepage are at least ten apps, the Accessories Store and the Informational Parent Console. Every time a child plays a game, points are earned that can be redeemed in the Accessories Store, where accessories can be purchased for the avatar.

The Informational Parent Console has an easy graphic display letting a parent or caregiver know how many games the
child played and in which subject area, and it lists the three most played apps. By logging on, the device is able to track points, apps played, nd avatar information, however once the device is reset all information is erased, and the child’s play history and avatar information are no
longer available. Resetting the device and getting it ready to circulate is as simple as pushing the reset button. Playaway includes MARC records for each LaunchPad. They also provide a number of free marketing items to help promote the LaunchPads, from posters and sample social media descriptions to interactive tabletop displays. A library can also purchase various accessories such as earbuds, headphones,
cleaning cloths, and Alpha security cases. Prices range from $99 to $149.99. For more information, visit http://playaway.com/launchpad.

The post New Product News – July/August 2015 “Public Libraries” first appeared on Public Libraries Online.

For the Nov/Dec ‘Perspectives’ column in Public Libraries, we are seeking essays or short articles (up to 700 words) on the topic of the PLA National Conference. Your contribution should focus on a personal experience, for example how something you learned at conference made an impact on your work; a great experience you had that could have only happened at conference;  the energy you feel while there; lasting connections you have made, etc.  

We have limited space, so can only accept the first five respondents.  If you would like to submit an article on this topic please send an email to PL Editor, Kathleen Hughes, khughes@ala.org by November 6. Use subject line ‘conference perspective.’  Completed articles will be due on Monday, November 11, 2013.

The post Get Published In PL! first appeared on Public Libraries Online.