Florida Libraries are Fundamental to Freedom.

The drafters of the Declaration of Independence believed in the essential rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. Since 1776, our nation has struggled to apply these principles equally across all its residents in order to create that elusive more perfect union. At its core, the freedoms that Americans seek are the same freedoms supported by our libraries. Of these aspects of liberty, three specific freedoms stand out for me.

Florida libraries support the freedom to participate. In an increasingly fractious society, our buildings remain the one space where everyone is welcome. Through our libraries, residents can find all the tools and resources needed to live their lives. Whether it is using public computers to apply for benefits, meeting neighbors at a children’s story hour, or to register to vote and actually vote, libraries remain central to our communities. Erik Klinenberg in his book, Palaces for the People, states that a founding principle of libraries is, “that all people deserve free, open access to our shared culture and heritage, which they can use to any end they see fit.”

Florida libraries are fundamental to freedom.

Florida libraries support the freedom to discover. We have all experienced the serendipity of walking the library stacks and discovering a book that changes our perspective. For me, it was Getting Things Done, by David Allen, which altered the course of my career. Libraries support the endless discovery happening in our colleges and universities, such as when a professor connects ideas after deep research using a database or students group studying into the late hours to understand a concept. In a knowledge-based economy, the freedom to discover new ideas and the capacity to implement them are essential for a thriving democracy.

Florida libraries are fundamental to freedom.

Most importantly, Florida libraries support the freedom to read. It is no surprise that the Founding Fathers valued a liberal education. Benjamin Franklin and Thomas Jefferson to name just two were intense bibliophiles, amassing collections that started both the first public library in America and the core of the Library of Congress respectively. Throughout history, one of the surest measures of a free society is the ability for its citizens to read or write about any topic they desire, without censorship or interference.

I also attest today, that the freedom to participate, the freedom to discover, and the freedom to read are not only American values but stand as undeniable human rights.

Florida libraries are fundamental to freedom.

We must also acknowledge that these freedoms apply to Florida’s youngest residents. The future of our society is determined in part by our children. Whether it is a baby at his first lap sit story time, a toddler giggling at a funny rhyme, a teen finding a book that gives them insight into who they are, or a college student working on her thesis, the fundamental freedoms provided by libraries are essential to their growth. Therefore, our children deserve access to collections that are broad and diverse. As novelist, Judy Blume put it, “Having the freedom to read and the freedom to choose is one of the best gifts my parents ever gave me.”

Florida libraries are fundamental to freedom.

This year’s theme is designed to be widely utilized across the Florida Library Association. For our committees, this theme may inspire you to incorporate these freedoms into your work. For our member institutions, please use these principals to advocate for the resources needed to fulfill your mission. For each individual member, these ideas can encourage you in tough times to keep striving for the good of both yourself and those you serve in your community. As novelist Maya Angelou once said, “Without librarians, I certainly would not be who I am. That means a lot of other people would not be who they are.”

These last few years have been tough for libraries of all types. It may get tougher still. However, as you go forth to do vital work in your communities, allow this truth to reassure you.

Florida libraries are fundamental to freedom.

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Doug Crane began his career with the Palm Beach County Library System as a children’s librarian in 1998. He was appointed Library Director in 2014 and has spoken at national conferences on topics such as office productivity and leadership. Doug is the author of the articles, “May I Ask You a Question? Lessons Learned from Interviewing Public Library Leaders”; “Efficient Librarianship – A New Path for the Profession” and “Go For It! Advice From Library Directors” all published in Public Libraries magazine.  In 2021, Doug was honored as the Florida Librarian of the Year by the Florida Library Association where he currently serves as President. He shares his musings at www.efficientlibrarian.com. In his spare time, he admires his collection of Doctor Who sonic screwdrivers, and relaxes at home with his wife, daughter, dog and cat.

The post Florida Libraries are Fundamental to Freedom first appeared on Public Libraries Online.

Doug Crane: Please share your background and how you became involved with ALA at a national level.

Emily Drabinski: I’ve been an academic librarian in New York City for 22 years. I joined ALA in 2002 when I had just finished library school, because it took this bold position against the Patriot Act. I was excited to be part of a profession that takes difficult stances in difficult political moments. And we definitely are in one of those right now. So I was interested in using some of my skills as a connector of people to work inside the association that I think can be valuable in this moment. My involvement at ALA was primarily in my division home, ACRL, which is common for most people. I was on a number of its committees and have been editing the book reviews for our journal for the last three years. I served one term as ALA Council and that was a really interesting experience. I saw how the sausage gets made a little bit, in terms of what kind of a national presence ALA has, which I think is really important.

DC: Why did you want to become a librarian?

ED: It was by accident. I grew up in Boise, Idaho and moved to New York City for college. I wanted to be a writer in New York which is I think every Idaho queer kid’s dream. I was working in magazines and wasn’t having success. My jobs were writing small amounts of copy for stories about why smoothies are the top trend this summer. I was stuck reviewing pillows for a men’s lifestyle website and it wasn’t what I wanted to be doing. My last job was as a fact checker at Lucky magazine, which was a magazine about shopping where I checked prices for handbags. I just wasn’t happy there. I was getting in trouble for making mistakes about handbag prices and soon realized that if I was going to get in trouble I wanted to get in trouble for work that matters. A friend suggested that I apply for a job at the library. They were hiring at New York Public so I applied and got the job. They said I could move to a different contract title that paid more money if I agreed to go to library school. I was like, okay I’ll try it, and started school. Right at my very first class I was like, this is mind-blowing, I love it. I enjoy connecting people to resources so that they can live full lives while getting paid to do that. It’s just amazing. I feel lucky every day that I landed here, even on those days when I’m troubleshooting a copy card machine that isn’t accepting five dollar bills. I like solving that kind of problem.

DC: What inspired you to run for ALA president?

ED: Honestly I was like, why not? I come out of both libraries and the labor movement, I have been active in workplace unions, including being on strike and locked out, and really learned a lot about organizing people through those experiences. I look at ALA as a really well organized institution for librarians, library workers and libraries. So I thought if I could sort of step into a national role there I could do organizing work that I think is really necessary.

I put my name in the hat at the time when my library returned from COVID. At the beginning with the slow in-person return, everything I was seeing and hearing from library workers was that the pandemic was really tough for us. Especially in the public libraries where people were having to solve problems as the world was sort of collapsing around them. Problems like figuring out Wi-Fi, figuring out Broadband, figuring out homework help, and how do we meet the needs of our communities. I thought it would be good to run for president as someone who’s library worker focused, because I think that’s something the field really needs right now.

DC: What do you plan to focus on for your presidential year?

ED: Past Presidents say you plan and then the year happens. My plan is to focus on bringing to completion projects that Past Presidents Lessa Kanani’opua Pelayo-Lozada and Patty Wong worked on. For a long time, ALA has had sustainability as a priority. We have a round table, we have a council committee, and we have sustainability now as a core value. So will be focused on tying up those loose ends so that we can have national climate strategy for libraries coming from ALA to guide people in managing through environmental crises. Also it will include ways that we as institutions can contribute to reversing some of those climate change trends.

As stated earlier, another focus is on library workers. Under Lessa, we began work to think about new ways to use the ALA-Allied Professional Association. We asked how can we fund it and staff it in ways that can help it work better and more on behalf of library workers. So that working group that she started, I’ll be hoping to wrap up its work during my Presidential year. That way we have a sustainable and structural approach to assisting library workers with the issues. This includes everything from up-to-date certification programs, to resources on how to start a union or organize one that already exists.

Of course the intellectual freedom issues persist, so that will be another focus. I am among only a handful of queer presidents of the Association, and I am really open about that. So trying to bring awareness to LGBTQ+ library issues both for library workers who are queer, but also the communities we serve.

Mostly I’m just a super collaborative person so I’m looking forward to working with all of the divisions on projects that I can assist with at the national level. For example, that means finding out what work AASL wants to do and seeing if I can connect that to the priorities of ALA. I think of my style as radically collaborative, so we’ll see what comes up from that.

DC: What trends do you see in the profession that you think ALA should take a bigger lead on?

ED: I think ALA takes the lead on a lot of things that maybe people don’t see very comprehensively. We are definitely taking the lead around censorship and free speech issues. That is is crucial. We are also working on technological changes. There’s a lot of interest in what the impact of AI will be on libraries. That’s something we need to think about. Also, there the problem of consolidation on the vendor side and figuring out ways to keep materials affordable for libraries. We need to work with them to help us make library materials more affordable. Finally, I go anywhere that library workers are organizing, unionizing, or advocating for themselves. I think ALA can do a lot to support those efforts mostly through the Allied Professional Association.

DC: Please recommend a book or two that you think every librarian should read.

ED: There’s a book called “Sorting Things Out” by Geoffrey Bowker and Susan Leigh Starr. It’s about the politics of classification. It’s what we do as librarians. Our core function is to take a mass of materials that’s a big jumble and organize it so people can access it. The book is not a library book, but I think really interesting on the politics of that organizing work.

And then there’s another called “Knowledge Justice: Disrupting Library and Information Studies through Critical Race Theory.” It’s an edited collection about race in the field and it’s really smart and available Open Access, from MIT press by Sophia Leung and Jorge Lopez-McKnight.

DC: To wrap up is there any other topic you want to share for the interview?

ED: We live in a highly politicized moment in library history that’s a little intense, certainly for me as I’m on the receiving end of a lot of really intense stuff, but I think it’s really important for us to stick together. We must remember that the vast majority of people agree with us. People love libraries. They are beloved institutions in almost all of our communities. We’re stronger when we stand together in defense of those institutions.

The post We’re Stronger Together: A Conversation with ALA President Emily Drabinski first appeared on Public Libraries Online.

In 2019, the Palm Beach County Library System hosted a workshop featuring Forte, where library staff had the opportunity to learn the techniques of digital note taking and how it can enhance creativity and retention. Forte’s latest book Building a Second Brain was released in June 2022. This interview was recorded in July 2022.

PL: Please define what you mean by a Second Brain?

TF: Think of a diary or notebook. It is a creative, timeless practice to save your thoughts. Now make a few changes. You’re going to journal not just your own thoughts and reflections, but external sources of information. You hear a quote that resonates with you, write that down. You hear an interesting fact, write that down. You discover some research of interest, write that down. Next, make it digital so that it is on your smartphone and sync to the Cloud and all your devices. Now you can access it from anywhere, anytime.

With all the capabilities of technology, you can save, not just text, but images, links, web bookmarks, photographs, drawings, and sketches. Because it’s digital, it can be annotated, organized, and re-sorted. It can change with your needs and goals. Your Second Brain is a trusted place outside of your head where you save all of the ideas, insights reflections and realizations that are most important to you. It contains information that is personally relevant and meaningful. It contains moving and powerful life experiences, memories, and unique ways of seeing the world.

PL: How does your system specifically integrate with David Allen’s Getting Things Done (GTD) approach?

TF: It’s a compliment. GTD deals with actionable tasks. My system is everything else: the notes, the files, the documents which he calls the support material. My career is about focusing where he didn’t focus and developing what it means to have project support material and reference material.

PL: A part of the concept of the Second Brain revolves around CODE. Tell us more about this.

TF: CODE is the method and framework. The four main chapters in the middle of the book cover each letter of CODE, which stands for capture, organize, distill, and express. Each represents a fundamental activity of the creative process.

You’ve heard people reference the creative process. In the past, that was reserved for artists, poets, and musicians. Today every single person needs to create a process in their profession or business for novel problem solving and creativity. Every creative process is different, but these are the four parts that they all share.

First you have to capture things and write them down so they are outside of your head. Until it is in some external medium you can’t see it objectively, work with it, or improve it. Once you’ve amassed enough ideas you need to organize them and create a structure with a priority system. Before you can use the content it must be distilled and boiled down to the key points. Once that’s done you’re ready to express, which is to speak, present, write, sell, publish or in some way put out the results of your thinking into the world.

It can feel like a digital filing cabinet where you open it up to put in one little file, and then close it and forget. That’s always a pitfall but CODE is not a storage system. It’s workflow with progression. There’s a sense of direction. Things aren’t captured to stay there forever. You are moving them down the pipe, systematically, consistently, over time.

You can save something just because it’s interesting, but ultimately I’m encouraging people to do better more impactful work in the world as a result of their notes.

PL: Along with CORE, there is another concept built around a four letter acronym. Please share the meaning of PARA, and how it guides the structure of the second brain?

TF: The four letters of PARA stand for Projects, Areas, Resources, and Archives.

I’m a big fan of four letter frameworks. Four is the highest number that human beings can hold in their mind. CODE is not a storage system, but you need to store things in order to have them available. PARA is the storage system. It’s based on actionable ability and contrasts the way people normally organize which is like a library. Libraries need to be accessible to everyone which means they must be consistent. There’s one place on the shelf for every book sorted by the same categories. That makes sense for a library but not for personal knowledge management. Imagine yourself three weeks from now, with fifteen minutes between meetings and you have to find a fact or data point. You don’t have time to search through potentially hundreds of notes. You have to organize it in much more specific categories which comes down to projects.

The most important is the first letter: Projects. Start by creating a folder for each one of your projects. For every note you collect ask which context or project this will this be most relevant and place it in that folder. The Second Brain is a project driven mechanism so things we’re interested in definitely are the ones to capture. Once a project’s done, you’re not deleting the folder. It can be saved for later use. Imagine a pyramid with projects are at the top. They’re where most of your attention should go because of deadlines.

The second category are the Areas of Responsibility. They are the hats you wear in life. For example, my house is not a project. There are projects to do around or pertain to the house. My spouse would definitely not like to be called a project. A strong marriage is an area to focus on. I’m committed to indefinitely paying attention to my health. There is no completion date for finances, No completion date for my dog, but I have a file full of vet reports and blood analyses, the medications she needs, and the different routines we have.

PL: People often confuse projects and areas. Please expand on the distinction between them.

TF: There’s a very simple distinction: projects end, areas continue.

In my early career, preceding my Second Brain work, I coached professionals on GTD. I noticed that even sophisticated knowledge workers confused the two and that was the root cause of many challenges with their productivity. Imagine a project to lose ten pounds. Let’s say you are successful through changes to your diet and exercise. If you think of that as a one-time project that has an end date, you’re going to return to the previous habits and gain all that weight back. The routines and systems have to continue into the future. That’s when you have a project which really needs to become an area.

But the reverse also happens. The classic example is writing a book. You talk to an author three months later and they are still writing the book. A year later they are still writing the book. Three years later they are still writing the book. For that book to ever be done, the author has to set up a project with deadlines and milestones, and ultimately a publishing date. So people confuse both directions. Ultimately it keeps people from having the life they want to live.

PL: We talked about projects and areas but not so much about resources and archives. Could you clarify those categories?

TF: Resources are everything else you’ve wanted to learn about. It is notes from books that you read. It is written quotes that don’t seem to have any particular application in a project area you want to keep. It’s the miscellaneous category of everything else, but you want it a little bit out of sight.

Think about your physical desktop. That’s not the place to keep all the files. It would prevent you from making progress on your projects. The resources folder keeps them nearby. It can be as big as you want. You can save anything you want as long as it’s not cluttering up your current projects. It’s like that filing cabinet in the corner of your office. You know it’s over there and can access it when you need it.

The fourth one is Archives. Sometimes one of the previous three categories becomes inactive. For example you have a project that finishes or an area that ends. When you move out of an apartment all the notes and information related to it are no longer actionable. You may not want to delete it. I was interested in web design, and then I stopped. I don’t want to delete all that content. I just want to get those folders and move them to the archives as cold storage. Instead of the filing cabinet in the corner of your office this is the stacks in the basement. You never even go down there until there is a specific thing to find. It can grow as big as you want because it’s not cluttering up your workspace.

PL: How does one get started with digital note taking?

TF: To start the process, create two simple notes. One note is about a thing to do. Another note is an idea. With just two little notes, you have the seeds of a Second Brain. People like me have hundreds or thousands of notes. As more are added you start to see the benefits of externalizing all these worries and anxieties and things to remember. Your first brain opens up and becomes more centered and present, which is what GTD originally introduces.

PL: I heard David Allen summarize GTD as “get stuff out of your head.” The main obstacle is deciding where to put it. Don’t trust the spot and the mind will pull it back. How does one learn to trust this Second Brain?

TF: The trust comes from the fact that it’s digital. In the past I took paper notes but had an incredible propensity to lose notebooks. With digital the instant I write it in Evernote, which is my notes app, it syncs to the Cloud. I could lose my phone or computer and it would still be synced. This means it is never lost and I can access it from anywhere. Digital gives me a safe backup.

Trust also comes from regular review. There is a big difference with GTD which deals with task open loops that are time sensitive. If you have an open loop such as, respond to my boss about the meeting, and that slips your mind you could be in big trouble. So the Weekly Review from GTD is very systematic. Every week at the same time you review your open loops, which makes sense.

With notes it’s different. Notes are not time sensitive. I promise you there’s no note so important that it needs to be reviewed weekly. It’s not about frequency. The review is done when you’re getting ready to create. In other words, do it just in time when you have a challenge or problem to solve. This creates a powerful lens to determine what matters. Search for different kinds of notes that maybe only make sense together related to the problem you’re trying to solve.

PL: Another concept is using notes to create intermediate packages. What do you mean by that?

TF: This comes from studying manufacturing. With manufacturing it’s easy to see that everything is made up of smaller parts. Take apart an iPhone and you will find transistors and chips, memory modules, a screen and other parts. The same is true of knowledge work. Your digital outputs could be a slide presentation, a memo, an email, a report, a project, plan, or a budget. Those are also made of smaller parts. Knowledge work is assembled from pre-existing parts.

Think of a website. No one sits down to a blank HTML document and starts coding. What are the steps to creating a website? First you make a mockup. Then you grab photos to insert. Next you write the copy. Eventually you get feedback on the color scheme. At some point links are added. By the time the web page is made, dozens of different building blocks are already at hand.

For every single note I take, I think about how this could be a building block. It means all my time is productive. Let’s say I watch Stranger Things, and I notice a way that they light a scene and imagine we could use that same technique for a YouTube video. I write that down in two seconds and suddenly watching Netflix is a productive activity. That applies to basically all of life. Those building blocks are called intermediate packets.

PL: In your book you share that a way to develop the Second Brain is to identify your favorite problems.  What do you mean by that?

TF: The word “problem” has a very negative connotation. But over the course of my career I actually have favorite problems that are fun puzzles or games to solve. They’re experiments I actually seek out. As a professional, you are paid to solve certain kinds of problems.

What are the problems that you want to spend your career solving? Based on a quote by Richard Feynman, where he describes this process, I have people in my course list a series of open questions they enjoy exploring. Here are some of mine:

• How to make exercise more enjoyable?
• How I can live in an ecologically sustainable way, while continue to create and build things and grow my business.
• How can I innovate and be creative in a way that allows me to do both?

In the book I have a whole list of examples from my students.

• How can I spend my evenings reading and just doing self-care rather than just sitting on the couch watching TV?
• How can I wake up earlier in the morning?
• How can I change the structure of capitalism to be more fair and equitable?
• How can I make the publishing industry more open to new authors like you?

The reason this has to do with the Second Brain is often people want to know what to collect. Save in the Second Brain that which is noteworthy compared to your favorite problems. Once you have a short list of favorite open questions, anything that seems connected to one of them is something to save. Over time you develop and cultivate your own answers to those questions. From doing that exercise myself it didn’t just bring up new ideas but it clarified a lot of things.

PL: You have not talked about goals setting. How do goals factor into the Second Brain?

TF: I don’t talk about goals because it’s well covered by other people. Another reason is the whole Building a Second Brain philosophy is very bottom up and emergent. Goal setting is all about top down planning. Set your goal, and then break it down into objectives, and turn those objectives into timelines. It is what David Allen calls the 50,000 foot view. In past decades where you could make five year and ten year plans and follow them step by step.

The world has changed a lot and we live in an environment of chaos. A Second Brain is a response to where you’re at from the bottom up. I advise taking notes on what resonates now. It’s more intuitive, based on your bodily sensations and your emotions. It’s the stuff that makes the goose bumps stand up on your arm and your pupils dilate, even if there’s no project or goal related to them. This is a bottom-up approach of seeing what emerges and naturally moves you, then later figure out how it makes sense. Choose which projects and goals to take on based on what is already there.

Productivity work can get very dry and methodical. For me to be satisfied as a knowledge worker, I need something that’s going to spark me, get me excited, make me curious. No one is required to do this. There’s no boss saying you need to take notes in a particular way. This is all optional, which means you get to make up. The only practical way of doing that is taking notes on ideas that move you, stories that resonate, and songs, movies, and documentaries that touch something inside. When I save those things over time. I understand myself better.

PL: Does a Second Brain need a specialized note app like Evernote?

TF: It can work anywhere. This is the reason that I feel comfortable publishing a book. The technology landscape is constantly changing. Every six months there’s a hot, new, trendy notes app. After fifteen years of doing this in one form or another, I saw timeless principles and practices that make sense and are useful before modern technology. This means there are useful far into the future things.

Write down what resonates with you. Organize according to what’s actionable. Retrieve ideas just in time. These are all timeless principles. In my course people have used upwards of fifty different notes apps. So I’d say you can use whatever note taking application you want.

PL: To wrap things up, please share a book recommendation, fiction, or nonfiction other than your own.

TF: There’s a great companion to my book called The Extended Mind by Annie Murphy Paul. She is a science writer, unlike me. If you’re interested in the psychology, biology, neurology, and social science of it, she very comprehensively provides citations and research. I think of our two books as the science and the practice. You read them both, and you will honestly know more about personal knowledge management than 99% of people in the world.

The post Building a Second Brain: A Conversation with Tiago Forte first appeared on Public Libraries Online.

The one thing we can all predict about the future is that it will be unpredictable. That being said, we also know that certain themes carry forward like clockwork. After two crazy years, what does the future hold for public libraries?

In a recent survey to the Urban Library Council Directors listserv, sixteen library directors weighed in on their top concerns for 2022. The respondents touched on many topics; however, the top concern by far was the continued fallout from COVID-19. The pandemic upended the library’s relationship with patrons. Between limited hours, uncertain access to buildings and safety concerns about virus spread, patterns of use changed dramatically. Libraries have seen a drop in visitors that has not reverted back to pre-pandemic levels. A Canadian library director listed a number of possible reasons including:

“The continued effects of the pandemic including changing customer behaviors, hesitancy to frequent public spaces, mental health issues, impact on loss of learning due to school closures, and the shift to online.”

A California library director wondered if short term building closures permanently shifted people’s behavior.

“Will customers return to libraries that were not available (or had limited availability) during the pandemic. Did those customer find substitute activities, did they change their habits in such a way as to forego library attendance? Our circulation has returned to 50% of normal so far, but will it plateau before 100%, will it exceed that level?”

Being closed to the public made a Maryland library director worried that this unintentionally supported a problematic viewpoint of non-relevance.

“The first issue facing public libraries is that we are still not thought of essential/critical to our communities. There is still a notion of nice to have and that we are book centric and of course this relates to funding, staffing, facilities etc…”

A Texas library director shared similar concerns about the perception of libraries.

“I believe libraries will be challenged defining our new normal as we ease out of COVID. The way we do business has changed because of COVID. Many libraries are struggling to fill positions because employees have other options. Libraries learned that we can effectively serve patrons virtually. The attitudes of some users about what the library has to offer have changed.”

A Canadian library director was also concerned that the great work we do was completely drowned out by our citizens.

“Public libraries are struggling to get heard and people have an outdated view of what we offer. But it’s hard to get heard above all the noise, especially in the information ecosystem we are in in which being heard means manipulating the attention of citizens. Ironically, we are more needed than ever, but people still say “no one knows you offer X”.”

Public safety measures negatively impacted the customer experience according to another California library director.

“It’s not so much the actual COVID infection but everything that has resulted from the pandemic such as the pushback on mask mandates and vaccine requirements. We are facing an increased frustration from both staff and the public, increased tensions and for those cities with vaccine mandates, a potential staffing problem.”

With government budgets thrown into turmoil from business shutdowns, funding for libraries took a hit in many parts of North America. As one Canadian director noted:

“Budgets are tight both provincially and municipally.”

Several directors commented that their infrastructure is in need of repair and upgrading. However, funding for capital projects is running up against tight operating margins. For example, a California library director shared the following about their system.

“This may not be the case for every library system but over half of our branches are too small and well beyond their normal useful life. There is a high amount of deferred maintenance and insufficient funding resulting in increased deterioration of buildings.”

On the theme of infrastructure, broadband access was an issue across the spectrum. A Californian director observed that:

“Even in Silicon Valley, there are households without good broadband. What is our role in this? It really is an infrastructure issue for cities, counties, and our country. Libraries have stepped up to “fill the gap” with hot spots, parking lot Wi-Fi and other creative access but it is not enough.”

An Arizona library director worried that libraries will continue to bear the burden of providing high speed access.

“As communities scramble to provide equitable access to all they are looking to libraries and library budgets to support and lead the process.  While we are poised to provide with many resources, we cannot be expected to carry the financial burden without substantial support from jurisdictions.”

A huge line item in the public library budget is electronic material. While the tensions that existed between publishers and libraries prior to the pandemic over digital access moved to the back burner, they were never resolved. A Canadian library director noted:

“It is an issue that has not yet been resolved and we’ve experienced an increase in demand due to the pandemic and fewer and larger players (Penguin purchasing Simon & Schuster, Amazon factor, Overdrive M&A’s).”

A California library director observed this topic was recently discussed in the US Senate and legislation passed in Maryland requiring reasonable eBook pricing for libraries.

“The pandemic actually helped our cause on this and we are all keeping an eye on this access point”

In the face of a growing labor shortage due to retirements and attractive private sector salaries, many directors were concerned about recruitment. With libraries expected to be open back to full hours, a California library director worried that lack of staff made this daunting.

“We need full – or nearly – full employee rosters to open and operate our facilities safely and effectively while providing outstanding customer service.”

An Arizona library director noted that the expectations of candidates has changed.

“Due to the pandemic a great many people retired or decided to move out of public service.  Those who are remaining are expecting more flexible work environments and schedules.”

Pay gaps and pressure to increase wages is pushing up against traditionally lower library salaries. A Colorado library director shared that:

“We are correcting wages against market forces bringing up salaries at the lower end with the requisite cascade through other pay grades. We have sought to correct wages against market data for 4 years, but the market is moving at the lower end more quickly than we forecasted.”

Directors also worried about staff morale and wellbeing after two years of COVID uncertainty. An Ohio library director noted that it had a detrimental effect on employee relations.

“Our relationship with staff has fractured over the issues safety, pay, expectations, and approaches to DEI issues beyond those who have left for better opportunities.”

For those employees who have stayed throughout the pandemic, job satisfaction was impacted according to a Minnesota library director.

“Many no longer enjoy the public service work; it’s all they can do to come in each day. They are burnt-out and struggling. I believe the top issue we’ll face in 2022 will be to help staff heal and get back to a place in which they feel positive about the work.”

Also on the radar is an increase in book and activity challenges, often targeting the subjects of racial equity and LGBTQ+. A Michigan library director who dealt with challenges first hand shared:

“More and more of these challenges are political and heated. It is a tough time for intellectual freedom. We need to step up and be astute to preserve it.”

At the same time, an Ohio library director was concerned that library workers have to deal with people who cause disruptions while claiming they are there to protect freedom.

“We have 1^st and 2^nd Amendment auditors filming in our locations trying to get a reaction from staff that can be posted on social media.”

In the midst of the many concerns, another Ohio library director believed that the public library could be a source of community healing.

“We are one of the last open community spaces with a tradition of universal access. This means we can help bridge the seemingly impassible gulfs in the community. We still have the trust of the people. Opening our doors every day is an act of social justice.”

Finally, there was also a general consensus we are near the end of the COVID emergency. However, libraries must be ready to act. As a Virginia library director said:

“It has consumed our agenda over the last two years.  We have to move past the fear, uncertainty and doubt or accept and deal with this being our new normal.”

The post Gazing Into the Crystal Ball first appeared on Public Libraries Online.

A recent survey of Urban Library Council member libraries by this author showed that indoor activities are coming back strong. Many large library systems across the country are opening up their meeting rooms for staff led events. That being said, there are still lots of concerns. Out of the 66 libraries that responded to the survey, 28 had not started any indoor programming. One library system summed up the hesitancy as follows:

“Our rationale is partly low staffing, definitely that children are not vaccinated yet, and that we are working on getting the tech to succeed at hybrid activities. Our community is surging and the majority of our community are more reticent of in-person activities without a vaccine requirement which we have not enacted.”

Another library noted that they would consider restoring indoor events once the mask mandate is lifted in their community. In lieu of indoor activities, several libraries were offering “grab and go” crafts that could be used in conjunction with virtual activities. Another library system reported that there was “no significant pressure from the public yet to restart inside activities/events.”

One inhibiting factor regarding indoor activities was found in areas that saw a recent COVID-19 surge. As one director stated:

“We think we will begin them in January (original plan was November) … the COVID numbers are still higher now than they were last summer.”

Of the 38 libraries that had restored indoor activities, most resumed over the past summer. However, there is lots of variation among the libraries on the approach. One common choice was to only do activities for age groups eligible for the vaccine. Below is an example of one library’s experience.

“We started resumption of in-person programming with computer classes, and are slowly resuming other programs. We held two cultural events in celebration of Latinx Heritage Month, one indoor and one outdoor this month. Story times and youth programming have not yet returned, as we monitor the Delta surge and access to vaccines for the school age population.”

Another director echoed the concern around children’s activities.

“Indoor programs for age 12 and under, particularly story times will unfortunately remain virtual until the situation improves.”

One director lamented how not having children’s activities changed the atmosphere in the library.

“It is so difficult NOT to have inside Library Learning Times for preschoolers. What a difference all of those visits, and the activity, and the community-building make in the library! We’re eager to resume that kind of activity.”

Another factor these libraries considered in making their decision was whether the public wanted indoor activities. One library responded:

“We’ve noticed that attendance at outdoor and virtual programs are still higher than our in-person ones.”

Many library systems shared that they were doing inside activities at limited attendance, often at 50% room capacity. One director stated that they made changes to the registration process for safety.

“We opened with limited attendance to start and required registration. This isn’t something we’ve done before and some patrons were confused by the process, but staff worked with patrons to help everyone get registered for the correct programs. We’ve expanded our attendance capacity, but are requiring facemasks for indoor programs at this point.”

Libraries offering indoor activities continue to monitor local COVID positivity rates. A surge could change their approach as one director commented.

“We are monitoring local public health announcements, and have a set of circumstances we are watching including criteria for moving back to fully virtual on a week by week basis. So far, we haven’t shifted any in-person events back to virtual.”

Outdoor activities were popular with this survey group, with 62 library systems holding them. This was especially done for children’s activities such as story times. Every library in the survey group was doing virtual activities.

No matter which choice each library made regarding their activities, all agreed that this year has been taxing. One library director summed up the situation frankly.

“Continuing many virtual and one-on-one offerings. Staff are tired and exhausted.”

The post Is COVID-19 Still Preventing Indoor Library Activities? first appeared on Public Libraries Online.

St. Louis Public Library

St. Louis Public Library has been very active serving the local imprisoned population under Director Waller McGuire. St. Louis has provided paperback materials for many years both to the adult population and the Juvenile Justice Center. In years past they provided programming within the Juvenile Center.

One service, online resources, began at the request of the jail administrators. The library provided cards and accounts for prisoners to access on prison-issued tablets. After the launch of the program they created nearly 300 cards that were issued to prisoners in the adult Justice Center. Names and limited information were provided and library staff work mostly with the jail counselors. The cards are fairly active, but many of the tools available to other customers through our cards are screened by the jail’s security settings. Overdrive is heavily used, but unfortunately many training tools and other databases are locked out. One interesting obstacle to overcome was that the jail would not allow the standard, credit card style, plastic library card.  Instead, staff created paper cards for this project.

All of the physical outreach services came to a halt during the early months of the pandemic; however most were restored recently except for delivering physical materials to the jails. 

Salt Lake County Library

At Salt Lake County (Utah) Public Library, Director Jim Cooper believes that library services to the incarcerated inside the jail is a very important part of their mission. In fact, their Jail Library Service is part of their Community Engagement Department and they have provided it for over 25 years.

A simple agreement with the Sheriff’s Department provides library services inside the Metro and Oxbow jail facilities located in the county. The sheriff provides a small space inside the jail and pays the library a small stipend out of their commissary fund to support the operations. The library covers 80% – 90% of the costs and is responsible for all jail library operations, subject to safety and security protocols developed in concert with the sheriff. 

Physically located inside the jail facilities, the libraries are staffed by library employees. They manage and provide the collections which are subject to a few rules imposed by the sheriff such as materials can only be paperback, no stapled materials are allowed, only six items per prisoner (six books can only make a “small” fire), no books on bomb-making, and a few other restrictions. All materials that are returned are searched by library staff for contraband.

Prisoners request library materials through the digital kiosk located in their pod or unit with library staff providing readers advisory and reading lists. Library staff pull the requests and deliver the materials directly to the prisoners inside the housing units.The jail library staff create a variety of programs for prisoners. In addition to book clubs, they offer a six week Life Skills program, designed to provide prisoners with the tools necessary to successfully reintegrate back into society, and reduce recidivism. During the height of the COVID-19 disruption, library staff were prohibited from entering units or coming in contact with prisoners. To ensure the continuity of basic service and provide adequate safety protocols for library staff, prisoners and officers pivoted to delivering library materials to the units in disposable cardboard boxes.

Although library staff were unable to provide individualized services, prisoners have access to reading materials though library organized boxes containing a mixture of genres. They were delivered as a “mystery” box to lockdown units. Officers moved the boxes inside the unit and arranged for prisoners to pick them up. Over time, library staff took requests from an entire unit through the kiosk. This allowed prisoners to have some selection power over materials. 

Toronto Public Library

Toronto Public Library under City Librarian Vickery Bowles has taken some different approaches to supporting literacy. Since 2011 they have run the Storybook Parents (formally called Storybook Dads). They record incarcerated persons reading storybooks for their children. Each family receives an edited version of the recording, as well as a copy of the storybook with a personalized message from the parent. Each family package also includes a letter to the family welcoming them to the library for a tour as well as additional information about services. The program allows the participants to remain connected with their children, supports literacy and helps the parent serve as a reading role model. Each year, they record and distribute over 150 packages.

The library previously had community librarians working in the two local detention centers, providing programming support directly to clients. Over the past few years, they have offered basic financial literacy programs, book clubs/discussion groups, and creative writing workshops.  These programs have helped clients develop basic literacy skills. They also work with organizations supporting the recently-released population, such as John Howard Society and Elizabeth Fry Society. They have offered a number of services including workshops, book clubs, and programming.  With the support of a community librarian, they have also offered digital literacy support (classes and one-on-one sessions), housing support, resume building and helping clients find employment.

The Toronto programs were temporarily suspended due to COVID, but are now being slowly reinstated.

The post Serving the Incarcerated During the Pandemic first appeared on Public Libraries Online.

Kimmel’s shock at seeing the DVDs implied they are old technology. It is not surprising since the growth of streaming services and on-demand video should make discs obsolete. With so many streaming services available, why would anyone need a DVD or Blu-ray disc? Therefore, are libraries destined to ditch this once-popular collection? 

An informal survey of over a dozen Urban Library Council member libraries conducted for this article shows a more complicated picture. Based on checkouts, demand for DVDs across North American libraries has dropped. For example Migell Acosta, Director of San Diego County Library (CA) reported that they “Have seen a gradual decline in DVD/Blu-Ray circulation over the past 5 years or so, but not as steep as physical music and audiobooks.” 

This drop in borrowing has local variation. In Pima County Public Library (AZ), Director Amber Mathewson noted that demand remains strong. “In one of our more affluent neighborhoods the children’s DVDs were overflowing …. Our hypothesis was that neighborhood has switched to Disney+, but other locations in our county are still circing DVDs pretty heavily.”

The situation is different in Johnson County Public Library (IN). Kelley Gilbert, Collection Services Manager reported they may need more DVDs. “DVD circulation has been really steady throughout the pandemic, and our patrons are always requesting titles that we’ve managed to miss.”

One observation that many library systems made regarding the future of DVD collections was the issue of availability. Acosta commented, “Movie studios are no longer producing every movie in physical format. … It also appears that they are not producing large quantities.” 

Gilbert noted the same thing. “DVD production really slowed down last year, and we are still waiting for it to pick up. It will be interesting to see if studios see this as a time to push consumers to streaming services, rather than increasing DVD production back to pre-pandemic numbers.”

Given the growth in streaming services, there is considerable doubt about the size of DVD collections in the next few years. Darren Solomon, Director of the Richmond Hill Public Library (ON) believes that, “Five years from now I don’t see them being a big part of our collection, but we’ll likely still have some, which would probably be Blu-ray over DVD.” 

Loudon County Public Library (VA) Director Chang Liu felt the same way. “I believe they will diminish while the availability of streaming platforms increases.”

In Prince George’s County Memorial Library System (MD), Blane Halliday, Director for Collection Strategies compared DVDs to other media collections. “Time will tell whether physical circulations of any kind will ever rebound to pre-pandemic levels. History of all non-print physical formats has shown us that, eventually, most disappear over time. Beta, VHS, audiobooks on cassette, music CDs, and audiobooks on CD are all evidence of this.”

Even in the face of declining production, the respondents still felt DVDs were important due to gaps in broadband access and subscription costs. Rose Dawson, Executive Director of the Alexandria Library (VA) observed, “Many customers do not have internet, or have internet, but not streaming services. Additionally, there are so many streaming platforms, that even those who have subscriptions to some platforms won’t have access to everything that is available to stream.”

Accessibility is a reason to keep a robust DVD collection according to Pilar Martinez, Chief Executive Officer of the Edmonton Public Library (AB). “Our research has shown that many of our customers do not have Internet and/or streaming services in their homes, and rely solely on the library to provide DVDs/Blu-rays for home use. As well, some customers do not have a means to play Blu-rays, so we focus our resources on DVDs unless a title is only available on Blu-ray.  We are customer-led and so we strive to build collections that are accessible to as many of our customers as possible.”

Given that many library users are often at the trailing end of new technology adoption, DVDs remain the easiest format for them to use. John Tuggle, Executive Director of the Shreve Memorial Library (LA) noted the lag in technology adoption with prior formats. “Up until 2017, we still had videos in those neighborhoods where there was demand.  I suspect we will continue to provide DVDs where there is demand.”

This is especially true of seniors who may be less digitally adapt than their younger neighbors. Debbie Ehrman, Acting Director at the Salt Lake City Public Library (UT) had this observation. “We have a large population of elderly that prefer and use the DVD collections. A DVD is much easier for many patrons than trying to figure out the streaming services setup.”

As well library collections may be the only place that people find older titles or special interests that may not yet be on a streaming service. As Liz Amundson, Collection Librarian at Madison Public Library (WI) said, “We seem to circ older titles very well still. This includes classics of all kinds, including African-American audience classics like House Party or Friday/Next Friday, etc. We re-buy those over and over.” 

Similarly, Director Liu noted, “Some niche categories are not well represented in streaming services. For example, Bollywood movies are quite popular among our patrons, and they can be hard to find elsewhere. There’s also an issue of permanence – movies are often dropped from streaming services, but we can hold on to a DVD for quite a long time.”

One difference between streaming music versus video is the number of vendors. Whereas a customer can get content from all the major labels through a subscription to either Amazon Music or Apple Music, no one video streaming service provides cross studio content without a rental fee. Catherine Biss, CEO of Markham Public Library (ON) said, “Regional restrictions also cause access issues.  There is different content as well as different services in the States and the rest of the world.  The proliferation of available services is an access issue in itself.  Very little content is available across all services.”

Another reason many library systems will keep their DVDs is the lack of a reliable streaming video vendor. Kay Cahill, Director of Collections and Technology for the Vancouver Public Library (BC) observed, “Our team notes the ongoing instability in the streaming service space is a challenge when it comes to determining our physical/digital balance for content. We’re still dealing with the impacts of the RB Digital purchase by OverDrive, and now looking at the Kanopy impact. This consolidation is an area of concern.”

In the end it appears even in the face of ridicule from late night comedians, libraries will continue to have DVD collections for the foreseeable future. This viewpoint was summed up by Aimee Fifarek, Executive Director of the Public Library of Youngstown & Mahoning County (OH). “Broadband here is very limited, and that is part of ours and Redbox’s success with disc-based media. As long as they keep making the discs, and we as a nation keep doing a bad job of making internet access available and affordable, there will be a market for them.”

Reference

1. Jimmy Kimmel Live! October 26, 2020 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BhTFfL-RXxg (3:03 minute mark)

The post Are We Reaching the End of Library DVD Collections? first appeared on Public Libraries Online.

New York suffered the worst of all major cities when the pandemic began with a total closure of the city and the library system. A year later, NYPL is restoring operations with a Grab and Go service. From their web site: “As part of The New York Public Library’s gradual reopening following our temporary closure due to COVID-19, we are pleased to announce that we are now offering grab-and-go service at select branches across the Bronx, Manhattan, and Staten Island. Grab-and-go locations allow for safe and socially distant use of select onsite services. At all open locations, visitors can pick up requested materials and return items at these open locations while maintaining a safe distance from each other and staff.”

The cautious approach in the northeast is contrasted by a faster restoration in Florida. Duval County in the northeast part of the state dropped its mask ordinance at the end of March, with the Jacksonville Public Library having no facial covering restrictions for the public or staff. Library Director Tim Rogers reported by email, “Our (Library) Board is strongly recommending wearing masks and social distancing, but the Mayor removed the mandates and we were told by our Office of General Counsel that we could not have our own rules. We dropped temp checks and the health questionnaire required of folks entering the buildings. We have not moved to in-person programs. We eliminated the quarantine on materials.”

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis suspended all local COVID restrictions on May 4, including mask mandates. Many counties and municipalities in heavily populated Southeast Florida, such as Palm Beach, quickly implemented policies to require masks in government buildings. Across the state at the Hillsborough County Public Library Cooperative in Tampa, Library Director Andrew Breidenbaugh reported in an email: “Right now we are still under mask/distancing orders placed on county facilities. All of our libraries are open but some services haven’t returned mostly due to social distancing requirements.” This includes “meeting and study rooms, in-person programs, and high-touch spaces like recording studios and maker spaces.”

In the Midwest, Chicago Public Library reports facilities challenges impeding reopening. According to their web site, four branches remained closed because they are too small for social distancing, while the others “have reduced hours to allow extra time for disinfection and cleaning of communal spaces each day.” Further south the Kansas City Public Library will open all buildings on June 1 to allow the public to retrieve holds, browse, and use the computers. “For more than a year, our team has been working incredibly hard to continue to provide vital services,” says Joel Jones, deputy director for library services. “I’ve been blown away by what we’ve been able to accomplish, but our staff are really excited to welcome patrons back into the library. They miss the smiling faces of so many patrons they have not seen for far too long.”

On the nation’s west coast many library buildings are finally opening to the public. In Los Angeles, which saw record numbers of COVID cases at the beginning of the year, the local situation has calmed down enough for the Los Angeles Public Library to finally open its doors. They shared the following announcement on their web site:  “We are offering select services at 38 libraries across the city. Services may include quick browsing, computer access, pick up of holds and mobile printing orders, checking out of materials inside libraries, and Library To Go outdoor pickup service. Central Library is currently offering Browse & Borrow services in the first floor lobby only.” LA City Librarian John Szabo recently told Spectrum News 1: “We are excited to be starting this new chapter … and we know Angelenos have missed us as much as we have missed them”

King County Library System outside Seattle was one of the first libraries to close its doors on March 13, 2020. Now it is one of the last major systems to restore in-person services. Since June of last year they offered a popular curbside pickup service. According to Director Lisa Rosenblum in an email, “to date almost 1 million physical items checked by curbside.” It was not until March that they were given the go ahead for in person services at almost all of their fifty libraries. Rosenblum reports that, “No staff have become ill due to our strict staff COVID protocols and I am very proud of that.”  She hopes to be back to full service mode this summer, local conditions permitting.

Across Canada the story is not optimistic. Due to a vaccine shortfall and increased community spread, library buildings in major cities remain closed. The Toronto Public Library posted on their web site:  “TPL branches remain open only for contactless holds pick-up and drop-off of library materials at the entrance. All other in-branch services are unavailable at this time. Please check back here for updates.” Edmonton Public Library is in a similar situation, while Vancouver Public Library is offering limited in-person services.

The post COVID-19 Operating Restrictions Ease but Differences Remain first appeared on Public Libraries Online.