Some Final Comments

It was a privilege to attend the ALA Conference in Chicago. I believe if you are attending a conference as such, you have the responsibility to pass the knowledge you gained onto your colleagues. I hope I did this in an interesting way! I further believe that the knowledge not be temporarily considered, but that the appropriate ideas inspire positive change in the workplace. It will for me.

Thanks for following!

Frank and Ernest

I had a vacation day in Chicago and decided to visit a couple of cultural sites. I read in the ALA Program Guide that there was a side trip to the Frank Lloyd Wright Home and Studio in Oak Park, approximately ten miles outside Chicago. However, several program sessions were offered at the same time and although it was tempting (a bus conveniently would leave right from the hotels and go directly to the Home and Studio), my main goal in attending the conference was to learn about library service!

So, I planned it for my day off. I took the "L" (elevated rapid transit) for $2.25 to Oak Park. With Google Map in hand, I walked atleast a mile and a half past the Home and Studio area, and had to take a taxi back to the site! I do this frequently in unfamiliar areas ... once I walked right passed the Canadian Opera building in Toronto on my way to the Canadian Opera building.

I had never been to a Frank Lloyd Wright building and was so thrilled to have this opportunity. Photos I had seen of his buildings were nothing compared to actually being in one; it was an atmoshere, not so much a building. So much wood, so oak, so linear. Oak walls, oak furniture, stained glass all throughout the house. The hallways leading to rooms were very narrow, because he wanted a wow factor as you entered each room. He loved nature, and attempted to include it in this house ... at one time there was a tree growing through the house. The studio was just as grand.

My goal now is to visit more of Wright's houses. Where in the world would that bring me? We shall see!


I visited the birthplace in Oak Park of Ernest Hemingway. It was the last tour of the day, and there was only one other person on the tour, so the Guide took some extra time. I learned more about Ernest Hemingway in one hour than I had in my entire life. I now have some insight into what motivated him. I recall in school reading Old Man and the Sea and the teacher explaining what the fisher's hand represented. I looked at my friend across the aisle in disbelief ... he's got to be kidding me!

I ended the day by having a tall well deserved glass of Coca Cola a top the John Hancock building. I also walked on the boundaries of Millenium Park. Fabulous shopping at the Magnificent Mile (one whole mile of shopping). My feet are killing me!

AV RA

Sidney Crosby ... can a 22 year old hockey player inspire a 50 year old Librarian? Absolutely.

One of the ALA sessions I attended was entitled What Do I Watch, Listen to, Play, or Download Next: Readers Advisory Techniques for the Digital World. As selector for Feature Films, I come under the "What Do I Watch" part.

It was great to see a session focused entirely on these formats. (It had crossed my mind occasionally that I should as Film Selector create a Film RA cheat sheet).

I won't go too into depth, since I will further down attach the Powerpoint presentation. But I will mention a couple of things:

The first speaker covered the reasons why AV Advisory is important, and I was sold at the first statement: "Many libraries report 50% of total circ stats are AV items".

Audio books:

From my own experience, it is true that serious users of audio books do have a "sound" preference. I have been asked for suggestions of audio books for example, with the additional request that it be in a woman's voice. As a Librarian in a rural area with a fair distance between Branches, I rely heavily on the Library's Overdrive. I lately listened to Resilience: Reflections On the Burdens and Gifts Of Facing Life's Adversity by Elizabeth Edwards. The author was the reader on the audio, and it made all the difference; I could hear the sadness, pain, melancholy in her voice. I don't think this audio version would have the same effect if it had been read by one not so emotionally involved. So, maybe now I prefer audio read by the author.

Movies:

For all the AV formats, the speaker recommended the retail model. For movies,that translates to movie posters and card board stand ups (of John Wayne for example): how fun! She also suggested that there be a web presence: a dedicated page on the Library's website for AV: a movie page would include blogs, links, embedded items (e.g. You Tube), reviews and links. Besides the Internet Movie Database which is the ultimate tool for reviews and movie information (oh gosh,John Hughes died ...), she suggested other sites, one of which provides an "If you liked..." type list.

Anyway, view on!: (it seems to be more efficient to choose "save" when asked rather than "view").

What Do I Watch

International Librarians Reception

There was no charge to attend this reception if you were not from the United States. Strangely, there were primarily people from the United States at the reception.

There were very few tables set up (they were totally taken anyway) in the Winter Room (as lovely as it sounds) at the Harold Washington Library Center and I had walked atleast an hour to get there. And, it appeared that it would be unacceptable for me to sit against the wall on the floor.

After much surveillance, I saw an opening and asked the three woman if I could join them at their table and they were very welcoming. One of the women was a Library Board Trustee from Shreveport, Louisiana, another who had two jobs in Washington: one in Homeland Security and another in the Library of a Governor's Mansion. The third was a Library Director for a university in Guatemala. We talked about the library system rebuilding in New Orleans, and shared information about our work backgrounds and libraries. Then we got down to the nitty gritty ... Obama's presidency and the death of Michael Jackson!

Use of Social Software at ALA

According to the ALA Marginalia weblog, Twitter was the most heavily used site during the conference. There were 10,362 tweets using the #ala2009 tag by 1,321 authors. Library Journal actually did a daily recap of what they considered to be the "best" tweets of the day. Try Saturday's.

A Google Blogsearch indicated that there were approximately 14,000 posts using the ala2009 tag, however this includes photos posted through Flickr, and comments made to the blogs.

Family Reading Time

On Sunday, July 12, at 10:30 a.m., I couldn't decide on which session to attend. I can't believe I am saying this, but no session looked particulary interesting to me in that time slot. So I chose to go to Prime Time Family Reading Time and as it turns out, it was one of the best sessions I attended.

Prime Time Family Reading Time is a family literacy program which uses the humanities as a tool to create excitement about reading (it is funded primarily by the National Endowment For the Humanities). The program targets families underserved or never served: low income, low literacy skills, and limited or no English Language abilities. The program engages parents and/or caregivers and their 6 to 10 year old children who are at-risk due to poor reading ability. Pre-reading activities are provided for younger siblings.

The program is held once a week for 6 to 8 weeks; it is 90 minutes long. A trained storyteller uses provided children's literature to demonstrate effective read aloud techniques , and a trained scholar facilitates discussions based on the texts and humanities themes such as fairness, greed, courage and dreams. The provided children's literature are award-winning, culturally diverse books. Each session also includes a five minute talk by a librarian which introduces library resources to the families.

The next presenter was a Librarian from the Kalamazoo Public Library who actually hosted the program. She reiterated what was covered, but also included that the program took place during closed hours. Each of the weekly sessions began with everyone, participants and presenters having dinner together. (Apparently, the resources to provide a meal were in the same building as the library). This gave a chance to develop trust, relationships, and familiarity.

Many of the questions for the Kalamazoo librarian dealt with cost, staff availability, etc.

My question to the speakers had to do with hosting the program in an expansive rural setting: how to overcome transportation challenges for those who do not either have a car or cannot afford gas for their car. A rural librarian from Nevada mentioned that she gives her participants certificates for gas. She has also brought the program into the community.

This session was definitely food for thought.

For more information visit the Louisiana Endowment For the Humanities

YOUmedia Space For Teens at Chicago Public

Photos of YOUmedia, a digital space for teens at the Harold Washington Library Center.