Posterhead

Watch out for that...

2008-02-27T14:53:00.000-08:00

As a child I remember walking toward the kitchen from my aunt's living room and accidentally tripping over an object on the floor. My cousin, who observed the incident said, "watch out for that," right after I ungracefully fell to my knees. Yeah, thanks.

As an adult I feel like I still experience this scenario. For example, when I'm trying to accomplish something at work and a more experienced staff person with information that would make the task easier watches as I fumble, then offers the "oh yeah, that doesn't work" comment when I tell them about it. Again, thanks.

I realize this happens (mostly) unintentionally. But sometimes I feel a sense of deliberateness behind it. Like the thought is "the newbie" will only learn how to accomplish the task by being humiliated in front of her peers (in my case). Well, that certainly is true, but is it a good thing?

It's not obvious to me why information and experience isn't shared among colleagues in the same workplace the way we share with our professional colleagues outside the office. I attend conferences and webinars where people present their best practices, workflows and scripts for handling tasks. A lot of great tips and suggestions are also generated via list servs.

The best part about this sharing is that it doesn't just prevent people from feeling dumb (e.g. no one at our library could ever write a script like that), it encourages people to try something new.

At my new job I'm fortunate enough to have a co-worker who is very knowledgeable about the products I support and is willing to spend time answering my questions. It's wonderful, and I'm grateful to her. It's like I don't feel like I have spend time looking at the ground for some object I might trip over. I can focus my attention on the eight thousand other issues that surround being "the newbie." And she can take comfort from knowing that sharing her knowledge will get me up to speed more quickly (and take some of the burden of work from her shoulders).

So the next time you see someone who is struggling (or about to do something the wrong way), please remember that helping them will benefit you, not just professionally but personally as well. It really is the right thing to do.

The Bill Gates clip and confidence

2008-02-20T15:59:00.001-08:00

A few weeks ago a friend sent me a link to this You Tube clip. I find it enjoyable to watch (yes, I've watched it a lot) because it's funny, and I think it's great that Bill Gates was willing to participate in making a video like this. It's amazing to think of all that he has accomplished in his life so far.

I wonder if Bill Gates has ever had a confidence crisis? Has he ever struggled to understand a concept? Does he ever think, "I really messed up on that one?"

These days I am endeavoring to accept myself as I am. I recently started a new job and have been learning a lot of new concepts. I have been fortunate that I've had time to study the software I work with and observe a customer training.

Unfortunately, I don't learn well by reading and observing. I learn through hands-on experience, which is usually a painful process because it involves embarrassing myself in front of others.

In the past I would spend a lot of time berating myself for not being a better learner. I'd call myself stupid and lazy and believe it. Now I'm learning to take my failures in stride focus on developing tools that will help me learn through doing. I remind myself that for every home run I hit, I'll have struck out a lot more.

I don't think I'll ever believe I have a brilliant mind but I'm grateful for the mind I have. Besides, a brilliant mind won't get me anywhere if I am not willing to work hard. If I'm lucky, I'll get a lot of batting practice over the course of my lifetime and maybe I'll hit the ball out of the park a few times.

Thank you

2008-02-20T15:36:00.001-08:00

I just want to thank Peggy, Terry and Ian for their comments about on my post about blogging. I am working hard now on getting over my confidence issues and focus on what I can offer to the world by blogging. Your support means a lot to me!

I checked out Peggy's Boldness Blog and have been reading it a bit while I've been on the road. It's quite good and I think it's what I need right now-- boldness!

Terry's New Cybrary blog is always very interesting--it's wonderful to be able to read the well-crafted and thoughtful comments of a library director.

And Ian, I really wish you'd get back into the blog world. The web needs more Packer blogs. You just can't beat a good Brett Favre story.

Coming back to blogging

2008-02-11T05:59:00.000-08:00

It's been a long two months. I quit blogging because I took a long family vacation and started a new job during December and January.

I enjoy blogging but have a couple of reservations about continuing it. First, I am weighted down by my deep fear of writing poorly crafted posts that will make me look foolish. That is a huge disincentive to posting. Another is not having the time to devote to writing. So I'm making one more attempt and we'll see how it goes.

I'm grateful to the bloggers out there who provide me with thoughtful and entertaining reading material. Thanks!

Growing Up

2007-12-18T07:42:00.000-08:00

A co-worker's blog is focused on her struggle to stop being a perfectionist. A noble cause, indeed! For some, perfectionism is about fearing failure. For me, perfectionism is the enormous struggle to stop planning and start doing. To make things worse, once I commit to doing something I usually waste more time questioning whether or not I've done the right thing.

Why is this the case? Could my issue be confidence?

I admire people who can make a decision quickly and stick with it, even in the face of criticism. As a kid I remember hearing someone say the worst thing a person can do is not make a decision. The older I get, the more I think this is true. I have to frequently remind myself to act and accept the consequences of my actions in my professional and personal life. There is more to lose by being indecisive, no doubt.

It would be nice if our minds could say "that's enough" when we've received all the information we need to make a decision. Confidence definitely plays a role then. My inner voice quickly rushes to say, "are you sure you didn't overlook something?" and then I'm back to a state of paralysis. I've found that using a simple, understated gift from a friend is an invaluable tool (thanks, Jenny!) in helping me make a decision. I often keep the list and refer to it when I hear myself ask "why?"

I realize that my internal voice isn't going to change without some major effort on my part. But a little positive reinforcement from the cosmos never hurts! So right now I look for the silver lining in all of my decisions. I focus on it, no matter how small it might be, and trust that one day my voice will be quiet or better yet, filled with approval.

Wiki post

2007-11-29T12:02:00.000-08:00

The first time I heard about wikis was a few years ago at the 2004 LITA National Forum. The room was jam-packed. I listened for a while but remember quietly walking out the door long before the presentation's end.

The concept seemed cool enough. A web page where anyone can edit the information on the screen. What a neat tool to use for collaboration. The software isn't overly techie (a real plus for me who was, at the time, implementing a host of other technologies). But I worked at a corporate library and words like "open access" and "public information" weren't frequently heard in our office.

But that was then and this is now. Now I'm working in an environment designed for sharing and we've asked our libraries to add content to wikis. I'm looking forward to using this tool to collaborate with colleagues and share information instantly.

Google, huh?

2007-11-28T12:18:00.000-08:00

Has anyone else who uses Google mail noticed this freakishly scary phenomenon-- gmail places ads above your inbox (or open message) and the ads seem to be based upon keywords from the content of your mail. For example, I received an email last week from a sender who is a professor at U of Michigan. She was asking folks to fill out a survey to assist her with a research project. So what appeared above my email?? An advertisement for degree programs at U of Michigan.

While writing this post I thought I'd test this weirdness out again. I just upgraded my Norton antivirus software and still have the confirmation email sitting in my inbox. Can you guess which company's advertisement appeared above the email when I clicked on it?

So now I've established it's not just me being silly. I'm sure this is no secret of the world. I haven't read any of the techie blogs that probably hashed through this problem a couple of years ago. I'm sure there is some gmail setting I need to turn off and I just need to take the time to make the fix.

But it brings up a point about privacy that drives me nuts. I don't really like having advertisements or book suggestions (Amazon) made for me based upon the last email I read or search I performed. (I'm talking here about the front page I see as soon as I log on to the store's web site.) It's less distasteful when I'm home but when I use a public computer I don't need everyone in the world knowing about my obsession with zombie survival handbooks (oops, did I reveal too much?)

Libraries are great at protecting our privacy in this way. I never log on to InfoSoup (my local library's catalog) and see personalized recommendations based upon the last material I checked out. If I did, I'd probably complain (or ask them to turn off that functionality for my account). I'm happy to just browse the electronic booklists or better yet, ASK A LIBRARIAN for a recommendation. Believe me, when I worked the Reference desk I may have judged you but I certainly didn't tell anyone about your interest in books about baking hemp.

My thoughts on subject headings, metadata, taxonomies, tags

2007-11-15T11:45:00.000-08:00

I am a little nervous about writing this post but I'm not the first person to say it, so here goes:

Tagging, developing taxonomies and folksonomies, classifying metadata, creating subject headings-- these concepts are all wonderful in theory but in practice tend to be hellish nightmares of organization gone wrong. The idea of making stuff easy to find-- for you and anyone who might need to access your stuff-- is great but it's easy to get too involved in the details and lose sight of what's important. Make things too complicated and people will find another way to get what they want.

So if you disagree with me (or instead, if I don't argue my point well enough) feel free to click on the links I've provided at the end of this post. Read what others have to say, look at the way they've organized their content and then tell me I'm wrong. I love to argue, and afterward you will probably feel like you've won.

I'll start out with this: I believe that organization is a good thing. I read lots of books and articles about organization for fun. I love to learn new and better ways to organize (yes, I'm a dork). I keep my socks in a drawer, my shoes in a closet, my clothes on hangers. My pens and pencils are located in a cup on my desk. I file paid bills in file folders. My food is sorted by type and stored in the pantry. You get the point. But the bigger issue is this is how *I* organize my stuff.

Every organizational expert will tell you it's key to keep your system simple. The more complicated your organization system is, the less likely you (or anyone else you are trying to influence) will follow it.

So to those who like to organize information, I advocate

keeping the systems that work (i.e. the ones that get you what you want, make your customers happy, make life easier)
abandoning the ones that don't
accepting that your system isn't perfect, that others will use a system that works for them, and that you should be ready to assist them no matter what

And for the love of Pete, don't create a new system unless it's absolutely necessary!

**Please note**
My husband is the most kind, loving and accomodating partner in the world and the story of his behavior (below) is highly exaggerated for the purposes of making my point.

Here's an example from my home life that illustrates my point but it's about clothes, not data. I am in charge of all things laundry-related because I "organized" a system for it some 11 years ago. I don't see the system as being unnecessarily complicated but it's complicated enough that my husband has refused to learn it. If he needs something clean to wear and I'm not around to clean it, the item goes directly to the dry cleaners.

Since I'm not willing to abandon my system (only 3 laundry meltdowns in 11 years!) and my husband isn't willing to learn it I've accepted responsibility for the laundry. And I don't (usually) complain about it. To him.

Here's another example from my former life in academic libraries (no smelly socks here): Way back when library catalogs were called OPACs and the text was green on a black background and I worked at a Reference Desk, whenever someone approached my desk and asked me to locate information on a particular subject I'd walk with them over to my valuable tool, the LC Subject Headings books, and we'd figure out the best subject headings to use for our search. Then we'd spend time together executing (what an appropriate verb, right?) the searches on the OPAC or research database. If we were lucky, we'd get good results any the user would stroll off to the stacks to find his materials.

Is it any wonder that over time the keyword search became more popular than the librarian's tool? What student has time to spend poring through books when he knows that he's still likely to miss a few sources because the heading he chose wasn't the best one?

I love the LC Subject Headings but know that system is not perfect and most people aren't going to spend their time using it. So when students started asking me questions about the keyword search I was there for them. Even when I knew they weren't going to get the same benefit from doing it "my way". So what? The users felt empowered to do their own searching and I got an opportunity to help them find what they wanted.

The last example is all about me. I needed to read a blog post from Meredith Farkas entitled Skills for the 21st Century Librarian. I went to her site to locate the post. I started out by searching her tags. They are fine but I couldn't locate the post, so after a few minutes I just used the date from my citation to locate the appropriate month/year and immediately found the post in her archive. I could have also typed the title into Google and located the post that way.

Even though an organization system exists, it's okay to use a different approach to get what you want.

Summary: I think one of the beautiful things about the web is that it's isn't organized according to any one system. Programmers and lay people can create their own organization systems. They can tag their content, create metadata to describe their stuff, arrange their bookmarked web sites, etc.

Libraries will always organize information--it's something we're good at-- but we need to think of our organizing systems in a new way. We also need to understand that other's systems aren't bad. And we need to be supportive of our users, regardless of the systems they use and the ways they search.

My defense:
David Weinberger's blog (author of Everything is Miscellaneous):
http://www.hyperorg.com/blogger/
Stephen Abram's blog:
http://stephenslighthouse.sirsidynix.com/
Library of Congress Catalog:
http://catalog.loc.gov/
OCLC member library catalog:
http://www.worldcat.org/
United States government information by topic:
http://www.usa.gov/
Google:
http://www.google.com/

The extended hiatus

2007-11-13T08:11:00.001-08:00

Hello Reader! Did you miss me? It's amazing how little things like work projects and personal issues can drain the free time right from your day. And like most of us the "me" activities are the ones that get buried or forgotten.

But stuff happens so we do what we must then soldier on. And that's exactly what I'm doing now. Getting back to the blog. A little "me" time to share with my closest friend, the Internets.

New Media Ecology presentation by Lee Rainie

2007-10-22T12:34:00.000-07:00

Lee Rainie provided a fascinating annotation of the data. [Insert link to his presentation here when it gets posted.] He talked about the Pew's Internet Technology Quiz.
Take it and see in which group you fit.

Personal commentary: When I first took this quiz I was labeled an Omnivore (high level of participation with technology) and after taking it again today I'm now a Connector (use technology to interact online and manage digital content-- I guess this means upload digital photos?). What's funny is that in the time between taking the test initially and now I started this blog and joined several social networking sites. I've also read a couple of books that have gotten me to use technology more effectively (Bit Literacy) and make tough choices about eliminating time-wasting activities (The Dip). I'm more engaged with technology BUT I'm also more focused on time management and don't necessarily see all of the technology before us as productivity-increasing tools.

Okay, back to the point of the post. Lee Rainie charged libraries with the following action items:

become the news node for information and a social network node
act as an aggregator of information
provide pathways to information
embrace multi-modal channels of information
listen to our youngest employees

I love these suggestions as I think they address key elements that libraries do best already. We just need to include the use of technology as a way to reach our customers and prospects who left the library when they became too old for story time.

If you haven't checked out the Pew Internet and American Life's reports and presentations on technology, please do so. The Pew has been collecting data like crazy and most of it is highly relevant to libraries. It's what is driving our future so we need to know how to respond and plan.

Managing Your Library for Great Customer Service with Jefferey Russell

2007-10-21T11:06:00.000-07:00

Jefferey Russell, Co-Director of Russell Consulting Inc, in Madison, WI, gave a great presentation about customer service. He discussed the traditional tips: hire the right people, train them continuously, communicate your vision, lead by example.

He also talked about the typical management pyramid where employees are at the bottom (the largest group), supervisors and managers are in the middle layers, and directors are at the top. Employees serve supervisors and managers, and they serve the directors. This organizational structure does two things wrong: it doesn't include the users we serve and it's in the wrong direction. Customer centered libraries have an inverted pyramid structure where patrons are the largest group and they are at the top. Directors are at the bottom. They guide the managers who assist the supervisors who support the employees who serve the customers. (I believe Jeff gave credit to the Carlson Management Group for this model but I couldn't locate any images online so if you have any please let me know and I'll add them to this post).

Another excellent point Mr. Russell made was that supervisors can't manage their employee's behavior but they can set expectations for behavior. So I took this to mean that when libraries are implementing competencies for staff or are expecting them to change the status quo to meet users' needs, the way to approach this is by setting realistic expectations coupled with lots of communication, training and strong leadership.

Wisconsin Library Association session summary

2007-10-21T11:01:00.000-07:00

Well, I *had* good intentions. I was going to come home every day of the conference and summarize all the great sessions I'd attended. Unfortunately I forgot to factor in the life factor. So, dear reader, the summaries are being posted today. Thanks for your patience.

Blogging for WLA 2007

2007-10-16T08:55:00.001-07:00

I'll be attending the Wisconsin Library Association annual conference today through Friday. I'm looking forward to hearing great speakers, meeting up with friends and enjoying the opportunity to blog a conference. Thankfully, Joy Schwarz gave me suggestions on how to blog a conference so I'll have some idea of how to write posts of my sessions.

Most conference blog posts tend to read like your high school history class notes so I will make an attempt at adding some humor or personal commentary to my posts. Any suggestions by my blog readers will be given consideration. So mom, start commenting.

Links: Books for Boys (and a plug for a continuing ed program)

2007-10-10T08:17:00.000-07:00

I frequently get requests from my librarians for continuing education workshops on the topic of books for "reluctant readers" (usually this means the librarians want book suggestions for boys). So this blog post is dedicated to assisting them in their quest.

Disclaimer: I am not a Youth Services Librarian (I don't even play one on tv). You may not find any of the sites I posted to be of assistance to you. Feel free to comment with your own recommendations and/or suggestions. I am happy to pass along any helpful information to my librarians.

First, the plug: On Thursday, November 7th, at 10am CST, Megan and Merri from the CCBC will present an hour-long program for OWLS via OPAL called Captivating Choices: High Interest Books for Low Interest Readers. They will feature a selection of high-appeal books for children through teens. (I feel like I jammed a bit too many acronyms into one tiny paragraph. How librarian of me.)

Second, the blogs:
Guys Read is a site run by Jon Scieszka, author of a lot of books (pardon me for being lazy, okay?!). "Guys Picks" breaks books down by age range (sort of), and I really like the "Links" link featuring Guys' favorite authors.

Boys Rule Boys Read! is a blog by Carl and Bill, two librarians in North Carolina. They recommend books for boys and issue fun challenges to their readers.

Books for Boys is another author-run blog where you'll find Max Elliot Anderson's comments about books and boys, and book chapters and information about his works.

Bookclub4Boys assists folks in setting up boy-themed book clubs. It gives links to books, magazines and other resources designed to encourage boys' literacy.

Booksforboys, run by parents of a teenage boy, has nice lists of books broken down by genre and age range.

Books for Boys is a web page of suggested titles by Moms of Boys.

Bookhive is not specifically for boys but the site contains reviews of children's literature. It's a member of the Public Library of Charlotte and Mecklenberg County web sites and has won several awards.

Connect with your friends via Facebook

2007-10-09T09:22:00.000-07:00

A month or two ago I was exploring some web 2.0 technologies for work and came across one that has provided me with endless amounts of non-work related joy. And for me to devote home time to a social software site, it's got to be good (right?)

Facebook has exceeded my expectations as a networking tool because it's brought me closer to my friends, most of whom I haven't spoken with in years and live nowhere near me.

Let me step back a moment and describe Facebook. Basically, anyone can join. All you have do is create a profile and search for friends or join "networks" of users who share a common interest or background (i.e. high school, college). I am proud to say that I was an early adopter for once! When I created my profile only a few of my friends also had Facebook accounts. Now every time I log on I notice more users from my high school and college, and even former colleagues have joined Facebook.

I'll admit that I had a great high school experience (once I ditched the all-girls Catholic high school I attended as a freshman). Getting back in touch with my high school friends has been something of a spiritual experience for me. We're all now living in different parts of the world and without picking up the phone we can discover our favorite books, movies, music and causes through Facebook's many downloadable applications. So if you thought your high school and college classmates were the devil, perhaps you won't be so keen about Facebook.

Many of my professional friends also have Facebook profiles. It's been wonderful to connect with them online, too. The downside to this, of course, is that I am always asking myself if I should be exposing so much of my personal life to professional friends and/or potential future employers. It's a tough call to make but if someone is going to reject my application for employment based upon the fact that I happen to love R.E.M. or think Clerks is a funny movie, well then so be it.

Most of my friends who have Facebook profiles log on to their accounts on a regular basis. They post photos, write book reviews, join cool networks and download fun applications. I know this because Facebook updates me whenever I log in. If that's not acceptable to you, Facebook has a variety of settings so an individual user can limit access to her profile and/or provide detailed information about herself to the world.

Unlike MySpace, where ten seconds after creating a simple profile I received my first spam email, Facebook has managed to keep control over spammers (amen).

A good friend (who has a Facebook profile, of course) recently told me about an article that indicates the content in Facebook may one day be for sale to the highest bidder. While that makes me a little nervous, I am willing to keep logging on and enjoying this opportunity to connect with my friends. Heck, every time I use my credit card or visit Amazon.com my purchases (and my searches) are tracked. So what will make this potential data sale any different?

I highly encourage obtaining a Facebook account if you want to find out what's happening with your former classmates or colleagues. It's brought me a lot of joy and I think you'll feel the same way.

Project Play weeks one, two and three

2007-10-04T08:21:00.000-07:00

I just wanted to write a brief post about what I've learned so far from Project Play.

I've enjoyed being able to blog at work. With little ones at home getting on the computer at night for more than two minutes and having enough mental energy to write a semi-coherent sentence is like winning the lottery. The odds are definitely stacked against me.

I love reading other participants' blogs. Our librarians are writing great blogs so it's fun to read their latest posts. Setting up my RSS reader has made reading blogs every day simple and easy.

Someone recently approached me, concerned that she didn't have time to devote to Project Play. It is very hard to fit new technology into your life, and I felt for her. It's scary, uncomfortable and it's not always easy (no matter what "they" say, to me, easy is another four letter word).

Learning new technology reminds me of how I feel about exercise. You're supposed to do it because it's good for you. Great. So instead of taking the musclehead approach I take the baby steps one. At a minimum every day, I spend 5 minutes walking up the stairs at work. When I have 10 minutes I lift weights, walk or run. Then if I find I can squeeze in a few more minutes I do. Otherwise I stop and don't beat myself up over how little I do relative to the muscleheads.

As much as I admire and aspire to be a great blogger like K.G. Schneider or Jenny Levine, in the library world I just can't be-- not right now. And as much as I'd like to have the body of Angelina Jolie or Heidi Klum, I won't-- ever. And that's fine with me (sort of).

With three weeks of Project Play under my belt, I definitely have more confidence in my ability to use blogs and RSS readers. Now... on to week 4. Which reminds me, Go Pack!!

I love you, Richard M Daley!

2007-10-04T07:17:00.002-07:00

So now I'm exposed. I'm in love with the mayor of Chicago. But who wouldn't be? Here's a few reasons why I think Richard Daley is awesome. One, he's a library supporter. Two, he gave the people of Chicago Millennium Park. Three, he's pro-cyclist. Four, he gets things done. Five, he supports school reading programs.

Yeah, I know all about the scandals. I lived through the midnight destruction of Meigs Field (no offense but since I didn't fly into that airport, I didn't really care). And I'm sure Mayor Daley is guilty of giving jobs to people who give him money. I'm no historian but isn't that kind of political corruption over 2,000 years old? He's not the first, he won't be the last and I don't think the good people of Chicago are suffering because of this. So Richard Daley, thank you for doing so much for the City of Chicago. You are the best!

The importance of customer service

2007-10-02T07:58:00.000-07:00

Last week I was fortunate enough to attend a customer service presentation by Karen Hyman, Director of the South Jersey Regional Library Cooperative. The topic was creating a customer-centered library. Ms. Hyman is a wonderful speaker who knows how to use humor to make a point. To make the library experience more enjoyable for customers, she recommends that library staff think like a customer and change our approach to service-- not the customer's.

On another customer-centered note, check out this sign from a Chinese clothing store that instructs employees on what they can and cannot say to customers.

Support Wisconsin Libraries by buying collectibles

2007-09-25T09:19:00.000-07:00

Ever wanted to buy your own Nancy Pearl action figure but thought it was going to collect dust on your desk? Well, I can't solve that problem for you but I can offer you a good reason to buy one now. Pop Deluxe is donating a percentage of profit from each doll sold to the Campaign for Wisconsin Libraries. So just do it! Buy one and don't forget to dust the box occasionally.

Who has time for this stuff?

2007-09-24T10:59:00.000-07:00

What I notice about most of my favorite librarian bloggers is that many of them don't have young children. They are busy people-- no doubt-- but librarian bloggers with children are infinitely busier.

Begin rant: Between 6:30am and 8am this morning I had changed a couple of diapers, washed and dressed myself and the kids, folded the laundry, made breakfast and lunch for myself and the kids, started cooking tonight's dinner, watched an episode of Curious George, and removed my 2 year old from the brink of danger at least five times. End rant.

First post

2007-09-24T10:44:00.000-07:00

Welcome to my blog. Why is it called Posterhead? It's a tribute to my son who called me that one day. Don't question the mind of a four-year old.
I'm blogging as part of Project Play
I love to read blogs about librarianship. I find them inspiring, entertaining and sometimes ego-boosting. I will post an annotated list of my favorites soon. Not like you really want to know what I'm reading online, but you should.