Thursday, October 15, 2009

Dewey: Stick with it, let it go, or work with it

There has been a lot of discussion about libraries using or not using Dewey. Take this Library Journal article: The Dewey Dilemma, for example. Part of the article focused on the Darien (CT) Library and how they use a combination of Dewey and subject categories; "We wanted to retain the findability of Dewey while encouraging and enabling browsing" - Kate Sheehan, knowledge and learning services librarian.

The article mentions some good points such as children's books where the question usually involves finding a book on a particular topic for a particular age/grade. From my experience, patrons usually want a story book (fiction) on that particular topic for a particular age/grade. This makes it even more challenging because fiction is organized by the author's last name. It doesn't even involve Dewey at all.

Sometimes patrons tell me that they don't like the system that we use, that all they want to know is where the [insert subject/topic] books are without having to ask someone, especially having to wait in line at the reference/information desk.

Also, I know that many libraries are pushing for great customer service, but how good is that customer service if people are feeling lost, confused, and sometimes even frustrated?

So what do you think? Should we use Dewey, not use Dewey, use a combination of Dewey and something else?

Friday, October 2, 2009

October is National Medical Librarians Month


Looking for quality health or medical information and perhaps not having much luck? Why not ask your medical librarian?

Wednesday, July 15, 2009

ALA '09 Recap

Highlights of ALA 2009 in Chicago


Unconference Program
  • Combination of quick presentations and discussions
  • Topics ranged from Web 3.0 to information literacy. See schedule for list of topics.
  • Participated in a discussion about planning and facilitating unconferences. There's an increased interest in doing library unconferences. Look out for our program on BPL ThinkTank, an unconference staff development event that we did at Brooklyn Public Library (BPL) at the Public Libraries Association (PLA) conference in March 2010.
Emerging Leaders Poster Session
  • Over 20 posters were presented by this year's emerging leaders based on their projects.
  • Projects included working with the PLA conference planning subcommittee, attracting librarians in the millennial generation to participate in ALA, etc.
Visit to Chicago Public Library
  • Visited the new YouMedia space, a space specifically designed for teens with the latest digital media technology

ALA 2009 Poster Session
  • My colleague and I presented a poster session "Keeping People at the Center of the Public Library: Analysis of Disruptive Technology and Suggestions for Creating a People-Centered Environment". Check out our project wiki.

Congrats to Libraries and Autism: We're Connected for winning the 2009 Association of Specialized and Cooperative Library Agencies Award. Libraries and Autism is a collaborative project among two libraries in New Jersey that produced a customer service training video for library staff to help them better serve individuals with autism.

Wednesday, June 24, 2009

ALA 2009 Poster Session

Check out my poster session at ALA 2009 in Chicago.

Keeping People at the Center of the Public Library: Analysis of Disruptive Technology and Suggestions for Creating a People-Centered Environment

Monday, July 13, 2009 from 1pm-2:30pm
Table #3
ALA Exhibit Hall

Monday, June 22, 2009

Should the Three NYC Library Systems Be Merged?

Last week the Mayor and City Council reached an agreement to restore library funding so that NYC libraries can continue to provide 6-day library service. In the midst of the budget crisis and petition signing, WNYC did a piece titled "One Library System Instead of Three: A Radical Cost-Cutting Solution?". I've heard the merger idea suggested before. What do you think? Should the three NYC library systems be merged?

Friday, June 19, 2009

SLA '09 Recap

Some random thoughts, experiences, and pictures of SLA 2009.


SLA Leadership Development Institute
  • Pain-free public speaking: SEE - Stories, Examples, Enthusiasm
  • Align in 09: Two-year alignment project that looked into more effective ways to communicate to the non-library world about information professionals. A portal will be set up to discuss project findings and share information. Methods used in this alignment project included surveys, focus groups, and dial sessions. It was found that the name "Special Libraries Association" is not meaningful based on research and a discussion was started about a name change for the association.
  • Top 10 picks for your SLA leadership toolkit:
  1. Board of Directors
  2. SLA Membership Directory
  3. Leadership Center
  4. Leadership Discussion Lists
  5. Chapter Idea Wiki & Division Idea Wiki
  6. Leadership Connections
  7. Leadership Resources & Tools
  8. Innovation Laboratory
  9. SLA Resources
  10. Click University
SLA Opening General Session


  • Keynote Speaker: Colin Powell mentioned that instead of navigating through the SLA website to get to Click University, he just searched for it using Google. Maybe it's time for some web usability testing?
  • Congrats to Pam Rollo, SLA@Pratt Advisor, for being selected as a SLA Fellow.
  • Congrats to Michelle Dollinger, SLA-NY President, for being selected as a SLA Rising Star.
Thinking on Your Feet: Dynamic Communication
  • Expanding your comfort zone
  • Speaking your audience's language
  • Benefits and features of a product or service
  • What's the worse possible thing that can happen?
  • "Plans are useless but planning is essential" - Eisenhower
Writing a Resume that Gets Results
  • Your resume is not an autobiography
  • Resume = marketing tool
  • Networthing
  • Summary/Qualifications section
  • Skills - Transferable skills and technical/career-specific skills
Interviewing Tips & Techniques
SLA Unconference Session #3
  • Interesting discussion on participatory librarianship. See discussion notes
  • Story telling vs. story listening
Developing a Job Search Strategy
Critical Thinking
National Library of Medicine (NLM) and National Institutes of Health (NIH) Tour


Friday, June 5, 2009

Conferences and Unconferences

It's that time of year again - lots of conferences and unconferences are happening. Just this week, I attended LibCampNYC, an unconference focused on libraries and library technology. There was another NYC unconference, Library Camp NYC, in August 2007. Unconferences are about collective knowledge and ideas and the session topics are determined by the attendees. Unconferences have usually been stand-alone events, but this year, there are unconference sessions throughout the SLA conference and ALA has an unconference day during the ALA conference. Looking forward to the conferences and unconferences in D.C. and Chicago. Also, if you're going to ALA, I will be presenting a poster session "Keeping People at the Center of the Public Library: Analysis of Disruptive Technology and Suggestions for Creating a People-Centered Environment" on Monday, July 13 at 1pm-2:30pm.

Tuesday, June 2, 2009

Is the MLS/MLIS Necessary?

Having just received my MLIS two weeks ago, I still wonder if the degree is necessary. While I did learn some very interesting and useful things in library school, I'm not sure how much I really use or refer to that knowledge in my everyday work. A recent Library Journal article talked about the decreasing number of MLS degreed librarians in public libraries. The article discussed many aspects, including the changing of core functions, decline of reference, centralized collection development, and the changes in desk staffing. What does this mean for the future of the profession and libraries?

Friday, May 15, 2009

Keep Your Library Open


"If education and information are going to provide the means as America digs itself out the great big hole we are in, the public library is handing out the shovels. Cut or kill the libraries and you yank away a shovel" (Libraries Are America's Lifelines. Leave Them Alone).

New York City libraries are facing a 22% budget cut (Library Journal). This would mean:
  • Over 900 library employees would be laid off
  • Many neighborhood libraries would be closed on the weekends
  • Less programs such as storytime, computer workshops, workshops on resume, interviewing, and job searching, book discussions, health workshops, etc.
  • Less books, DVDs, CDs, magazines, e-books, audiobooks, databases, etc.
What you can do:
  • Write to your City Council Member.
  • Find out more ways to take action to save NYC libraries.

Thursday, May 14, 2009

BPL Sibshop Workshops


Over 60 people attended last week's Sibshop workshop series, hosted by Brooklyn Public Library, The Child's Place for Children with Special Needs. This was the first time the training has been offered in a library and one of the very few times it was offered without charge. Sibshops are workshops for children and teens who have a sibling or siblings with special needs. The two-day workshop series was conducted by Don Meyer, Director of the Sibling Support Project. Find out more about Sibshops.

Monday, May 11, 2009

Save NYC Public Libraries

All three library systems - Brooklyn Public Library, New York Public Library, and Queens Library are facing budget cuts in the coming fiscal year, which starts in July. Please take a moment and sign the petition to save NYC public libraries.

Tuesday, May 5, 2009

Workshops on Sibling Issues & Sibshop Model This Friday & Saturday

What: Workshops on Sibling Issues and Sibshop Model Training
When: Friday, May 8 and Saturday,May 9
Where: Brooklyn Public Library (Brooklyn, New York)
Who: Siblings, parents, families, service providers, and anyone interested in sibling issues

Workshop Details:

Friday, May 8 from 9am-4pm

  • Brothers & Sisters of People with Special Needs: Unusual Concerns, Unusual Opportunities
  • A Panel of Brothers & Sisters
  • Sibshops: Getting Started

Saturday, May 9 from 9am-3pm

  • Demonstration Sibshop

* No need to register at this point, just show up. More information

Saturday, April 25, 2009

SLA@Pratt Career Fair Photos and Presentations

Over 120 people attended Friday's first annual SLA@Pratt Career Fair at Pratt SILS.

See more photos and some presentations on the SLA@Pratt site.

Share your experiences and continue the discussions with your colleagues at SLA@Pratt Connect using your Google, AIM, Yahoo or OpenID account.

You can also find SLA@Pratt on Facebook and Twitter.

Saturday, April 18, 2009

Sibshop Training and Sibling Workshop at Brooklyn Public Library

What: Sibshop Training and Sibling Workshop
Who: Siblings, parents, families, service providers, and anyone interested in learning more about sibshops and sibling issues.
When: Friday, May 8 and Saturday, May 9
Where: Brooklyn Public Library

Sibshops are workshops designed to celebrate the contributions made by brothers and sisters, as well as acknowledge the challenges of the sibling role. Don Meyer will discuss the good and not so good parts of being a sibling of a person who has special needs, while offering suggestions to parents and providers. There will be group discussions to share experiences and hear what
others have to say about growing up as a sibling of a person with special needs. The Saturday workshop is geared for 8 to 13 year olds and their families.

This is no charge to attend this workshop. For more information and to register - http://tinyurl.com/sibworkshop.

A Few Days Left to Register for SLA@Pratt Career Fair


There's only a few days left to register for the SLA@Pratt Career Fair on Friday, April 24th from 4pm-7pm at Pratt SILS.

Thursday, April 16, 2009

Libraries Connect

I just realized that this week is National Library Week. The theme this year is Worlds connect @ your library. The way I see it, libraries are about connecting - connecting to and with resources, services, ideas, people, communities, etc. I see this whole connecting mesh thing in my mind of what libraries can do - the potential of libraries. What do you see when you think of libraries? Speaking of connecting, check out SLA@Pratt and connect with your colleagues.

Monday, March 30, 2009

SLA@Pratt Career Fair on Friday, April 24th


SLA@Pratt will be hosting the first annual SLA Career Fair at Pratt Institute School of Information and Library Science on Friday, April 24th from 4pm-7pm. Bring your resume and business card. Students and alumni from Pratt and other LIS programs will have the chance to network and ask questions of professionals from a variety of NY special libraries: law, corporate, academic, medical and museum, as well as representatives in information architecture and book vendors. RSVP for the SLA@Pratt Career Fair by Tuesday, April 21st.

Saturday, March 28, 2009

Sibshop Workshop Series on May 8 and 9

Brothers & Sisters of People with Special Needs: Too Important to Ignore! A Workshop Series: Friday, May 8 & Saturday, May 9, 2009.

The workshop series include:
  • Brothers & Sisters of People with Special Needs: Unusual Concerns, Unusual Opportunities
  • A Panel of Brothers & Sisters
  • Sibshops: Getting Started
  • Demonstration Sibshop
This is a good opportunity for parents and families to learn about sibling issues and for service providers and those interested to learn more about sibshops and get training.

Please register by Friday, April 24th. For more information and to register.

This program is sponsored by the Brooklyn Public Library and the Children's Services Committee of the Brooklyn Developmental Disabilities Council. Additional support provided by the Brooklyn Early Childhood Direction Center, YAI/National Institute for People with Disabilities and New York State Developmental Disabilities Planning Council.

Thursday, March 19, 2009

Science, Magic, Medicine, and Harry Potter

This is really cool. The American Library Association (ALA) Public Programs Office, in cooperation with the National Library of Medicine (NLM) has a traveling exhibition, "Harry Potter's World: Renaissance Science, Magic, and Medicine", which was created to explore the link between Harry Potter and the history of science using materials from the National Library of Medicine. Public, academic and medical libraries may apply to host the banner exhibition. The deadline is May 1. Check out the exhibition site.

Wednesday, March 18, 2009

Libraries for the Future (LFF) Closes

Libraries for the Future (LFF), a national non-profit organization that supports innovation and investment in America's libraries, has closed due to budget issues. LFF developed and supported many great programs, including the Human Genome Project Community Conversations, a project that aims to promote genetics literacy in communities by using public libraries as a resource for information and venue for workshops, lectures, and discussions. I am actively involved with this project at Brooklyn Public Library (BPL). This project will continue since there are still some funds, but it's sad to see that a national non-profit organization of 17 years is now closed.

Monday, March 16, 2009

Freedom of Information and Open Government

Freedom of Information Day is on March 16, the birthday of James Madison, who is "widely regarded as the Father of the Constitution and as the foremost advocate for openness in government" (ALA).

Each year, the American Library Association (ALA) presents the James Madison Award and the Eileen Cooke State & Local Madison Award to "recognize those individuals or groups that have championed, protected, and promoted public access to government information and the public’s right to know" (ALA).

Freedom of Information Day coincides with Sunshine Week (March 15-21), a national initiative to open a dialogue about the importance of open government and freedom of information.

Check out related NYC events going on this week.

Sunday, March 15, 2009

Library Journal 2009 Movers & Shakers List is Out


Congrats to all the 2009 Library Journal Movers & Shakers, including one of my mentors, Joe Murphy. Also, check out the map that Library Journal put together of the locations of the 2002-2009 Movers and Shakers.

Wednesday, March 11, 2009

Public Space and Libraries

A friend and I were walking around Union Square tonight and noticed this giant tri-fold science fair type of board with "public space" written very big on one side. There were groups of people around it - some reading, some writing, some even drawing. It was interesting to see the messages that people put on the board. My friend and I decided to contribute and this is what we wrote:


I'm thinking now that I should've taken a picture of the entire board to really show what was happening. Would've also been a good picture for one of my class assignments. Next time...

Tuesday, March 10, 2009

Libraries = Collections?

Over the past few years, based on conversations with people, libraries are associated with books, audiobooks, DVDs, CDs, e-books, databases, etc. - basically resources or collections of resources, regardless of the media type. Yesterday, I was doing shelf-reading of a print reference collection. Today, I had a conversation with a few colleagues about collections and circulation statistics. Overall, libraries are deeply connected and defined by its collections. My colleague, Nate Hill recently blogged a post about the changing role of public libraries which covers a bit of what I discussed in my last post and will discuss in this post.

For a long time, libraries have been and are still defined by their resources and collections of resources. Increasingly, people are finding information online on their own, which has brought up questions like why do we need libraries and how can libraries stay relevant. It's not only the resources that defines what libraries are, the library staff plays a crucial role. Why not encourage and support an environment for library staff to use their ideas, skills, creativity, and knowledge to collaborate with the community to develop, organize, create, and coordinate events, programs, wikis, blogs, etc. while using the collections? I think there's potential in libraries playing this kind of role and it's great to see that it's happening.

Saturday, March 7, 2009

Community Health Information and Public Libraries

Yesterday I attended a workshop "An Apple A Day: Providing Consumer Health Information at Your Library" presented by Arpita Bose from the Mid-Atlantic Region of the National Network of Libraries of Medicine. It was a great workshop. The workshop prompted me to think again about the lack of health information available, particularly easy-to-read, multilingual, and community-based resources. I feel like there is so much that we, as librarians and information professionals, can do, not just in terms of health information, but any information, in general. We can and should play a more active role in working with organizations, institutions, and communities in creating tools and resources to provide access to community-based information and going beyond the resource guides that libraries have been creating and using.

I was in Philly last weekend and visited the Mutter Museum. Pretty interesting museum. What I also found interesting at the museum is Philly's local health information website maintained by the College of Physicians of Philadelphia. Philly Health Info.org is "a comprehensive directory of health services, events and information for Bucks, Chester, Delaware, Montgomery and Philadelphia counties." I wonder if the Free Library of Philadelphia and other libraries in Philly participate in this. It is similar to NOAH - New York Online Access to Health since it also links to other resources, such as the Centers for Disease Control and MedlinePlus. It links to NOAH as well. What's different is that it also includes information on health services and events. I wonder how many people use their site, if people find it useful or find it all, can people find it without directly searching for it. I wonder the same thing about NOAH.

Wednesday, February 25, 2009

User Experience in Libraries

Last month, the new Darien Library in Connecticut was opened to the public. With the bad news about libraries laying off staff, cutting hours or closing, it's good to hear about a library opening. Based on the article in Library Journal, Darien Library's blog, pictures and the opening day video, the library sounds and looks pretty amazing.

What's also amazing and interesting is the creation of a user experience department. According to Darien Library's blog post, the User Experience Department is "primarily concerned with the experience of the Darien Library user, drawing from the successes and failures of human-to-technology interface design. Usability, aesthetics, community, collections, and customer service are the key tenets of this user-centric service initiative."

That is exactly what I learned about and did as a collaborative research project in the People-Centered Methods and Design class that I took last year. The course is based on a project of your own choosing. You can work on the project by yourself or with another person. It's more of a seminar than a lecture-type course. Highly recommend it for those at Pratt SILS. Here's the course description.

It's important that the user is at the center of library services or any service. I think it's a matter of seeing things from the user's perspective. Of course, there are factors like age, language, etc. to consider. Sometimes users have to jump through many hoops to complete a task (for example, make a photocopy). The task of making a photocopy which probably can be completed in a few minutes could turn into something that can take up to 15 minutes or more because the user needs a library card with money (value) on it in order to make a photocopy. Is it really necessary? Can there be no other options?

Take a look around you and see how people are using service interfaces, library-related or otherwise. Are they completing what they need or want to get done? How long does it take them? Do they look satisfied, frustrated, confused, etc.? Let me know - I would like to hear about your observations and experiences.

So what do you think about the Darien Library and its User Experience Department? Anyone up for a field trip to Darien, CT?

Tuesday, February 24, 2009

Library School and LIS Education

Being in my last semester of library school, I've been thinking a bit about my library school experience. The past 2 and 1/2 years has been a good experience, especially being a part of the Public Urban Library Service Education (PULSE) program. PULSE is a collaboration between Brooklyn Public Library and Pratt Institute School of Information and Library Science (SILS) and funded by the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS). As part of the program, I am getting a broad range of hands-on experience that complements and enhances my classes. This semester, I am taking Usability Leadership and doing a practicum/internship at Columbia University.

Courses that I've taken:

  • Introduction to Information Professions with Glen Bencivengo (Core/Required)
  • Information Services and Resources with Phillip Yockey (Core/Required)
  • Knowledge Organization with Rick Block (Core/Required)
  • Information Technologies with David Walczyk (Core/Required)
  • Urban Public Library Service with Donna Fleming
  • Collection Development with Nasser Sharify
  • Medical Librarianship with Helen-Ann Brown
  • People-Centered Methods and Design with David Walczyk
  • Information Architecture/Interaction Design with David Walczyk
  • Metadata: Access and Description with Rick Block

There's a lot out there about library school and LIS education - achieving a balance between theory and practice, the popping up of I-schools, and recent news about Rutgers' change in school name - just to name a few. What is library school? What is information school? What is library science vs. library and information science vs. information science? I will be receiving a master's in library and information science (MLIS) in May. Does that mean I got a bit of both library science and information science? I'm not even sure I know what the difference is. This year, Pratt SILS was re-accredited by the American Library Association (ALA). It makes me wonder how LIS programs are evaluated when they can be and are so different from each other, not just with names of schools and degrees but also with requirements for admission and graduation.