Blogging from the ALA Student Chapter Talk 2

Alba Fernandez-Keys,
Head of Libraries & Archives at the Indianapolis Museum of Art
“Outreach Inside and Out: Museum Libraries and Their Users”

• Earliest mention of the library as a formal department was in 1909.
• 100,000 volumes of works.
• Library supporting a Museum
• Work primarily is for archives and preservation
• The library does not have a specific facebook or twitter. Actually that is centralized within the museum. But they do appear in these web 2.0 outreach. They also appear in the museum's "Art Babble"
• The library does have a shared system partner of the Indianapolis-Marion County Public Library
• Communicate with educators from local schools and universities. These educators also help spread the word about special databases and collections.
• Promotes the unique holdings of the library.
• Reference interactions are often more lengthy than other references because of the specialized collection. The connections between staff and the patron are another form of outreach.
• Recommended book title:
• Benedetti, Joan M. (ed). Art Museum Libraries and Librarianship. Lanham, Md.: Scarecrow Press ; [Ottawa] : Art Libraries Society of North America, 2007. Chapter 13: Marketing, Public Relations, and advocacy in the Art Museum Library
• Attend annual conferences, because of the networking. It is much easier to find materials quickly which is important when museum curators need the important information to do their jobs to the best of their ability.
• Constant communications with staff researchers is very important. Keeping in touch about research topics is helpful to help PR and outreach to the museum.
  
• Docent workshops created by library

Emily Okada,
Associate Librarian and Head of Reference Services at IUB “Reference Services in Academic Libraries: Outreach & Engagement”

• Context: When you think about outreach you have to think about the context of outreach. Are you thinking about public library, school library, "special" library, academic library?
• The IU libraries reorganized the public services. Both reference services were combined so that graduate and undergrads reference librarians are together.
  
• Suggestion to change reference to outreach and engagement. (Change was shot down, but the name really did creates a good picture of what reference is)
  
• Constituencies: Characteristics and information needs & interests. Outreach in collections to find what is needed. Outreach to people like athletes so they can find what they need from their mobile library. Users and potential users, how do you reach out to those online vs on site? Public Relations - Publicity - Networking. You are trying to get the message of the library out there. WIIFM: What's in it for me?
  
• Communication! Networking, annual reports are outreach, blogs, newsletters, tweeting, awards for research using the library, partnerships with GPSO and CAPS.
  
• "Gear yourself up" you make yourself be "social" be a "networker" focus on the other people and not on yourself.
• Read professional information, it often tells about outreach tried. Both failures and success.
  
• Readers Advisory as outreach.
  
• Ultimately, it's personal. It's a personal commitment by an individual to make a library viewable.
  

Blogging from the ALA Student Chapter Talk

Topic: Emerging Technology in Libraries

Mobile Devices/Smart Phone
Society is.... ALWAYS ON!!!

Markets?
28% Andriod,
21% Iphone
36% Research in Motion (Blackberry)
9% Windows Mobile
2% Palm
4% other
Regular old mobile phones beats smart phones 290 mill / 54.7 mill

Discovery layers
Compilation of information
For instance, having a catalog, database, etc. searchable from one place.



Using Twitter for Outreach & Instruction
Twitter uses....
RSS
Library instruction sessions? (longer ones are better)

Why tweet in the library?
Promotion! Get your name out there.
Get your community involved in the library (instead of the other way around!)
Ask questions, create a contest, talk about local and national topics
Find out what your patrons want
Searching about local trends in books, movies, wants, needs, etc.

How Library Staff Keeps Up with Trends
A public library approach

23 things
Learning about 23 things from Web 2.0 and Library 2.0 technologies.
Examples from MCPL: Start your own blog, use LibraryThing, explore podcasts, maintaining
online privacy

Explain and get other excited about technology (or fall flat on your face (my words not his..))

Helps Librarians develop ideas and ways to get LEUs.




Ways to find new technology with possible library applications:
Mashable
Wired Magazine
Twitter
RSS Feeds
Reddit (Sub-categories)

Posted from Cataloging class... Break... Yes break...

"What can be more easy (those lacking understanding say), having looked at the title pages than to write down the titles?" But these inexperienced people, who think making an index of their own few private books a pleasant task of a week or two, have no conception of the difficulties that rise or realize how carefully each book must be examined when the library numbers myriads of volumes. In the colossal labor, which exhausts both body and soul, of making into a alphabetical catalog a multitude of books gathered from every corner of the earth there are many intricate and difficult problems that torture the mind.

--Sir Thomas Hyde’s Preface to the Catalogue of the Bodleian Library (1674) from Svenonius. The Intellectual Foundation of Information Organization

Scenes from Legally Blonde the Musical...

My Shanty built out of cardboard, ductape and plastic bags. I won 3rd place and got a 25 dollar gift certificate to the Campus book/clothing store! WHOOT!

Fail

I knew I was forgetting something tonight. It's been a long one that is for sure. So today we were studying HTML. We were given a website and we had to find the validation errors. Guess who found the errors and fixed them first... *whistle* so I got to be teachers helper and go around helping my classmates. It was fun! Then it was off to watch Legally Blonde the Musical. It was so funny. I couldn't believe the insanity of it. Here, just as an example...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FkxVgPSUlAM

Other than that... I'm doing great. No pictures today because I'm running late. However, tomorrow I shall do my best. Tomorrow... A trip to CVS, working on GAME project, and Hoosierville!

Long Day

I'm still getting hot/cold flashes from giving blood. So today you get part 1 of my Halloween decorations. This is the door to my room :D.

In other news, I think I may have thought of an awesome idea for my final project in Reference. I have to propose the idea formally to my teacher and see how it flies. I would be super excited if it were to work. WHOOT! And.. .that's all... Tomorrow another round of learning HTML.

How I Passed out in the Elevator and Other Interesting Stories.

So... My co-workers and close friends know this fact... My parents know this fact... I do not handle blood well. In fact, I don't handle it at all. Which is why when I was walking back from dinner/4 hours spent doing homework in the library, it was a bad idea to even think about the sign in front of my dorm that said "Blood Drive" it was a worse idea to talk to the two people who were helping direct people. And it was incredibly stupid to get in line.

So, I get approved... Start giving blood and I'm ok. Nothing to bad. Almost done when my head starts to feel like its caving in on itself. I managed to catch the eye of the helper and he looks at me and asks if I'm ok and and I shake my head no. Suddenly my feet are over my head and cold compresses are on my face and neck. I start to feel better. I get up slowly (after they unhook me of course) go sit on the "post-vampire-drive" couch section and then have to put my feet up again. I drink two things of orange juice and I'm finally feeling better. I'm like "Ok... I'm good. I think I can go." They finally agree and I head out. I'm good... I'm a little light headed. I get to my dorm and I'm really not feeling well by the time I get in the elevator. I remember keying 4th... And I vaguely remember two girls getting out at 4th... And then nothing. I know I was still standing when I made it to the 11th floor. I only know that cause a girl walked in, takes one look at me and asks "Are you ok?"

I managed a "No, just gave blood." and she then proceeds to insist on walking me to my dorm room. Which was incredibly sweet of her because... Yea, I wouldn't have made it. I get in my room, and pretty much push everything onto the floor, throw my pillows under my legs and then just lay there staring at the ceiling.

My mother and various other friends have now banned me from ever giving blood again. I missed Swing Dance :( and I left a lot of people worried (sorry!). However... I did managed to pass out standing up for 6 floors in an elevator and I got a free t-shirt!

The moral of the stories ladies and gents. It's good to give blood... But not if you have a history of fainting while doing so. :D