Horse play at Lexington Public Library

All of the LPL locations have a special treat this summer - horses and foals painted by local students. The program, called Horse Play, is coordinated by LexArts and benefits arts programs in the public schools.



Each library is displaying several foals (and one big horse in the entryway) from elementary and middle schools in our neighborhood.


It's really fun when the kids who helped paint them come in to see the display.



Bill, the Northside branch manager, poses with one of the foals, which is decorated with recycled materials.

More pictures from IRRT at Library of Congress

I just could not resist taking pictures of this beautiful building and of all the fun we had!

International Relations Round Table reception at Library of Congress

I am so glad that I stayed Monday night for the IRRT reception (original plan was to drive home Monday since Circe and I had to work Tuesday, but she and Jen - my carmates - were amenable to staying an extra night and leaving super early Tuesday so we could make it to work). I had never been to the LC before, and it is gorgeous. The reception was packed with librarians from dozens of countries, some in native dress. It was fabulous.



Jamie introduced me to Amy (above with Deborah) from the Richland County Public Library in Columbia, South Carolina. She lived in Granada, Spain for five years, and I think I convinced her to do the Prague program.



Amy, Deborah, and I were the last to leave from the reception - we climbed up some stairs to a viewing platform of the Reading Room, and when we came down, there were just a few LC staff there breaking down the party!



This turned out to be a fabulous thing, as we met a police officer as we were trying to find the exit, and he chatted with us for quite awhile and took us around to some non-public areas of the library.










Our new friend, William.

Gale / Library Journal Library of the Year 2010

Many thanks to Gale (especially Kara!) for the invitation to this wonderful event. The award ceremony and reception for the Library of the Year 2010 - Columbus Public Library (Ohio) - was held at the Historical Society of Washington DC.


The Columbus Public Library director, Pat Losinski, gave an inspirational and passionate acceptance speech. Apparently the CPL staff that was able to attend had all taken a bus that day to get there, and they were excited! It was so fun to see.



Pat spoke about some of the library's successes, and said that the staff is encouraged to take risks. He told the story of meeting with a local CEO who told him "you have turned that library from a noun into a verb!"



After the speech, my school-librarian friend Deborah posed with the award money. She was so inspired by Pat that she said she suddenly wanted to be a public librarian!



The CPL staff were mingling at the reception, and Deborah and I had a great conversation with the CFO, Dewitt Harrell, who reiterated how wonderful the whole staff is. I asked him how management was able to involve all staff and have buy-in at all levels, and he told me that it's all about maintaining a positive approach, from the top down. He likes to focus on the strengths that each staff member brings to the table. He said that everybody brings different strengths that are valuable, and if you think of each person as having two unique strengths, in an organization of hundreds of people . . . well, that's a pretty strong organization.

He did caution, however, that we must always be asking ourselves "we may know how to do things right, but are we doing the right things?" We have to be open to change and the always-shifting needs of our communities.




Sarah and Deborah.



Sarah and Jen.

Lunch with Ebsco

On Sunday, Circe and I attended a lunch hosted by Ebsco for public librarians. After feeding us, a few staff spoke about some of their new products and enhancements.

They briefly demonstrated the new interface of Novelist (there is a link right on the homepage of the current interface to see a preview). The new version will be released in about a month, and it seems like it will make the most-commonly used tasks (recommending new authors or series) more prominent and easy to use. They are also now integrating Novelist into the online catalog with their program Novelist Select: it can do some really cool things like recommend other titles and authors, which especially comes in handy when the requested book is unavailable, and it will show series information in title order. Check out the catalog for Houston Public Library, which is already using Novelist in their catalog. It sounds like all current subscribers will get the new interface, but I imagine the catalog integration is an additional cost.

Footnote.com is a new genealogy database; the only one that indexes NARA (I imagine this means something to the genealogy folks out there!).

EBSCOHost is rolling out several new features, too. One that looks good is text-to-speech, which enables the user to select a section of the article, or the entire article, and have it read aloud with voice technology. What I liked about it is that the words being spoken are highlighted as the voice reads them. I could see this being useful for struggling readers. If it's not there already, we should be seeing the audio toolbar on results soon.

Random ALA

The Prague Three Husketeers reunited at ALA! Somehow we managed to not get a picture all together, but we did happily find one of our favorite face-picture things. Here is Sarah.



And me.




And Jamie.



Just like old times - my colleague from the good ole days at Gale, Jason, and I pose for a photo.



In the spirit of the funny signage from Prague, I offer this gem from our nation's capital: run! You are being chased by fire!



I could not make this stuff up. The E Content taxi at ALA.

Top Technology Trends

The LITA Top Technology Trends panel discussed current, imminent, and long-range developments, products, user expectations, and implications of technology as it relates to libraries.

The full video of the panel discussion is available at http://litablog.org/category/top-technology-trends/ and the Twitter feed is at #ttt10. (It was really fun sitting in the room watching the panel and following the tweets in real time.) Some highlights:

** the iPad was a popular topic. Its touch screen means using it is a tactile experience - which is similar to reading a print book. The panelist mentioned the "collaborativeness of the surface" and that kids are coming to expect touch technology everywhere (TVs, car dashboards).

** library designers need to think about lighting: touch devices are held perpendicular to the ceiling and overhead lighting reflects and makes viewing difficult. As more and more patrons are bringing their own devices into the library, this could become a real issue.

** "stop being the grocery store and become the kitchen"

** "the line is blurring between information about a thing and the thing [itself]" -- Joan Frye Williams

** Jason Griffey: a year from now e-readers will cost less than $50. What will this mean for how people access and use information? There is technology out there now that allows "riffing" of books - just fan the pages of a book in front of your mobile device, and the entire content is captured, OCRed, and digitized. Google Translate makes it available in any language you want. A student could come in and "rif" the Encyclopedia Britannica. This will be reality in 3-5 years; we cannot avoid it. How will we handle it?

** Monique Sendze: users are willingly giving up personal data to sites like Facebook because they feel it enhances their experience. Libraries are so used to maintaining strict privacy standards; we purge data constantly and keep the bare minimum on file. But we could start mining and using our data in new ways. "What will patrons give up in regards to privacy to get a better library experience?"

** Joan Frye Williams: we are on the verge of an "information spill" - and it could be as damaging as the bp oil spill.

IRRT President's Program

Last year's IRRT emerging leaders are demonstrating their Free Links service. Free online professional development for international librarians. Available at www.ala.org -> Round Tables -> International Relations Round Table -> Free Links.

Coming soon

Yesterday was a fantastic day at ALA. I attended Ebsco's lunch for public librarians and learned about some of their new products and features. The LITA top technology trends panel was quite thought-provoking, and the Gale/Library Journal reception for Library of the Year was a great time to catch up with some old Gale friends, and the winner - Columbus Public Library (Ohio) - was very inspiring.

I'll be posting details of these events as soon as I can - there is so much to do that I never sit down long enough to write out a post!

Librarians love the World Cup!

A crowd gathered around a TV in the convention center for the US game Saturday. This was shortly after the tying goal - the whole place erupted in cheers! I wasn't there for the sad ending.

We drove all night...

...And saw this beautiful sunrise in the Shenandoah Valley (Virginia). A couple hours later we pulled into our hotel, changed out of our traveling clothes, and walked to the conference center.



Walking through the exhibits hall was so much fun, and I saw a lot of old friends from my vendor days. I have some great information to bring back to LPL - I visited a lot of our database vendors and learned about some great updates to our products and cool new technology tools.



Circe met author Brian Selznick.


Deborah and I got our picture taken with the prez!



And then I rescued her from the clutches of evil.



By about 4 o'clock, I had run out of energy. I didn't make it to any programs today, and I have some lunches and events scheduled the next two days; if only I had a clone so that could do everything I want to here!

(note: there is no wifi in the hotel room, so writing time doesn't necessarily equal posting time. I wrote this post last night. Headed to Ebsco lunch now.)

ALA Bound!

After hours of combing through the program listings and exhibitors directory, meticulously creating my schedule in the online planner (even though I know everything will change once I get there), and coordinating driving and hotels and lunches, I am finally one day away from leaving for D.C. for ALA Annual!

I'm thrilled to be able to attend this year (I consider it an investment in my future, which is how I am rationalizing going on my own dime), but I know it's not an option for many people. There are many virtual alternatives for those who can't attend but want to keep abreast of the happenings:

The #ala10 twitter feed (you don't have to have a twitter account to follow the feed! ALA attendees are posting their tweets here.)

The @alaannual twitter page (again, you do not have to have an account -- this page has lots of great links and program info being added regularly.)

The ALA Annual Facebook page

The ALA Annual flickr page, with pictures and video

And of course, this blog!

Looking back, looking ahead

A week ago I returned from Prague, from what really was the trip of a lifetime. During my two weeks in the Czech Republic I met a lot of fantastic people, learned a great deal more than you would think possible in a two-week period, and fell in love with a city that hadn't even really been on my radar before.

I have been pleasantly surprised by all the support and vast readership of this blog. A couple times during the course, my classmates turned to me to take the official picture; I was touched to be the group's entrusted documenter. I took pages of notes at each library, lecture, and tour, and enjoyed going through them each evening and filtering them down to blog-length articles. The pictures I posted here are just a fraction of those I took; you can see the full albums on my Facebook page (you don't have to be on Facebook to see these; though if you are on Facebook, please send me a friend request!):

Prague pictures part 1
Prague pictures part 2
Prague pictures part 3

Back here in the real world, I'm taking a summer course (Library Management) and continuing to work part-time at the Lexington Public Library. In two weeks, I'll be car-pooling to D.C. for ALA Annual, where I look forward to catching up with some librarian and vendor friends. I'm pretty excited about attending as a librarian, rather than a vendor -- I'll be able to wear comfortable shoes and actually leave the exhibit hall to go to the programs and presentations!

Of course, the iPad and camera will be coming with me, and I plan to blog from the conference. I'm particularly looking forward to the International Relations Round Table reception. I am the assistant editor of International Leads, the IRRT newsletter . . . check out our current issue, which showcases a collection of articles written and compiled by one of my favorite librarians, New Trier High School's Deborah Lazar.

Watch this space for continued updates from the "Librarian in Action," and don't be surprised to find me back in Prague eventually!

Na zdraví!

A last look at Czech signs

Watch out for skin-eating liquids.


Robocop says do not enter!


I'm pretty sure this sign says "Jen is super cool."


Only synthetic fabrics allowed.

Do not throw your drink out here.