SSD 2013 Conference - Keynote

This year, we have Mary Kay Dahlgreen, the State (and stately) Librarian, as our keynote speaker...

9:08 AM And now for Mary Kay Dahlgreen.  One of her favorite events of the year. Ours, too. ☺

9:11 AM A reminder that the State Library exists! Established in 1905. It’s a beautiful library – go visit it. Mary has a very “modest” office on the 2^nd floor.

9:12 AM She practices her stern and stately State Librarian look every morning.

9:15 AM Library Link of the Day is one of Mary Kay’s favorite site. Site was bemoaning the loss of quiet libraries. We are not quiet anymore. What does that look like?

9:16 AM Full service to self service.

9:18 AM Really moving from full service to providing options.

9:19 AM Libraries of Oregon is accessible by anyone in Oregon. So people who don’t have local library access now have it!

9:21 AM Intentional participation in and support of education systems. In last 20 years, we finally have evidence-based support of early learning benefits.

9:24 AM Dispersed impact vs. collective impact. Big advantages to working together and providing services to everybody.

 
9:26 AM Library2Go has been around 10 years?

9:29 AM Paper-based/physical vs. digital/virtual. Paper-based will be around for a while. But we have great digitization projects and Answerland http://www.answerland.org/.

9:31 AM Traveling to library and fuzzy slipper service. Do both!

9:31 AM Modern reality.  People have a really traditional image of what’s available at libraries – including legislators. We’re not a bunch of old gals in long skirts shushing people. We have the responsibility to change that image.

9:33 AM Pew internet study of library usage? http://www.pewinternet.org/topics/Libraries.aspx?typeFilter=5

9:39 AM Getting on the Colbert report is the pinnacle of success for libraries.

9:42 AM Biggest threat to libraries is the past, not the future.

9:42 AM Community gathering space vs. … community gathering space.

9:43 AM Libraries used to bring people to the world, now libraries bring communities to the world.

9:46 AM Closing remarks – libraries have never been more important. Be nimble!

9:49 AM What other libraries are doing similar to Deschutes who just added reciprocal counties? Some libraries have adopted Evergreen, Sage in Eastern Oregon.

9:52 AM Old courier systems: garbage trucks and bank couriers.

9:53 AM Will Passport system ever be adopted on state-wide basis? MK believes we can do that, but as opposed to early adopters, we would have to change a lot of systems, and overcome local politics.

10:01 AM A plea from Rea - PLEASE VOLUNTEER FOR OLA SSD! It’s really super simple to participate. Talk to anyone with Mardi Gras beads.

ETA: The last slide of Mary Kay's presentation was a little hard to read, so if you missed it, here it is:
"The mission is timeless. Some of the tools we use to execute the mission are evolving. If we honor the mission and embrace the tools, we'll be serving lifelong learning and American democracy for a long time." - Patrick Duke, Library Director, Wilsonville Public Library

A quick "Thank you!"

Thank you to everyone who attended, to all the conference committee members, and everyone involved for making this year's OLA Support Staff Conference such a success!  The theme "Support Staff: Changing Lives Every Day" was definitely prevalent throughout the day, from the opening keynote by Brian Doyle, to A Day in the Life, to Connecting with Youth, and so much more. 

We hope you all had a fantastic time and we'll see you next year in Hood River!

OLA SSD 2012 Keynote Speaker Brian Doyle

We are very excited to have Oregon writer Brian Doyle as our keynote speaker at this year's conference. Among various honors for his work is the Award in Literature from the American Academy of Arts and Letters.

Mink River, published by Oregon State University Press, was an Oregon Book Awards finalist for 2012. Read why Lake Oswego Public Library chose Mink River for its 2012 city-wide reading program. Watch Brian on Live Wire, taped at the live radio show on November 18, 2011.

The University of Oregon bookstore will be at the conference selling copies of Brian's books -- he's written 10 including Thirsty for the Joy: Australian and American Voices, Epiphanies and Elegies, and The Wet Engine. Books from other Oregon authors will also be available. 

Why it's good to create a triangle in your workplace

Today's guest blogger talking about our recent 2011 Conference at The Oregon Garden is Rinny Lakin, a Library Clerk with Multnomah County Library (MCL).

Did you ignore the announcements for this amazing conference because you assumed it was another exclusive club for librarians? Read on! Oregon Library Association’s Support Staff Division is here for support staff (us page, clerk and LA types) from all over Oregon! Now that you know this conference was meant for us and our statewide equivalents, did you know you have missed the last 17 of them?

SSD is here to serve us paraprofessionals all year long. In addition to the yearly conference, SSD provides viable options to stretch your wings outside your role at your library, if you so desire. You can become involved and really shine. I was dazzled to see so many MCL staff involved in organizing and presenting at the conference and beyond. There are over 80 current members, yet 140+ people were at conference!

Director of Tualatin Public Library Abigail Elder gave the keynote address titled Growing Optimism. I found it really encouraging to be reminded that I have the power to become an expert on a topic, digging roots deep, seeking mastery. What really appeals to me about improving my professional offerings this way, is that I do not need to ask permission. I don’t need to win the approval of every co-worker and boss ahead of time nor navigate red tape. These are value-added hobbies I can education myself about (she used knitting as an example, she knows which co-workers can answer knitting questions and recommend knitting resources). Why didn’t she use gardening instead? I have dabbled with my genealogy hobby, but it hadn’t even occurred to me that I could become a resource!

Managing Stress for Healthy Workplaces presented by Philip Mandel- Communication & Stress Management Expert
This dude wrote “Getting Things Done” and “Nuts & Bolts.” We talked about ways to manage stress that we probably have all heard. Breathing out for 6 seconds and inhaling from the soles of your feet up to your collar bones creates the quieting response. Acupressure stress relief points; getting enough water and sleep etc. He also talked about altering our perspectives while being criticized and different ways to work on our brains. Work on our brains!? Yes. People respond to their maps of reality. If you change your map or reality, you change your emotional state. I hope to remember his suggestion to put this on your map “behind every behavior, is a positive intention”.

The most useful thing he showed us was when talking to a patron, to create a triangle (physically and subtly in your choice of words, especially if you are on the phone). You are one point of the triangle, the patron is another and the focus becomes the third point (be that the computer screen, a physical item, or even use your hand to represent an abstract or non-present point of focus). Now you are side by side, working together on the third point. Most of us have already experienced how much better that dynamic is when we help a patron at the check out stations, rather than opposing sides of a desk. I also learned that “Eustress” is the word for positive stress and dysponesis he used to describe “making it worse without wanting to.” Is that the correct usage?

Do you have a library question today?

Today's guest blogger talking about our recent 2011 Conference at The Oregon Garden is Jay Hadley, an Operations Supervisor at the historic Central Library in Multnomah County, where he supervises the work of support staff. He was also our 2011 Conference Committee Chair.

"That's very interesting and thank you for telling me that.  Do you have a library question today?"

Thus was the refrain of the "What to Say: Customer Service in Difficult Situations" session at the 2011 OLA SSD Conference. The room was electric with energy and laughter, as about 80 support staff from libraries all over Oregon shared tales of their customer service experiences and practiced new techniques. Presenter Jennifer Steward played the role of a staff member trying to help a patron, and Lisa Canavan played the role of a difficult patron who kept interjecting all kinds of distractions.  Jennifer kept coming back to the refrain, of "Do you have a library question?" and the participants nodded in approval as they saw different situations handled.  Jennifer and Lisa, both staff at Multnomah County Library, also covered tips on body language and how to deal with potentially dangerous situations.  Two are better than one, so always work with your teammates for safety.

This was just one of my highlights from this conference.  It was a great day at the Oregon Garden in Silverton, with the weather reaching nearly 80 degrees.  124 attendees enjoyed the day and many had a lunchtime tour of the gardens.

Another highlight was Abigail Elder's keynote address.  As the director of Tualatin Public Library, she has worked very hard to build inroads to her community.  She says her best reference time of the week is the hour she spends washing dishes on Fridays at the nearby senior center.  She gets all kinds of questions and has built great relationships.

That's what working at a library is all about for me, building relationships with the people in our various communities.  That way we get the chance to make someone's day, which just might change someone's life!

Bob Welch, award winning Oregon author, Keynote at SSD Conference

Pebble in the water: How libraries matter more than they might know

Based on his Oregon Book Award – finalist book, American Nightingale, Welch discusses his four-year journey to research, write, promote it – and how integral libraries were to the process.

Welch is the general columnist at The Register-Guard in Eugene and twice has won top honors in the National Society of Newspaper Columnist contest. He has written 12 books, had stories of his published in numerous collections and been published in such magazines as Reader’s Digest, Sports Illustrated and Los Angeles Times. Additionally, he is an adjunct professor of journalism at the University of Oregon, and found of the Beachside Writers Workshop in Yachats, Oregon.

For more information visit Bob’s website at www.bobwelch.net