Libraries in the news

The Ted M. Natt Research Library in the Columbia River Maritime Museum in Astoria was written up in the Oregonian.  It sounds like it would be a fascinating place both to work and research.  It also sounds like they've got their hands full cataloging!  Check out the article if for nothing else but the photos.

A library in Bend was evacuated because a bike lock looking remarkably like a hand grenade was found on the property.  It was possibly something like this.  But it never hurts to be safe.  Glad our Deschutes compatriots were not at all harmed.

Jackson County's Library Advisory Committee is backing a library funding proposal to create a library district. 

Hannon Library at Southern Oregon University is going to be cataloging... wine?  No, they are archiving historic documents of local wine makers.  Again, sounds like another interesting cataloging project.

Works Well With Others

Today we have a message from Susan Gilmont. It sounds like a great opportunity!

I don’t know how you folks are evaluated these days, but here’s a criterion that goes into my annual evaluation:

“Cooperative effort to achieve common goals; ability to work well with others”

Here’s a suggestion for a way to meet this goal:  join the SSD Continuing Education Committee.

If you’d like to meet and work with top-tier library employees from all over the state, this is the place.  If you’re looking for a growth experience, or to enhance your resume by showing how you can “work well with others,” then this is a good opportunity.  If you have a boss who is pushing you to expand your horizons, this could be the answer.  If you are just looking for a place to make a contribution, boy do we have a spot for you.

The Continuing Education Committee finds presenters for OLA and sponsors sessions there.  There are two flurries of activity around this – one in September, when we propose sessions, and one just before OLA.  Most meeting and planning is done by e-mail, calls or Skyping.  Easier than ever.

What it does for you:  I’ve been on this committee for a lot of years. It’s very energizing.  You find yourself looking at educational offerings in a whole new light:  would this speaker be good for OLA?  What sessions have I always wanted to see?  What do we all think about but nobody talks about (like money)? It turns you outward, makes you look around in a new way.  Very good for a person.  You have a reason to go to that workshop that made you curious.  It’s also justification for you to attend OLA, if you need something like OLA involvement to back up your attendance.

So, please consider joining us.  We’ll have a good time, and we’ll make a contribution.  If you are interested, please contact me at:  susan.gilmont@oregonstate.edu  .

SSD Post Conference... post

A couple items:

We've had a flickr page since 2009 and a few photos from our most recent conference are up. You can see some of our old paperwork, too!

Mary Kay Dahlgreen wrote an entry on her blog about our conference and her favorite session of the day, but that the keynote was ho-hum. Um, what? We completely disagree, MKD. :)

Iconic Oregon Library Cat Dies

Aggie, one of the many cats that have called libraries their home, passed away July 15th.  She originally came to the Willamina Library back in 1995 and moved out in 2010 to live with her adopted couple. You can read more about it in the article from KGW.

SSD 2013 Conference - A Day In the Life

Three Oregon support staff talk about what the heck they do all day...

3:01:14 PM Erich Peppler Circulation/Equipment/Volunteer Coordinator at Oregon State Library Talking Books and Braille Services.

3:02:02 PM 5300 patrons served, however that’s only 10% of the population that could use these services.

3:04:20 PM He oversees 2 Circ Techs

3:05:30 PM Circ has morning and afternoon processes – pulling things off shelves, sending address cards to print; sending out books, inspecting, check-in, mismatches, and shelving.

3:07:36 PM Tossing is how they sort – 1500 in 15 minutes?

3:08:27 PM Equipment – they have to upkeep the equipment – they have special players.

3:09:26 PM Volunteer  management takes the largest amount of time.

3:11:29 PM They have a partnership with Delta Gamma Sorority, who volunteer every year.

3:12:40 PM His days are different depending on whether school is in or out of session.

3:14:33 PM BARD – Braille and Audio Reading Download – patrons can access this 24/7 and download their own books!  A lot of patrons they serve have insomnia so it’s good they are available at 3am.

3:17:15 PM They want to RFID tag their books in the future.

3:19:01 PM WIPO has a treaty that’s going to share resources for the blind and visually impaired with other countries. http://www.wipo.int/pressroom/en/articles/2013/article_0017.html

3:24:21 PM Turner Masland is up. He’s the Resource Sharing Supervisor at PSU Millar Library.

3:27:36 PM In charge of ILL, Summit, Local Paging (a sort of holds system), Faculty Delivery, and soon starting a Document Delivery (electronic delivery of document that haven’t been scanned).

3:30:40 PM Wow, their door count is over 1,000,000.

3:34:13 PM They page twice a day. Lots of packaging and shipping, too.

3:35:03 PM Turner usually deals with frustrated patrons – they move so many materials things get lost occasionally. He enjoys turning the frustration into satisfaction.

3:37:53 PM Electronic materials are only kept in the library for 30 days because of copyright issues, so it would not be

3:38:57 PM Kate Winsor, Operations Assistant (Do-er Of All) in Hood River Library.

3:43:42 PM It’s a live-action skit!

3:41:11 PM Two courier systems. External is Sage, and internal. They also serve the high school.

3:52:09 PM The skit was not live-bloggable, but so entertaining!

SSD 2013 Conference - Playing Well With Others

Session 2 – Playing Well with Others – Leigh Anne Jasheway

1:19:43 PM You create situations by how you communicate. Using a “humor moment” can create a better experience both for you and the other person.

1:21:21 PM Game: Three people say one word each to complete a sentence: What is the meaning of life?: The meaning of life is 42, but for the majority that is too simple, therefore, most agree that many diverse universal options are available.

1:23:49 PM How do you paint the Sistine Chapel?: Two thousand years ago flat paint was insufficient, therefore we creatively selected and bulbous multituted(?) paint so when the ceiling was painted, creatively, of course, Leonardo D. could not decide how He would choose what color so therefore he splattered paint texture crookedly, abstractedly, artistically, divinely, upon the bulbous multitutive, ceiling.

1:29:22 PM What does this teach us? Things don’t always go the way we want. There’s a lot of unspoken communication.

1:31:47 PM We believe things will go the way we expect, but there is misdirection. The graph looks like this: _/ Then we experience surprise, discomfort, stress, denial, impatience.

1:33:32 PM This is also the way jokes work - setup and punchline/misdirecton. Hmm…

1:39:39 PM 60% of things you worry about never happen.

1:40:37 PM Want to change the turning point of the graph that normally creates negative emotions into a comedy point.

1:46:48 PM Jasheway has a ton of funny stories! Pantyhose in skirts, spray tans on the elderly.

1:48:52 PM Another game, this one called World’s Worst. World’s Worst Ballerina. Wow! World’s Worst Astronaut. World’s Worst Plumber.  World’s Worst Dogwalker. World’s Worst Rap Band. Okay, that was *funny*!

1:54:02 PM That game is a really good highlight for how much perfectionism and expectations affect your life.

1:56:55 PM Choose to do something you’ll know you suck at.

1:58:59 PM You cannot take risks and achieve anything without failing along the way.

2:00:37 PM Next game: Two and Ten. One person talks in ten word sentences and the other person uses two. This is a hard game!

2:07:59 PM People have different styles of communication.

2:08:21 PM Next game: Poet From a Different Land. One person speaks complete gibberish, another interprets, the last person does an interpretive dance.

2:12:25 PM Make up your own gibberish words!

2:12:43 PM The point of that game was: Communication is not just what comes out of our mouths.

2:14:58 PM Next game: Telling a story one sentence at a time:

2:16:26 PM BRB!

2:25:08 PM This is great example of how life takes twists and turns that you can’t predict.

2:25:48 PM We either make ourselves happy or make ourselves miserable. The amount of work is the same. – Carlos Castaneda

SSD 2013 Conference - Book mending

1:55 PM 7/19/2013 19th Gateways Conference, Mountain View Room at the Hood River Inn

Carolee Harrison of Portland State University  has everyone  learning  to use an archival enclosure called the Kyle wrapper to preserve books that cannot be repaired.

Across the hall Carrie Rasmussen, Hood River County Deputy D.A. is walking us through the intricacies of the Mandatory Reporting laws.

It's always smooth sailing here in windy Hood River.  The journey continues for Support Staff...stay tuned.