Call for Networking Emcee

The OLA SSD annual conference on July 15th in Wilsonville is looking to be a great one, full of new ideas and interesting sessions! Based on some of the feedback we received after 2015’s conference, one of those new ideas we’re going to be including is a chunk of time set aside specifically for networking, open to all conference attendees and presenters. This networking session will go best if there is someone there whose job is to keep it lively and make sure everyone gets as much as they can out of their time.

While our committee members are happy to provide a bit of structure for the session, we thought we’d present the opportunity for professional development to all of SSD’s talented members. If you’re a networking rockstar (or if you just happen to know a few tricks for getting a group of strangers to meet), we’d love to have you emcee this year’s networking session! Contact us at olassdconference@gmail.com and share your ideas. If you prefer a phone call to an email, feel free to call conference committee co-chairs Justyne Triest (503-352-1426) or Jennifer Patterson (503-691-3074). For more information about the conference, look here to get to our current conference page. We look forward to hearing from you!

Oregon Library Profile: Sandy and Hoodland Public Libraries

Ever been curious about how other libraries in Oregon work? We thought it would be informative and fun to share a little bit of a fellow Oregonian library’s culture and customs with everyone in the Support Staff Division. Starting now, we’ll be periodically featuring libraries here on the blog that you may not have had a chance to visit. For our first feature, we’ll focus on the Sandy and Hoodland Public Libraries in beautiful Sandy, Oregon!



Sandy Public Library was founded in 1934 by the Sandy Women’s Club, and has been serving the community there ever since. The City of Sandy started management of the Hoodland Library after the citizens of Clackamas county voted on establishing a permanent tax district for Clackamas County Libraries in 2008, and their partnership has continued to this day.

Sandy and Hoodland work hard to forge partnerships with the local community. They value it highly enough that several of the staff of their libraries were recently enrolled in a five week training course in public relations at their community college. For an example of how S&H reaches out to their community, last year they put together an Oktoberfest event where local breweries brought their wares into the library for a beer tasting. In addition to bringing lots of people into the library, this event served as excellent PR for both the library and the breweries. Sounds like a good deal to me!

In addition to their one-off programming, Sandy and Hoodland Libraries have partnered with an organization called Experience Works to give unemployed seniors the experience they need to get back into the workforce. Their mission serves not only those enrolled in the program and the library, but by extension the entire city of Sandy. Just another example of how powerful libraries can be for the communities they serve.

Like any library, Sandy and Hoodland would be nothing without the people who work there, so I reached out to Thea Kuziemski, Library Assistant at Sandy, for an inside look at how things get done there. As so many of us do, the staff members in the Sandy and Hoodland Public libraries tend to wear a lot of hats. Thea alone staffs several desks, is the head of public relations, handles the purchasing of their Young Adult fiction, repairs books, and more. Her advice for those with many and varied duties? “Schedule everything!” According to Thea, when you find yourself moving from place to place and task to task throughout the day, allotting specific time for each in a structured way is the key to success and the best way to ensure that everything gets done if you don’t have the convenience of a central desk or office.

It’s something of a point of pride for the staff at the Sandy and Hoodland Libraries that they go as far as they can for their patrons. If there’s any way they can make research easier for their patrons, if their patrons are worried about their ability to pay fines, or even if a patron needs personal time and attention to find items in their collection, Sandy and Hoodland staff are happy to help. 

Thea has some parting words for all support staff in Oregon: “Branch out! Rural libraries tend to be a little more isolated, and seeing how other libraries do what they do can really help.” Thanks for the words of wisdom, Thea!

If you’re interested in seeing your library on the OLA SSD blog, feel free to contact the outreach team at ola.ssd.outreach@gmail.com. We look forward to hearing from you!

A Day in the Life- Outside Oregon

Photo courtesy Orange County Archives

This isn't an Oregon library, but if we see "A Day in the Life", we have to post it (especially with bookmobiles)! Ever wondered what it was like to be the bookmobile person? Or maybe you are and want to learn about the Day in the Life of bookmobile drivers in Nevada? Check out Kelvin's story here from what sounds like a fascinating book.

Want to share your Day in the Life? We're accepting stories and profiles from out there in OLA SSD land. You don't even have to speak in front of a crowd! Just share your Day with us and you could be featured right here on the blog! You can also read some of your colleague's Days as well.

A Call for Presenters

As you probably know, the next Support Staff Division annual conference is coming up this summer, July 15, 2016. This year, the conference will be held at the Holiday Inn Portland-South in Wilsonville. As you may not know, we are trying a new and exciting format for some of our sessions, and the new format gives you more opportunities for professional development!

This year, in addition to the presentation-style format you’re used to (one or two people presenting to an audience for the majority of the allotted time), we are hosting interactive, panel-style sessions as well. These sessions will involve a short presentation on a theme by the panelists at the beginning, leading into a lightly moderated discussion involving everyone in the room for the majority of the time. You’ll be able to choose which style works best for you, so you can get the absolute most out of the conference.

Of course, we’ll need more presenters and panelists than we’ve had in the past in order to execute this plan, which means more opportunities for you to share your hard-won expertise with your fellow support staffers. As an added bonus, presenters’ conference fee is completely waived! Interested in presenting? Take a look at the themes of our sessions this year:

• Presentation style conference sessions:
• Managing Compassion Fatigue
• Library Ergonomics
• Handling Challenging Patrons

• Interactive panel style conference sessions:
• Interpersonal Skills at Work
• Customer Service Victories
• Training Guides/Techniques/Manuals – Best Practices

If one of our sessions jumps out to you as something you’d feel confident presenting about in either format, we’d love to hear from you. Email us at olassdconference@gmail.com, or alternatively call Justyne Triest or Jennifer Patterson,  conference committee co-chairs, at (503) 352-1426 and (503) 691-3074 respectively. Let us know which theme interests you, and if you have questions about the new format or anything else conference related, we can answer those too!

OLA SSD Co-Chair Elect Nominees

OLA SSD is looking for enthusiastic people to run for Co-Chair Elects for the 2015-2016 Executive Board! This is a wonderful chance to learn more about OLA SSD and get actively involved for Oregon libraries.

If you're interested please contact Interim Chair Margaret Harmon-Meyers by November 30, 2015. If you know anyone that might like to do this, please share!


You can find more information about OLA SSD including the current Board members, schedule for meetings (all are always welcome!) and bylaws here.

OLA SSD is also seeking an Archivist, Treasurer, and Recorder for 2015-2016, so please contact Margaret if any of those sound like your area of expertise!

Map of Members

Map data ©2015 Google, Landsat, Data SIO, NOAA, NGA, GEBCO, LDEO-Columbia, NSF

Ever been curious about where your fellow SSD members call home? Every star on this map marks a city with at least one OLA SSD staffer. If you notice you’re in the middle of a big blank area, don’t worry! We haven’t forgotten you. The Executive Board has formed a new group dedicated to reaching out to regions where our membership is sparse, in hopes that with a more even distribution we’ll be able to do more for everyone. That means direct benefits for you.

New things on the horizon

Along with our outreach campaign, we’re creating new spaces and resources for current SSD members across all of Oregon. Some exciting things we’ve got in the works you’ll want to watch out for:

●     Casual regional meetups, much more often than once a year.

●     New opportunities to represent your library or your branch’s support staff on a statewide level.

●     A monthly/bimonthly newsletter exclusively for support staff.

●     ...and more!

If you have questions, comments, or ideas, you can email the new group at ola.ssd.outreach@gmail.com.

Keep your eyes on your inbox, the SSD Facebook, and this blog for more updates. We are excited to see where we can take SSD this year!

OLA SSD Elections

 

OLA SSD Board elections are happening soon! Currently there are four elected positions that are open. If you're interested in any of the positions, let us know! Being on the OLA SSD Board is truly a fantastic opportunity for professional development and to make your voice heard. 

-Interested in being Chair? Chair-Elect is one of the positions and a great way to start.

-Do you enjoy history? Maybe Archivist is the position for you.

-Good with money and budgeting? How about Treasurer?

-Got a flair for taking notes? Why not run for Recorder? 

Or maybe you want to take a more active role in OLA SSD but being a Board member isn't for you right now. Why not contact the newly formed Outreach Team to see how you can get involved? Stay tuned to hear more from them very soon!