Advice to Students Attending Conference

Although I’m not attending the American Library Association (ALA) conference this year (I’ve done Chicago in the summer—too hot!), I have gone to many national conferences in my 30+ years as a librarian and so have lots of advice for first-timers who have never experienced ALA before:

1. ALA’s annual conference is ENORMOUS! Not only are there meetings and exhibits in the convention center—which, in Chicago, is miles away from anything else—there are also meetings and events in the various conference hotels, restaurants, and local venues (e.g., the Art Institute and Navy Pier). Therefore, you should plan ahead by carefully reviewing the online conference program before even boarding your plane. As you’ll see, there are hundreds of programs offered over the course of four days and many of them conflict with each other. Choose the ones that interest you the most and then plan how best to get there. If two (or more!) good programs are scheduled at the same time, there’s no penalty for leaving one early so you can attend others. However, if you think you are going to leave early, then it’s best to sit toward the back of the room so as not to disrupt the proceedings when you sneak out.

2. Shuttles (i.e., the infamous “Gale buses”) transport attendees for free to and from the various conference sites. But be prepared to stand on long lines of librarians waiting for the buses to arrive. Also, if you’re not staying at one of the official conference hotels, then you’ll need to find the closest one to you if you want to catch a free ride to the convention center, etc. Conference hotels should all have big signs in the lobby describing shuttle times and locations.

3. Plan to spend at least half-a-day (or more!) at the exhibits as this is where you’ll see all the new library products (e.g., technology, furniture, services, etc.) that vendors have been waiting to rollout. This is also where you can grab lots of freebies, like books, bags (canvas are the best!), posters, magnets, etc. If you go hog-wild, there should be a special post office set-up inside the convention center where you can mail all your precious SWAG back home. And, oh yeah, be sure to wear comfortable shoes as there are miles and miles of aisles to walk before you see the end of all the exhibits.

4. Which brings me to: What to wear at conference. You’ll want to dress comfortably but professionally, because you never know where you might meet your next job prospect. So women: a dress or skirt (or nice pants) and blouse; be sure to pack a sweater as conference rooms are always freezing! Men: slacks and shirt, no tie necessary unless you’re actually interviewing for a job at conference. Save jeans, t-shirts and shorts for after-hours events and/or sightseeing after the conference. Shoes should be comfortable.

5. If you don’t already have some, then make business cards to take along and distribute when you meet someone you’d like to see again. As I said above, you never know where you might meet your next job prospect (or future colleague), so it’s always best to be prepared with business cards in hand. If you just graduated from library school, then list your name (followed by your degree, e.g., MLIS), phone number, e-address, and web site (if you have one that’s suitable). You could also list your areas of specialty, but only if you want to limit your possibilities.

6. Chicago is going to be rife with librarians, so take advantage and make new friends. Talk to the person next to you on the shuttle. Offer to share a table with someone waiting to eat lunch at the same restaurant. It’ll be pretty obvious who’s attending ALA from the bags they’re carrying and their general librarian “look.” Conference is no time to be shy.

7. Keep your eyes and ears peeled for free social events (e.g., the New Members Round Table’s Friday night “meet and greet”) and vendor parties. If you work in a library, you’ve probably already received invitations to various after-hours soirees. If you haven’t, then check with your coworkers to see if they’ve got invitations lying around they’re not going to use. Parties are a great place to meet new (and old) colleagues; plus the food is usually pretty darn good, too.

8. Have fun! This is the one time of the year when you’re surrounded by thousands of your peers, so relax and be yourself. Librarians are the warmest, most generous people on the planet. They’ll be very happy to see you and welcome you into the profession.

Librarian Trading Card

I am now #27 in Amy Pelman's pack of librarian trading cards! Hooray! Thanks Amy (one of my stellar former students)!

Dewey-less in Arizona

When I first heard that the Maricopa county (AZ) library was abandoning the Dewey Decimal system (DDC), I was appalled. How could anyone find specific nonfiction books without a DDC address on the spine?

No call numbers

Then I attended an Infopeople webinar on the Dewey-less library in Gilbert, AZ, and suddenly became intrigued. The presenter, Marshall Shore, insisted that patrons didn’t miss Dewey numbers and, in fact, found what they wanted just as easily without them. I decided I had to see this for myself, and so that evening announced to my non-librarian husband Tim that we needed to add a day to the trip we had already planned to Arizona (to see baseball spring training), so I could visit the Perry library in Gilbert.

We pulled into the branch parking lot at about 4PM. Although the library is located on the Perry High School campus, the place was deserted. “Could this be a sign that kids don’t like Dewey-less collections?” I secretly thought to myself. But, no, we had arrived in the middle of the school’s two-week spring break and no one was around. We parked and walked up to the front door.

Neon wall and "staff picks"

My eye was immediately drawn to a blue neon wall as soon as we entered. Turns out this is where staff display their recommended “picks.” Across from the neon was a bank of self-checkout machines and beyond them two tables stacked high with new books. The rest of the space was open and bright, with the clearest sight-lines I’ve ever seen.

Clear sight-lines

“Wow! This looks just like a bookstore,” Tim exclaimed, while I looked around in wonder. If libraries could talk, this one definitely would have had me at “Hello!”

Book displays

We approached a trio of staffed desks, where I identified myself and asked if we could take photos. A friendly young woman said she’d get the branch manager. The head librarian, Jennifer, emerged from a back room and told us we could (of course!) take pictures. She then took us on a short tour. She explained that the branch has a “browsing collection” arranged by broad Book Industry Standards and Communications (BISAC) (i.e., bookstore) categories instead of Dewey, which are further refined by subcategories (e.g., Travel - U.S.). DVDs, CDs and fiction are shelved separately, but all adult, teen and kids’ nonfiction is interfiled. We saw several freestanding book displays (e.g., “Oprah Reads”), attractively organized on shelves that could easily be wheeled anywhere inside the library.

Shelf end-panels

Signage was large and clean, but (to my eye) brutal. Shelf end-panels were softened by generic photos of people smiling and reading. Tim and I were both surprised to see LGBT fiction shelved next to westerns, which were both shelved near the religious books. Tim was disappointed by the puny magazine collection. But he did like the comfortable armchairs, each outfitted with a small table for folks equipped with laptops. These, too, had wheels so users could move them as needed.

Easy chairs on wheels and with desks

Because the facility is part of the high school, students have exclusive access to the branch every school-day morning before it opens to the public. Their entrance, located on the west side of the building, opens onto an extensive row of computers and a teen room. Vending machines, filled with various waters and “healthy” snacks (e.g., SunChips, granola bars), are clearly visible from throughout the library. Food and drink are allowed.

Teen room signage

Vending machines

We left after about half-an-hour, duly impressed by the library layout and service philosophy. The materials seemed to be logically arranged, as well, even without Dewey. I actually could see myself working in Gilbert, if I didn’t live 400 miles away! Next year we’ll visit the other Maricopa county branches that recently converted to BISAC to see if they’re just as successful. In the meantime, I’m going to ponder how other libraries might look if they adopted the Perry branch model.

Services to Homeschoolers

I attended an excellent workshop last week on serving homeschool families. Offered by Infopeople, California libraries’ premier continuing education provider, the session was conducted by Adrienne Furness, author of the brief but informative book Helping Homeschoolers in the Library (ALA, 2008).

Although I’ve researched kids’ academic needs for almost 20 years now, I still know very little about homeschooled students. I was therefore surprised to learn that more parents homeschool their children out of concern about the school environment (88%) than they do for religious reasons (83%) (see National Center for Educational Statistics). I was even more surprised to find out there are more homeschooled kids in Southern California than any other place in the country.

Several homeschooling philosophies exist, but the most prominent, according to Furness, are “unschooling” and conservative Protestant. Unschooling follows the tenets of John Holt, who espoused a movement of child-led learning that often incorporates “real world” activities. Typically, unschooled kids volunteer at community agencies as part of their education and are well-versed on current events. If there is a curriculum, it tends to be more freestyle and focused on experimentation.

Religious homeschools, on the other hand, are far more structured and purposeful. Conservative homeschool teachers are highly organized and vocal. Curricula come prepackaged and are often shared among families.

Though homeschooling is currently legal in all 50 states, the laws vary widely from state to state. In California, homeschooling families have to declare themselves a private school or enroll their child(ren) in a charter, public or other school that allows independent home study. Instruction must be in English and adhere to the following subject parameters:

• Grades 1-6: English, math, social sciences, science, fine arts, health, and physical education

• Grades 7-12: 1-6 subjects plus an international language, applied arts, vocational education, and driver’s education.

One workshop attendee had a hard time getting her head around the fact that any ol’ parents can identify themselves as teachers and then proceed to educate their kids. My own feeling is that it should make no difference to us whether the parents are qualified or not, just as long they use the library’s resources to teach accurate and current lessons. In fact, I’d rather have them start with the good information available in the library than use questionable information gathered elsewhere.

So what should public libraries do to accommodate homeschoolers? According to the many people Furness has interviewed nationwide, homeschoolers primarily need: (1) space to meet and (2) special borrowing privileges, such as “teacher cards” and extended loan periods. They also appreciate working with librarians to create programs that not only teach library skills, but relate to their curriculum. Library programs should be conducted in the afternoon, because most homeschool “desk learning” occurs in the morning, and should focus on the library’s resources. Since many homeschools encompass a wide range of ages, library programs should be advertised by “skills level” rather than age.

Homeschooled kids know how to talk about books and are extremely well-read. At minimum, librarians can serve homeschooler needs by developing collections that represent multiple viewpoints, conservative as well as liberal. Classic literature should be well-represented for families that prefer not to read contemporary fiction. In addition, the library should carry as many “how-to” homeschool books as possible, even though they are not widely available through jobbers. (For reviews, see Cathy Duffy Homeschool Reviews and Furness’s own Homeschooling and Libraries Blog.) Some libraries even offer homeschool “resource centers” with three-dimensional realia and equipment (e.g., a telescope!) that can be checked out for class use.

Seems like there are lots of opportunities here to develop public library programs for kids from all kinds of educational settings. What's good for homeschoolers may also be just as good for more traditional students. Something to think about when writing that next youth-services grant . . .

Letter to the Editor

Occasionally I’ll get a bee in my bonnet and write a letter to the editor of whatever periodical I happen to be reading. My letters tend to be either political in nature or library-related. My most recent letter to Library Journal (11/15/08), for instance, rebutted Joseph Grosso’s assertion that public libraries have abandoned their educational role. My contention, of course, was that they have not. (Don’t even get me started!)

I am no Luddite, but I am easily aggravated by the shortsightedness of those who think the Internet should replace paper-based information sources. I was especially rankled by last week’s L.A. Times “Webscout” article, which not only predicted the demise of print newspapers, but seemed to gloat in the possibility. I had a fit! Why should a format that has served its reading public well for so long be so summarily relegated to the junk pile? Anyway, here’s my response, which the Times published on Saturday (3/7/09):

Regarding David Sarno's "Online/on paper debate" (March 4, 2009), while I agree that many of today's readers are more interested in receiving their news through the Internet than via newsprint, I have some real concerns about doing away with paper periodicals altogether. In particular, I worry about the demise of newspapers as historical artifacts. Sure, we can currently look-up old copies of the L.A. Times on Proquest, but how long will that last in an electronic environment that's so volatile? I'm far more concerned that whole swaths of history can be eliminated with the simple touch of a delete key than I am about the millions of trees destroyed every year to create newspapers. If publishers do away with newsprint, then they better figure out a way to permanently preserve the historical record of our daily lives.

So there! (I’m glad my letter was printed on paper as this blog will no doubt be completely obliterated someday. . .)

The Reader

We finally saw “The Reader” yesterday—the last of the major Oscar-nominated films we needed to see. It was powerful and beautifully performed and touched me far more deeply than expected, even though I’m a huge sucker for thoughtful, sad love stories.

Although the entire movie was heart-wrenching, the most poignant part for me was when [SPOILER ALERT!] Michael (Ralph Fiennes) decides to send tape-recorded books to his former lover Hannah (Kate Winslet), whom he knows is illiterate. This tender gesture, which changes Hannah’s life, made me cry like no other scene in the movie.

Certainly there are much grander themes of morality and “doing the right thing” in the film. But the importance of literacy and the power of the written word are an integral part of the larger themes presented here. Maybe it’s just the librarian in me, but the ability to read is so critical that I think the act of reading to another person is one of the most precious gifts we can give someone. Imagine a parent reading to a young child before saying goodnight or an elderly wife reading to her sick husband. It's no exaggeration to say that sharing the written word can be as profound an act of love as any.

So what does this mean to librarians? Would Hannah still have become a Nazi guard if she had used a library when she was young? In the context of the movie, her shame of being illiterate directly forced her into a job that enabled the murder of hundreds of women and children. To me, the implications run much deeper, however. Because she couldn’t read, Hannah’s existence was very black-and-white—almost binary: if she couldn’t do this thing, then she would do that. There were no shades of gray in her life. By reading, however, her mind would have been opened to multiple worlds and ideas, which in turn may have led her to a life of more options. As it was, her ignorance resulted only in tragedy.

Of course, today’s libraries are much more than just book depositories: we offer programs, a “third place” where people can congregate, and information in many different formats. Literacy, too, has expanded to encompass all knowledge, not just reading. There’s information literacy, media literacy, consumer literacy, and even financial literacy. But it still all boils down to the written word.

In a wonderful article published in today’s New York Times, a school librarian helps kids find the best information possible.

“Have you looked in any books?” she asks a 13-year-old doing research on the Internet. “Does anybody like books?” she then asks the rest of the students in the library. They shake their heads no.

“You can read magazines, newspapers, pictures, computer programs, Web sites,” she tells them all. “You can read anything you like to, but you have to read. Is that a deal?”

Connie Costantino

I met Connie about 20 years ago when she interviewed for a job with the San Diego County Library. I was on the interview panel and was in charge of checking references before we offered her the job. Her former supervisor was absolutely ecstatic that we were thinking of hiring her. I had never heard such glowing praises from a previous employer! The woman clearly loved Connie as a librarian and as a friend.

Though we were never “best friends,” Connie and I did have a lot in common. We supported each other psychologically and emotionally while we both pursued doctorates (me in library science, she in education). And when she became adjunct faculty for the SJSU library school, we shared teaching tips. We kept in touch through email and exchanged Christmas cards every year. One winter, when they were living in Marina del Rey while her husband oversaw a construction project at UCLA, she and Lenny invited Tim and me aboard their sailboat for a leisurely cruise. The four of us spent a lovely evening together, sailing around the marina and chatting.

After a long time not hearing from her, Connie called me last month to touch base. She told me she was looking forward to traveling to Rome with Lenny after the new year—a trip they had postponed while she took care of her mother in Buffalo, NY. Though I was sad to hear that her mom had passed away in November, I was not surprised that Connie had pretty much put her own life on hold to be with her mother the last few months of her life.

Early this month, Connie died suddenly at the London airport as she and Lenny were changing planes to go to Rome. She apparently had a blood clot in her lungs that killed her instantaneously. The news still shocks me and reminds us all that no matter how good a life one leads, death is always just a moment away.

Friends, family and colleagues are gathering to toast Connie’s generous life and spirit tonight as the sun sets outside her Oceanside beach home. She is already much missed . . .