Will Eisner Week, 2010

As a kid, I loved comic books. My favorite artists were Jack Kirby, Jim Steranko, Steve Ditko, and the greatest of them all, Will Eisner. Eisner created one of the best comic heroes ever, The Spirit, a cocky detective who was assassinated by gangsters and came back to become a vigilante. The stories ranged from noir to humor, and the Spirit had some of the sexiest sidekicks and enemies ever created. The Spirit started in the newspapers, went on to comic books, then graphic novels, and even a movie. Eisner created amazing splash panels, frequently covering a whole page or two. The panels had multiple layers that reward repeated viewing, like a broadsheet Bosch.

Beyond newspapers and comic books, Eisner was one of the fathers of the graphic novel, as his later work took on autobiography, theology, and even urban history. He wrote a seminal work on comics as art, Comics and Sequential Art.

I met Eisner's niece and nephew at the ALA Midwinter conference earlier this month. We had a nice talk about Eisner’s work and the impact he had on visual storytelling.

The family was at Midwinter to showcase Will Eisner Week, an annual celebration of graphic novel literacy, free speech awareness, and, of source, Eisner's legacy. Libraries across the US and around the world will offer book and visual displays, book group discussions, and discussion programs. Will Eisner Week 2010 will be celebrated February 28 to March 6. This would be a great opportunity to focus on your collection of graphic novels; after all, without Will Eisner, you might never have had that collection!

No comment needed...

From the annals of censorship gone awry, this from today's Inside Higher Ed:

Board Confuses Authors of 'Brown Bear,' 'Ethical Marxism'

The Texas Board of Education, worried that a scholar's book about Marxism might infiltrate a portion of the state's third grade curriculum, accidentally has banned work by the author of the popular children's book Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See?, The Dallas Morning News reported. The intended target of the ban was Bill Martin, a professor of philosophy at DePaul University, who offended some Texas board members with his book Ethical Marxism: The Categorical Imperative of Liberation. But the board accidentally banned work by Bill Martin Jr., author of Brown Bear.

TEDx Columbus

I have been shy about publishing this, but not for the reasons you might think. Last October I had the huge pleasure of speaking at TEDx Columbus, a local TED event organized by local folk. I was invited, at least one of the reasons, because I work at OCLC and they were interested in highlighting ideas and work from local organizations. This was my first time talking with a non-library audience about some of these ideas and I had a great time.

You can decide for yourself how you think it went - the whole 18 minutes are posted here. But the reason why I have been shy about showing it has less to do with the content of my actual speech and so I'll just come clean...

I had this very cute little skirt and top to wear for my speech. When I arrived the day before, the organizers shared that I should not wear black. Seriously? I almost died. And so here I am on a TEDx video wearing boring pants and a sweater. (And now you know real the extent of my vanity!)

If you have a chance to review, I would love to have your feedback. This experience definitely drove home for me that we need to be out in the communities we serve talking about our work (and not just talking back and forth to each other). I hope to have more opportunities to talk to non-library audiences ... this was such a good time. Note to self: always pack a cute color dress, just in case!

Catalogers unite at OCLC Update Breakfast

 

Good discussions about the cooperative at the OCLC Update Breakfast

 

OCLC Update Breakfast

 

OCLC Symposium ALA MW 2010

It's taken me longer than expected to get this post up...busy day today with lots of interesting conversations going on. But these are the scattered notes (along with tweets from @itgirl and @alicesneary) from the Symposium speaker on Friday, Michael Brown:

Loretta Parham kicks of the OCLC Symposium. We all do PT *physical training*!

Michael Brown, CEO of CityYear
His first library—Belmont, Massachusetts. He remembers his early experiences with the public libraries.
Boston loves its libraries (source of pride for the community).
Widener Library, his introduction to philanthropy. (The appeal is around something to do with leaving a legacy and personal concerns.)

--We’re in the same business, CityYear and libraries: Citizenship and democracy. Libraries help underscore what it means to be human.
“Getting my library card was like citizenship; it was like American citizenship.” –Oprah Winfrey

Why did he start CityYear?
Born in 1960—the civil rights movement, the moon landing, Star Trek—feeling of intense engagement
He became Passion-Struck. He worked on Capitol Hill for Leon Panetta,
HR2500—Study the commission of volunteer national service: tapping the civic power of youth.
• Life changing benefits (access to college, fulfilling the American dream)
• Needed Services
• Civil Rights
• Rite of Passage
• Inspire to Action

Action Tank – “National Service or Bust”
--Most Americans get excited about the idea of national service, once you explain it
--This isn’t a voting issue

Every meeting had to be inspirational.
Core member handbook: every member of CityYear has to register to vote, pay taxes, and have a library card.
Entrepreneurship: Timberland supplied the boots: boots, brands and beliefs. Timberland outfits the corps. Timberland provides 40 paid hours of volunteer service for employees.
Had to have uniforms—Promoting the concept. This is about service and idealism.
We did calisthenics in front of Boston Public Library every morning.

We had to engage the public sector. Wrote to all Presidential candidates.
Clinton said it was his trip to CityYear that inspired the development of Americorps.

Time magazine wanted to do a cover story on national service. (You never know who is going to be your next champion.)

Edward M Kennedy Serve America Act. Idealism of Young People, showing they can make a difference.

Now they’re focusing on the High school dropout crisis. Every 26 seconds a child drops out of school. Goal is to reach 50% of the potential drop outs.

6 Major lessons learned along the way:

1. Mantra: COME VISIT! All commitments are experiential.
2. Find a sponsor for it: Get a sponsor for everything (Timberland for Boots)
3. Build partnerships on Reciprocity and Engagement—even when it doesn’t seem like there’s a fit. (CareForce One: CSX has a truck full of rakes, shovels, etc. and it goes to small communities where CSX drives through and helps them clean communities, graffiti, etc.)
4. Every institution has unique assets. (CityYear has young people’s energy)
5. Give a role for citizens in your institution. Serve-A-Thon (One-day where everyone else gets to do what CityYear does.) Create alumni—make people feel like a part of your institution
6. Build a Movement. Be part of something larger than yourself.

Carnegie completed 1,689 libraries. He did challenge grants—the communities had to support the library, once built. Women’s organizations took up the challenge and gave us America’s libraries. A great example of movement building and democracies. (All of this was done before Women had the right to vote!)

Connect your needs to other institutions’ needs. Then you can really get some interesting things going.

Then Loretta Parham gives some examples from her library system about how she engaged members of the community outside the library to try and get some momentum around projects, and what successes emerged.

Some really interesting questions came out for both Loretta and Michael. It's clear that we're all still grappling with how to partner with our civic and campus organizations in the best way possible--some good ideas and questions.

Then we all adjourned and had Boston cream pie. Great ending to a good Symposium. It made me wish I was 22 years old again and full of heady ideals about how to Make The World A Better Place. Has that 22 year old spirit been stamped out completely? I don't think so--seeing the CityYear participants and knowing their passion, I am inspired to give some of my personal time to a national service project, too.

Americas Regional Council in full swing

The Americas Regional Council is in full swing here in Boston. Roy just posted a photo of the session, and you can follow his tweets (@rtennant) for bite-size snippets of the discussion. There will be video of the session available after ALA MW for everyone on the OCLC Web site.

Simultaneously gearing up for the Symposium this afternoon at the Westin Boston Waterfront, Grand Ballroom A/B. The discussion this time is about building influence. Here's the description:

OCLC Symposium: On the Radar: How Libraries and Other Nonprofits Can Increase Their Influence
Gaining attention and funding among nonprofit and community entities has never been more critical. Join OCLC and Michael Brown, CEO & Co-Founder of City Year, for a discussion of this vital topic. How can libraries build influence in their communities to improve sustainability? What groups see your library as a vital and essential resource for their success and survival? Building effective partnerships is essential to instilling a sense of urgency when questions of support arise. Michael’s experience in developing and growing an entrepreneurial nonprofit will bring a valuable perspective to this discussion. Loretta Parham, CEO/Director of the Robert W. Woodruff Library at the Atlanta University Center, will moderate the session and provide her thoughts on building influence from within the academic library setting.

Look for notes, ideas, photos and more from the session this afternoon. Even if you haven't RSVP'ed yet, there's always room for more. And same as the Americas Regional Council meeting--there will be video of the session available shortly after ALA MW.

Blog Salon moved!

Heads up! The OCLC Blog Salon has moved locations.
Now we will be in the Westin Waterfront, Stone Room.
The full info:

OCLC Blog Salon
Sunday, January 17
Not just for bloggers anymore! The blog salon is open and welcome for anyone interested in "Web 2.0" kinds of stuff--from blogs and tweets to APIs, mash-ups, mobile apps and more. It's your chance to rub shoulders with other technically and social-media savvy folks, and make some new friends in a relaxed, social setting.
5:30 - 8:00 p.m., Westin Waterfront, Stone Room

See you there!

Fewer libraries, more locations?

Eric Hellman has an interesting post on his blog "go to hellman" (great name, incidentally).

He postulates that by 2020 "the number of public libraries in 2020 would be half of what it is today. (And) the number of public library locations would increase by 50%." He goes on to describe a world with smaller, cheaper to run library outlets in different locations, and shuttering of some of the larger edifices. He thinks that the e-content revolution and the need to consolidate public services in times of restricted funding will help bring this about.

Hellman makes a pretty good case. We have already seen a lot of constriction in library budgets during the past few years, and given the state of the economy and the big black holes in government budgets, things aren't going to be rosy for a while.

So is the big box library a tool or a principle? If the building is a way to create a hub in your community, any space where people are willing to gather and share could work as a tool. If the building is a secular monument, a tourist attraction, or a way to keep a small town from sliding into oblivion, then the principle is a lot different.

Jeff Bezos Interview

I would strongly recommend the interview with Jeff Bezos in the current issue of Newsweek (December 20, 2009-January 4, 2010).

Given how much Amazon influences the way the public sees the book and media business, many of the comments he makes have impact on the library business as well. My favorite quote is in response to the question, "How do you define what Amazon is today?" Bezos replies, "We start with the customer and we work backward."

Blog Salon at ALA MW 2010

While you've got visions of sugarplums dancing in your heads (or you are up to your elbows in pre-holiday task lists), wanted to give you the scoop on this year's Blog Salon at ALA MW 2010. We're going Old School.

That's right. You asked for it, we delivered: We're back to the suite in Boston (!).
Here are all the details:

OCLC Blog Salon at ALA MW 2010
Sunday, January 17
5;30 pm-8 pm
OCLC Red Suite
Westin Boston Waterfront (connected to the convention center)

Can't wait to see familiar and new faces in Boston. All library bloggers/tweeters/mashers/readers welcome! And while you're planning your dance card for the weekend, be sure to sign up for some additional OCLC events at ALA MW 2010, too. You could have breakfast AND cocktail hour with OCLC on Sunday!

* Reminiscing? Previous Blog Salon photos on Flickr works well for that!
* Not attending this year? Leave us your comment and we'll post them for everyone in the room...

With apologies to Clement Clarke Moore...

Joan Frye Williams and I have just released a new podcast for the holidays. Check it out here.

And happy holidays. Things will get better!

Four stars for "The Customer-Focused Library"

The Customer-Focused Library: Re-Inventing the Public Library From the Outside-In, by Joseph R. Matthews was published September 30 by Libraries Unlimited. In this outstanding work, Joe persuasively lays out the case for re-imagining what the library does from the point of view of the customer.

One of my favorite quotes is from the introduction: "Remember---The world is going to change with or without you...and If you don't like change...GET READY! You are going to like irrelevance even less." (This is the formatting as it appears in the book.) Joe lays out what we lose by being shackled to tradition, and offers ideas that can make the library future much more positive. He's optimistic in the face of the resistance of traditionalists. In fact, he quotes Lewis Mumford, who wrote, "Traditionalists are pessimists about the future and optimists about the past."

The book isn't perfect; the black and white illustrations don't do justice to the subject, and there's one chart on page 84 that you need a microscope to read. But these quibbles don't detract from the value of the title. It's not too early to be thinking about holiday gifts for those public librarians on your list...

PieLab

Just heard a story on NHPR's Word of Mouth about a very cool project called PieLab. You might have read about it in Fast Company recently. It's basically built on the premise that when conversations start happening in a community--and young people/designers are involved, good things will come out of it. It's another idea to come out of Project M, which is a really interesting workshop group of people who come together to envision a better world through design. And they're making it happen. Sort of like a Rural Design Studio for graphic design/creative thinkers. (And you remember when I swooned after I read Rural Studio, don't you? That was after Frank Lloyd Wright but before Room to Read).

I am so taken with this idea, I want to drive to Greensboro, Alabama right now and visit PieLab. But at 1500 miles away, I guess I will have to wait for the t-shirt. Or give PieLab investments as Christmas gifts. Applaud this idea wholeheartedly.

Maybe we should start serving pie once a month in our libraries? Here's a video to help you get in the spirit:

PieLab Promo from Project M on Vimeo.

What sorts of inspiration might we draw from this for our own community spaces within and around the library?

Stretching Out

I freequently talk about the need for librarians to look beyond our professional organizations and journals to discover new insights about the world around us.

Alison Circle, one of my favorite LJ bloggers, just did a wonderful short piece in her blog, Bubble Room, about her experience as a member of the American Marketing Association. She makes the case for stretching out beyond our usual stomping grounds better than I ever could.

WorldCat Mashathon underway

mashers
Originally uploaded by Alice Sneary

Here in Seattle at the WorldCat Mashathon Seattle. Great ideas and questions coming out. This morning we're building some lightweight apps with Yahoo Pipes and most of us are finding success!

Ruminations on Leadership

Last week I had the honor of serving as a mentor at the Eureka! Library Leadership Institute, sponsored by Infopeople and the State Library of California. Led by my two favorite leadership and organizational development gurus, John Shannon and Becky Schreiber, this was an intense six day program designed to help newer members of the profession understand their own attitudes and aptitudes for leadership.

One of the themes that came out repeatedly during the week was the importance of the role of the directors and managers of these new library workers (some with MLS degrees, others without). The people who felt they had some level of control over their work, who felt like they were using all their talents in what they do, and who felt supported by upper management, tended to be much more optimistic and much likely to want to continue in the profession.

This idea was borne out in a recent study conducted by Education Week, Public Agenda, and Learning Point Associates, and funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and the Joyce Foundation. (Full disclosure: I'm the current chair of the Learning Point Associates Board of Trustees.) The report showed that fully 40% of America's classroom teachers are "disheartened." One of the leading characteristics of these disheartened teachers is the lack of support they feel from their principals and administrators.

Do we want 40% burn out --- or worse --- in the library profession? I don't think so, and I know the people who use our libraries don't want to see that. (I'll let you insert here the places you are forced to visit where the staff are less than enthusiastic about their work, and how that experience makes you feel.)

Joan Frye Williams and I did a program for the ASCLA President's program at ALA in Chicago about "Revitalizing the Library Experience." In fact, we'll be doing a slightly revised version of this as a webinar for Infopeople next month. But somehow, I think we may also have to think long and hard about revitalizing the library worker's experience. How can we get beyond empowerment to creativity? How can we be focused on getting to "yes," instead of defaulting to "no?" Where are the opportunities to allow every library worker to shine? How can branch managers, department heads, and directors support their staff when they're right, and help them learn, productively and without recriminations, when they're wrong?

Tough questions, but if this stuff were easy, they wouldn't have to pay us, right?

Register now for the WorldCat Mashathon

If you're at all interested in Web Services or library-related APIs, the upcoming WorldCat Mashathon in Seattle is the place for you.

To be held on Thursday and Friday, Nov. 5-6, the Mashathon offers a place for library developers (and non-developers who simply want to learn more) to get together and create some cool stuff. In other words, if you're curious about Web Services, APIs or how to create a mash-up, this is a great opportunity for fun, learning and collaboration. Here's a quick run-down of the details:

WorldCat Mashathon Seattle
Sponsored by the OCLC Developer Network and the University Libraries of the University of Washington.
Thursday-Friday, Nov. 5-6, 2009
Odegaard Undergraduate Library, University of Washington campus
Register now

You bring your laptop and ideas, and we'll take care of everything else.
There's a US$ 30 registration fee, but there may be assistance if that's the only thing keeping you from mashing...See you there!

LITA 2009, very quick thoughts – (Better late than never)

The LITA forum earlier this month was one of the best conferences I have ever attended for thought provoking presentations and terrific conversations between sessions and over meals. There were many presentations worthy of speaking about but I have pulled out two here which can be linked to for more information.

First is Kenning Arlitsch and Kristin Antelman on The Future of Libraries is IT (and some people just don’t get IT). They surveyed 240 future library leaders with 72% responding. At a very high level summary they found that these librarians prefer more flexible and externally focused culture. Those interviewed often felt thwarted by current organizational cultures in their academic libraries. The entire presentation is here.

Another very interesting lightening talk was by Jim Muir. He showed a new service he created called Carmen Library Link. Carmen is OSU's course management system. Library Link is a web service Jim created that allows librarians to easily create resource guides which are then linked to from specific courses. He plans to make this open source – more here

If the LITA forum continues to be this good more librarians need to add it to their must attend list.