“Camaraderie” defined by Merriam-Websters Online Dictionary is “a spirit of friendly good-fellowship”. When power fails, computers crash, and the lights go dim, the human element still works, and camaraderie is the circuit along which knowledge will continue to travel.

To develop that among the variety of age groups and intellects that work in a library is no easy task. Sharing two things, food and humor, are excellent methods to develop this. Food I’ll leave to individual tastes (pardon the pun) but relevant humor can be trickier to find.

Castles’ del.icio.us resources include Unshelved, from Overduemedia.com (saved by 108 members), has hundreds of funny cartoon strips about librarianship. Librarians have unique opportunities to observe the human condition, and have a good laugh over it. Unshelved does that without being mean. Today’s page has a photo sent in by a fan with a great librarian quote on her T-shirt, “Will work for books”. Love it!

I would imagine there have to be more strips like this. Feel free to comment if you know of any others!

This brings me to a final point about the del.icio.us collection software. Unlike the Librarything various display options, del.icio.us only offers chronological sequencing at this point in time. The last link you put in is the first link the visitor will see. I edited mine in chapter sequence, and found that the first chapters are at the back of the list! I’d forgotten the Unshelved link, and put it in after I added an introduction link. Unshelved appears as my first link!

You could use an introduction link like I have just below the Unshelved link. It doesn’t offer much writing space, but it compensates for the fact that the site doesn’t offer as many descriptive capabilities as the Librarything profiles do. An introductory link can help visitors use your collection better.

Plan if you want your links in specific order. I could delete my current intro link, and reenter it so it would be the top one. However it’s more useful to demonstrate this concept for this blog the way it is now.

A new book also takes a interesting look working in a library. The title says it “all”: Free for All: Oddballs, Geeks, and Gangstas in the Public Library by Don Borchert. If you and your staff ever feel inundated by the public, especially middle-schoolers, this book is for you. It was published after Castles Against Ignorance so I couldn’t use it in my book. One book I do mention is the Whole Library Handbook 4 by George M. Eberhart, which is a great compilation of library facts and trivia. This resource has grown the most since I put my books resources online; it now has 160 members sharing it, up from 45 last summer!

Another outlet and way to build up your understanding of staff issues is to join listservs or monitor blogs like this one. Librarything has a very active web site with chat areas as well as message boards for specialized groups. And who has the largest group on Librarything? Librarians! Librarians who librarything has over 3700 members. They have a very well put together page. I’m enjoying reading the “Books that just never seem to be returned” thread.

To summarize, here are my 10 ways to make your library great in 2008, using the Web 2.0 tips and tricks in this blog and in my presentation:

1. Use Technology

2. Continuously Train

3. Polish your Comportment

4. Reduce Clutter

5. Handle Noise

6. Handle Conflict

7. Have a Plan

8. Develop Partnerships

9. Create Great Programming

10. Build Staff Camaraderie

Remember, you are not working in a warehouse, or an assembly line, or a bar.

You are librarians, who preserve and help propel our civilization forward!

I hope this has been helpful. Please leave comments or get back to me personally at erossman@shakerlibrary.org

Good luck on your resolutions. Here’s to a great 2008!

-Ed Rossman, Interim Branch Manager for the Bertram Woods branch of the Shaker Heights Public Library and author of Castles Against Ignorance: How to Make Libraries Great Educational Environments

Click here to access an archive of Ed’s webinar and a PDF of the slides he used.

What’s great programming without great marketing? A resolution is basically a goal, and to reach the goal you need “action plans”. A programming goal needs specific steps to reach it as well, and that includes marketing!

As mentioned earlier, the Ohio Library Council, thanks to financial support from the Drew Carey Fund, has developed an online training resource, entitled “Marketing the Library.” It’s comprised of six self-paced training modules, and it includes links to marketing resources, examples, quizzes and exercises. Planning, products and promotion are all covered in this free, comprehensive training program.

In my Librarything resources the library program tag has 8 books, 6 library specific and all of those dealing with children and youth. My favorite is Toddle on over : developing infant & toddler literature programs by Robin Works Davis. The one with the most members sharing (15 as of today) is Outstanding Library Service to Children: Putting the Core Competencies to Work by Rosanne Cerny.

In my del.icio.us resources tagged with “programs” I used the example of the IMLS Youth Initiative, as a way of capturing more members. Iml.gov currently has 151 members sharing it (up from 130 in August). The IMLS Youth Initiative has none, zero, but it’s still a great resource for ideas and funding!

So, rather than have a link shared by no one, I put the top level domain name in as the link, and the real url in the notes section, which shows directly under the title. I’m hoping that in seeing “saved by 151 members”, people stop to take a second look at a resource in what might be a cluttered screen for them.

Having the proper page title and URL below it, will aid in finding the resource, after a user clicks and gets to the main home page for the Institute of Museum and Library Services. They may be momentarily confused. Once again, the full url (http://www.imls.gov/about/youth.shtm) had way fewer hits, 0, than http://www.imls.gov so I used the one with the most members sharing, but it’s a resource-rich page about helping youth learn.

To me, the ends of sharing funding sources and programming ideas justifies the means of a temporary misdirection. Feel free to leave comments on this!

I have bounced this idea off other people I know, and no one argues with me. Support networks are essential to making good decisions, creating good ideas, and adding elbow grease to carry off complex programming events.

And that leads me to our final resolution, #10…Build Camaraderie!

-Ed Rossman, Interim Branch Manager for the Bertram Woods branch of the Shaker Heights Public Library and author of Castles Against Ignorance: How to Make Libraries Great Educational Environments

Click here to access an archive of Ed’s webinar and a PDF of the slides he used.

Regarding some of the resources I’ve used on my del.icio.us pages, in the ALA Library Bill of Rights (saved by 56 del.icio.us members!), Articles 1 and 6 form the framework of why libraries need to work hard on community relations:

Article 1. Books and other library resources should be provided for the interest, information, and enlightenment of all people of the community the library serves. Materials should not be excluded because of the origin, background, or views of those contributing to their creation.

Article 6. Libraries which make exhibit spaces and meeting rooms available to the public they serve should make such facilities available on an equitable basis, regardless of the beliefs or affiliations of individuals or groups requesting their use.

In 2004, the National Network of Libraries of Medicine started a terrific campaign to build awareness and provide resources for the building of partnerships, Public Libraries and Community Partners: Working together to Provide Health Information. They have a simple process that can also be applied to areas outside health partnerships, using these steps:

• Set the Direction with a Community Assessment
• Define Stakeholders and Partners
• Define Measurable Goals, Outputs, and Outcomes
• Plan Activities to Reach Project Goals
• Define How a Program Will Work
• Define an Evaluation Plan

Each of the above is linked to great ideas and easy-to-implement partnering methods.

In my book I do use a number of magazine articles. Currently Librarything is geared towards books, but there’s no reason a person couldn’t build a catalog of professional articles linked with appropriate tags.

Some articles I cited in the book include these:

Morton, Norman. “Beyond Public Exhibits To Partnerships.” American Libraries 36 (November 2005): 42-45

From a librarian in Louisville, Kentucky, a best practices-type article; it contains five steps to successful collaborative programming:

1. Build contacts with community relations and development staff of high-profile arts, cultural, and social action organizations in your community.
2. Conduct informal meetings to identify common communications and community relations goals.
3. Generate a cooperative program idea.
4. Develop a program plan utilizing manpower and assets of both organizations.
5. Execute the plan utilizing promotional assets of both organizations.

Welch, Jeanie M. “Silent Partners: Public Libraries and Their Services to Small Businesses and Entrepreneurs.” Public Libraries 44 (September/October 2005): 282-285

This article presents a historical perspective as well as good present day best practices on how to help, and network with, an important community sector.

For books in my Librarything account, my most popular professional resource tagged with planning is the “Blueprint for your Library Marketing Plan”, by Patricia H. Fisher. Let’s look at the data record for the book through the link above. A limited number of library professionals share this book. Their content is usually very specialized!

Another “best practice” profile belongs to rangeview.

Created by a library district in Adams County, Colorado, it illustrates how beneficial it is to plan the categories for your site.

Some features of this detail record are automatically taken care of by the Librarything software, and are on all detail records on the right. Notice the box on the lower right. It shows members who share rangeviews’ collection books. It shows Castles shares 3 of theirs in the my collection of 47 books. NorthernLights’ has 13 out of the 799 in that collection.

It’s fun seeing who has what! It can also lead you to creative ideas, which is related to the 9th Resolution…to create great programming!

-Ed Rossman, Interim Branch Manager for the Bertram Woods branch of the Shaker Heights Public Library and author of Castles Against Ignorance: How to Make Libraries Great Educational Environments

Click here to access an archive of Ed’s webinar and a PDF of the slides he used.

If all you have is an evacuation plan, that’s like a football team only having one play. Or in football, only one audible signal when there’s a blitz…no matter what side it’s coming from! There are various patron scenarios staff should be prepared for: Noise issues, violence issues, lost children, odd patrons, suspicious activity, orderly evacuation and lockdown procedures.

“Ignorance does not have a plan. Its characteristics include lack of forethought, no concern of consequences, and disregard of the past. It’s often scattered, disorganized. Anticipation, focus, and organization are its enemies. Employ these allies, and you will counter and overcome ignorance, establishing and maintaining a library of excellence.“ Castles Against Ingnorance, p.72

Regarding del.icio.us resources for planning links, I have 15 items, and the largest shared with other members is the OCLC Perceptions of Libraries and Information Resources report with 281 members, up from 248 users as of August ’07 (actually up to 286 one week after the webinar!). I can assure you that almost every one of them has library focused collections on del.icio.us!!!

If you’re not aware of it, the Perceptions report provides the findings and responses from a survey in an effort to learn more about:

•Library use by the public

•Awareness and use of library electronic resources

•The Internet search engine, the library and the librarian

•Free vs. for-fee information

•The “Library” brand

The findings indicate that “information consumers view libraries as places to borrow print books, but they are unaware of the rich electronic content they can access through libraries. Even though information consumers make limited use of these resources, they continue to trust libraries as reliable sources of information.” (http://www.oclc.org/reports/2005perceptions.htm)

Knowing how you’re perceived goes a long way in establishing service goals; that’s the beauty of this report. And thanks to the Web 2.0 powers of sharing, you can discover a universe of URL’s, all oriented towards libraries!

Another resource I mentioned in the webinar and have as a resource in my book is: NLG Project Planning: A Tutorial. Institute of Museum and Library Services. Access Date 25 Jan 06. <http://e-services.imls.gov/project_planning>.

Although designed to help secure funding for National Leadership Grants, this interactive tutorial can help in any project planning. Try it, it’s fun and practical.

Does anyone have any other online Planning suggestions? If so, please leave a comment above!

My Librarything account contains 15 books dealing with planning everything from library careers to crisis management, including Demonstrating Results: Using Outcome Measurement in Your Library by Rhea Joyce Rubin. In clicking on the members icon (the little heads), you’ll see that the Librarything recommendations list 10 other books on various aspects of library planning: Technology, weeding, children’s services, even how to create workshops!

Obviously a serious library book, currently 8 members share it. One of them is another “best practices” example of a user profile on LibraryThing, Jennifry’s.

Besides using specific tags for the 105 books in her collection, and a cool icon, she takes the time to describe the meaning of the tags in her collection in the “About My Library” section of her profile. This helps a fellow member understand her background and perspective as well as her taxonomy. Obviously well planned out!

Planning is also VERY closely related to Partnerships, tomorrow’s Resolution…

-Ed Rossman, Interim Branch Manager for the Bertram Woods branch of the Shaker Heights Public Library and author of Castles Against Ignorance: How to Make Libraries Great Educational Environments

Click here to access an archive of Ed’s webinar and a PDF of the slides he used.

As more “non-traditional” library users visit our facilities to only check out DVD’s, not books, or use the Internet, it can be a challenge to get them to buy into the standard library code of conduct, quiet behavior, civility. As I see it now, librarians had better learn to deal with the rowdy, uncivil, or mentally imbalanced people in society coming to the libraries to only use the internet. They’re fine as long as they’re non-disruptive to others. But oftentimes they aren’t. If not checked, they will drive out traditional library users.

The non-traditional library user today, who doesn’t care about books, reading, or learning, may be the traditional library user tomorrow, for those libraries still open.

Because as funding gets tighter, more and more citizens will refuse to fund public entities that spend taxpayer money offering internet access to people with no respect towards others, who’re disruptive, and who intimidate people from using services and space that all should be allowed to share peacefully.

If these patrons discourage “traditional” patrons from using the library, there can be some significant problems ahead. A New Years’ Resolution to stay compassionate, yet firm in dealing with people needs a good tool box of tactics.

In the webinar I briefly alluded to different methods of handling conflict.

We conducted a brief poll of “Friction Points” and although all 200+ attendees didn’t participate (I only gave about 30 seconds, and some folks were lagging due to their bandwidth problems), this is what we found:

In response to the question, How many of you have handled the following conflict situations?

There were about 114 participants in this question.

The results were:

• Inappropriate patron behavior – soliciting, eating, cell phones, rule-breaking: 96 (85%)
• Aggressive/unstable patrons: 78 (69%)
• Misuse of library – inappropriate online activity, sleeping, lounging on furniture: 74 (66%)
• Lazy employees: 57 (50%)
• Space issues – other interdepartmental turf issues: 55 (49%)
• Antagonistic attitude towards supervisor (behind the back gossip or criticism): 54 (48%)
• Alcoholic/substance abusing co-worker: 17 (15%)
• Security guard conflicts with staff / too hard vs. too soft: 10 (8%)

One exercise I have in my book, Castles Against Ignorance is to examine how you handle conflict in Friction Point situations. In both Castles and in the “Common Grounds” web site I mentioned in the webinar, I emphasize the practicality of using different styles for different situations. Five tactical styles for conflict are examined:

1. Forcing
2. Avoiding
3. Accommodating
4. Compromising
5. Collaborating

1. Forcing conflict style: resolves conflict by getting your way. Assertive, uncooperative and autocratic. Useful for rambunctious children and immature adults.

2. Avoiding conflict style: ignores conflict rather than resolving it. Could be temporarily used when human resources are low. You could use Observation as a behavior suppression tactic and still be using an Avoiding style successfully, but this is only on a case by case basis.

3. Accommodating conflict style: resolves conflict by giving in. In other words, bending the rules.

4. Compromising conflict style: resolves conflict through giving and getting concessions. Using an “If I…then you…” approach will usually solve the problem, short term. Not to be encouraged because some patrons will view this as a game. However, useful when arbitrating between two bickering, but otherwise mature patrons.

5. Collaborating conflict style: An attempt to jointly resolve conflict with the best solution that is agreeable to all parties. This is the only style that creates a win-win situation. It can also take time that you don’t always have on the floor, but if it’s a long running situation that you know you’re going to be dealing with, it is worth the time working on a solution.

What conflict style do you… would you… could you…be using in the above Friction Point situations, to get the best possible outcome for your patrons or library?

Here are some of the other exercises and resources I use in Castles:

Exercises:

1. Visit 3 different library systems and compare and contrast what tools/policies they have to handle conflict. Guards? Written policies? Visible signage on conduct?

2. Review past incident reports to see how the situations were handled according to the 5 styles of conflict resolution.

3. Try finding your own conflict style by taking the quick quiz at http://www.sfcg.org/programmes/cgpartnership/profile/pprofile1.cfm

Selected Resources Of Interest:

• Supervisor’s Guide – Conflict. Human Resource Management Services, North Dakota State Government. Access date 25 Jan. 06. <http://www.nd.gov/hrms/hr/supvguide/conflict.htm> – A great site that not only reviews the 5 styles but adds strategy to go with the tactics, such as, “make mutual benefit agreements”.
• Glass, Lillian. Toxic People : 10 Ways of Dealing With People Who Make Your Life Miserable. New York, NY: St. Martin’s Griffin, 1997. – This book would be really funny if it wasn’t so accurate. Although the topic is serious, it provokes thought and insight into some terribly sad personality types in a way that makes you both chuckle at and pity them. Her techniques are good ones that should be part of your repertoire for specific types of people and situations. Shared by 19 Librarything members as of 1/12/08.

Regarding building your own del.icio.us accounts, here’s a tip that can make it easier in the beginning. Every link has a “save this” link next to it. You need your own account established first. Create your account, then check out various links about libraries, confrontation or any other tag that interests you on my site, and with a click of a mouse, that site can be on yours!

But remember if you add a lot of random sites, they’ll appear random on your list because del.icio.us at this point only lists them in the order you add them, you can’t re-sequence them by alphabet or numbers like Librarything will let you do. If you want them grouped together in some way besides using similar tags, you have to practice Resolution #7: Have A Plan!

-Ed Rossman, Interim Branch Manager for the Bertram Woods branch of the Shaker Heights Public Library and author of Castles Against Ignorance: How to Make Libraries Great Educational Environments

Click here to access an archive of Ed’s webinar and a PDF of the slides he used.