RAC "Smackdown" Library Assessment Project at Dewey
1. RAC Smackdown the
IIIrd
New York Libraries are Innovation
NYLA Conference │ November 4, 2016 │ Saratoga City Center Room 2B
Great
Things
Happen in
3s!
2. Your Hosts
Mary Jean Jakubowski
Library Director
Buffalo & Erie County PL
jakubowskim@buffalolib.org
AKA “One of Western New
York’s Most Influential
People”
Claudia Depkin
Library Director
Haverstraw King’s Daughters PL
cdepkin@rcls.org
AKA “the Mother of our
Country”
4. Annual Conference Elaine Lasda
New York Library Association Associate Librarian
Friday, November 4, 2016 University at Albany
elasdabergman@albany.edu
6. • Market Services Effectively
• Reach Students at Points of Need
• Maximize Student/Librarian Interactions
• User-focused Service Model
7. • Students only
• Demographics
• On Campus?
• Perceived Skill Level?
• Instruction & Help Preferences?
• Triggers for Contacting Library/Librarian?
8. • 90%+ Using Library Resources & Services
– (REMOTELY)
• 89% Extremely, Very, or Confident
Searchers
• Want Subject Expertise, not General
Reference
9. • New Strategy
– Play to Existing Student Expertise
– Focus on One-on-One Consults/Instruction
– Use Technology to Meet/Teach Remotely
– Welcome Day Event
– Contextual Chat Reference
10. • Fall 2014 – Fall 2015
– # Consults DOUBLED
• September 2015 – June 2016
– 110 Total Consults
– 1 appointment per 14 FTEs
• 100+ Students Reached on Welcome Day
Fall 2016
11. Consults by Web Conferencing
Integration in Disciplinary Curricula
Assess/Market to Faculty & Adjuncts
Persona-Based Marketing
14. HRVH.ORG– ESLN -DP.LA
-Full interviews are uploaded to HRVH.org via the Southeastern New York
Library Resources Council.
-Through the Empire State Library Network our metadata is added to the
Digital Public Library of America at http://dp.la where we can see the
connections between our local history and national history.
15. Walter Luther
I spent most of my summers
at my grandfather's, which
was in Sandy Fields in
Harriman State Park. I enjoyed
that immensely. It was wild
and free.
16. Harry Waitzman
1927-2016
I wanted to be a fish man
just like my father and he
told me you’re not going
to become a fish man,
you’re going to become a
doctorlawyer!
18. What’s next?
-More diversity of
interviewees
-More training for
volunteers and staff
-Partnerships with
schools in use of
interviews
Listening to oral histories at the
Clarkstown 225th anniversary exhibit
opening at the Town Hall
20. Bethlehem Public Library
• School district public library immediately south
of Albany
• Service population of 28,500
21. Wifi at the Bethlehem Town Pool
• Worked with the town Parks and Recreation
Department to provide wifi to residents at the
largest town park
o All school district residents are eligible to utilize the town
pool, though there is a cost to enter pool area itself
o Ensure that wifi signal would be available to those not
paying to enter the pool area
o Park entrance not restricted
22. Wifi at Bethlehem Town Pool (cont.)
• Intergovernmental Cooperation
o Equipment, installation, and internet service provided by BPL
They let us drill a lot of holes in their building!
o Space and electricity provided by town Parks and Rec
25. Dero Fixit Station
• Proximity to the Albany County Rail Trail saw an
increase in the number of bicycles at the Library
• Simple repairs available 24/7
• Partner with local bike shop to teach people how
to use the tools available
26.
27. Cell Phone & Tablet Charging
Station
• Originally installed in the hallway; then moved
into the Library proper
• Alleviates nervousness about leaving electronics
while using the Library
33. Challenges:
• Increasing interest in getting out of our
buildings – lots of invitations
• Feeling that we had “hit the walls” in
terms of growth
• Staff struggled with transporting and
setting up tables, dealing with
canopies, hauling materials
• Presentation felt stodgy – difficult to
stand out in the crowd!
38. Where can we go?
• Parks
• Senior residences
• Williams Beach and Oneida Shores
• Town of Cicero Family Movie Nights
• Camp Out Night
• Health & Wellness Festival
• North Syracuse Community Festival
• Cicero Chamber Festival
• Town of Clay Easter Egg Festival
39.
40.
41.
42. When Did We Build this
Wall?
Removing barriers to library access
Jennifer Palmer Schlossberg, Librarian
Head of Access and Circulation Services
Tompkins County Public Library | Ithaca, NY | www.tcpl.org
jschlossberg@tcpl.org | 607.275.1554
43. • Took the reins at the end of
2013
• Restrictive policies made it
difficult for staff to give
good customer service
• Couldn’t move ahead with
new services if we were
failing at supplying the most
basic service – issuing library
cards
Razing the Walls
44. Children in Foster Care
• Denied cards because they did not
have a financially-responsible adult
to sign the registration card
• Acknowledge that these children
deserve access to their public
library
• Worked with the Department of
Social Services
Policy:
http://tcpl.org/libinfo/rules-policies-
foster-child-card.php
45. Children with Two
Residences
• Recognize various family
structures
• Library should not be another
obstacle for a child
• Ease tensions between
households
Policy:
http://tcpl.org/libinfo/rules-policies-
minors-with-two-residences.php
46. Babies Belong at the
Library
• Collaboration among all 6 public libraries in
Tompkins County and the Family Reading
Partnership
• Wanted families with noisy babies and nursing
needs to feel welcome
• Infants born at Cayuga Medical Center in
Ithaca, NY receive their “Baby’s First Library
Card” along with a bag of reading-related
resources prior to being discharged
• Babies born at home, or families adopting
babies, can pick up their card and bag at any
of the six libraries in Tompkins County.
• Fine-free board books
47. Other community members
now eligible for library
services:
• People (18 and over)
living in a residential
program
• Adults (18 and over) and
their children living in a
homeless shelter
• Young adults (13-17)
living in a group home
• Young adults (13-17) who
need a card to access
WiFi for their
ChromeBooks
48. Thank you!
Jennifer Schlossberg, Librarian
Head of Access and Circulation Services
Tompkins County Public Library
Ithaca NY
jschlossberg@tcpl.org
www.tcpl.org
51. The PULISDO ILEAD Team
PULISDO = Public Library System Director Organization of New York State
52. The Goal
To develop a standardized
framework for trustee education
curriculum to be deployed through
the public library systems of New
York State.
53.
54. The Results
5 custom modules launched (April 2016) :
● The Basics of What Every Trustee Should Know
● Legal Issues for Libraries
● Financial & Fiduciary Responsibilities
● Planning & Advocacy for Library Sustainability
● Seven Habits of Highly Effective Boards
57. Yay Team!
Team HATS enjoyed working together so much many of the
team members are now working together on other statewide
projects:
• Mini-Webinars for Trustees for the New York State Library
• Committee to Review NYS Minimum Standards
• Sustainability Initiative of the New York Library Association
59. School Library Writing Center
Dr. Timothy Horan
Library Media Specialist
Hauppauge High School
horant@hauppauge.k12.ny.us
60. I Wrote the Book on School Library
Writing Centers…Literally!
• It’s was published recently by Libraries
Unlimited (an imprint of ABC-CLIO)
• It contains everything you want to know
about School Library Writing Centers …but
were afraid to ask!
• And best of all, it’s well written.
You’ll love it. I promise.
62. The Five Mainstays of the
School Library Writing Center:
1. It is located in the school library.
2. It is open during the day, and after school.
3. The majority of instruction is performed by
students (peer tutors).
4. It is modeled closely on the university writing
center paradigm.
5. The school librarian is the sole director, and is
also a tutor (Horan 10).
63. What is a Writing Center?
• It’s a place where students can go to receive
assistance with writing assignments
• Multiple sessions per assignment work best
• The goal of a writing center is NOT to “fix”
papers…
• The goal is to
create writers
64. What do Writing Centers do?
• They perform peer tutoring
• They use the form of the “one-on-one writer’s
conference”
• They assist students in all phases of writing,
from initial brainstorming,
to successive drafts,
to final editing
65. What do Writing Centers
NOT do?
• They don’t write papers for students
• They don’t “fix” papers
• They don’t allow “drop offs”
• They don’t “proofread”
• They don’t guarantee
high grades
66.
67. Join my
School Library Writing Centers
Forum!
• It’s Free! It’s Fun! It’s Educational!
• I’m the Owner and Moderator
• I will Respond to You Directly
• You can also Chat with Each Other
• It’s a Continuation of my Books
• Here’s the URL: http://slwc.freeforums.net/
69. RIA Library: Patron
Overview
• We serve 350 students in grades Kindergarten
through 12th grade.
• All of our students are new arrivals to the country
and speak low incident languages.
• Approximately 95% of our students have refugee
status.
• Many arrive with interrupted or
no formal education.
Meet Our RIA Library Patrons!
https://youtu.be/WjxSp6hS0Lw
70. Makerspace – to – Go:
Narrowing the Digital Divide
• Many students with limited formal education
are working hard to adapt to our reliance on
the written word but are very comfortable learning in a three-
dimensional setting.
• A “makerspace” is a physical space that contains shared
resources and is devoted to hands-on invention and creation.
• Makerspace-to-Go is shared by all Rochester City School
District libraries and was funded by Rochester Public Library’s
Harold Hacker Fund.
• It includes a Makerbot Mini Replicator 3d printer, Lego
Mindstorms EV3 robotics kit, Rubix cubes, tangrams, magnetic
poetry and origami paper.
71. Makerspace – to – Go:
Outcomes
• Students’ language acquisition is fostered
as they enthusiastically write and speak
English while collaborating on makerspace
projects.
• Experience with the shared makerspace
inspired RIA teachers to obtain funding for
RIA’s own permanent makerspace.
• Teachers are now collaborating in a
collegial circle as they creatively integrate
these new resources into instruction.
72. Storytelling Festival:
Targeted Collection Development
• The Rochester City School Library System sponsors
an annual Storytelling Festival for students
attending private and public schools in Rochester.
• Students selected culturally relevant stories from
our highly diverse library collection that includes
many bilingual folktales and fairy tales.
• We had a very successful year with five well-
prepared participants who earned four winning
trophies for RIA.
73. Autonomous Circulation:
Building Confident Patrons
• Most of our students have not experienced a library
prior to coming to RIA. Many of them have lived with
limited access to information.
• New arrivals are immediately taught our highly structured
library procedures in their first language so they can begin
to independently navigate the library resources.
• Pictures remind students of procedures so those at the
pre-literacy level can participate in our library culture.
• This is one way we begin to acclimate our students to the
freedoms we enjoy here in the United States.
Purpose is to collect stories from local residents, specifically senior citizens. The average age of our interviewees is around 84. The oldest was 103, Barney Shiner (we interviewed three people over the age of 100).
Many other organizations have effective oral history programs, most notably NYPL and White Plains Public Library. Ours is unique for our tie-in with regional and national databases of historical information. Our collection is also notable for the full-text searchable transcripts that are included there.
Our team focus is to develop a standardized trustee education framework to facilitate knowledge creation amongst public library trustees in New York State. Our goal is to increase the confidence of system staff to provide regional trustee education which in turn will increase the confidence of the trustees within their system.The education framework will be developed for System staff with input and feedback from key community stakeholders.
Our team firmly believes in tapping into the collective wisdom in the New York Library Community and will be working to collect feedback from all stakeholders.
6,000+ Public Library Trustees in New York State
23 Public Library Systems that produce trustee education
Regular turnover of trustees on boards
Increasingly regulatory environment in New York State for public libraries
Increase in audits of libraries by the Office of the State Comptroller
Last but definitely not least, I would like to introduce the HATS TEAM from left to right:
Our team leader, Rebekkah Smith Aldrich, Coordinator for Library Sustainability at the Mid-Hudson Library System
Ron Kirsop, Assistant Director at the Pioneer Library System
Grace Riario, Assistant Director at the Ramapo Catskill Library System
Lisa Erickson, Communications, Advocacy and Outreach Librarian at the Nioga Library System
Jennifer Ferriss, Assistant Director at the Southern Adirondack Library System
Amanda Travis, Member Library Liaison at the Onondaga County Public Library
Two-day, in-person meet-up of System staff (September 2016) who provide trustee education:
To help library systems think about trustee education in alternative ways
To support library systems in their current trustee education practices
To introduce the HATS curriculum to system trainers
To introduce the flexibility in customizing and applying the HATS curriculum
November 2016 Agenda Item for PULISDO:
Statewide endorsement of the HATS Curriculum
Deployment of custom training sessions throughout the state
Evaluation process to judge usefulness of product
2017 Statewide Trustee Educator Cohort Meet-up