Tag Archives: MN

2010 National Medal honoree makes learning a mobile experience

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Last week five libraries in Colorado, Michigan, New York, and Tennessee were announced as recipients of the prestigious 2010 National Medal for Museum and Library Service.  No doubt, a few glasses were raised in the library (non-alcoholic!) and in the communities they serve to celebrate this special recognition.

As budget cuts continue to reduce staff levels and resources, creating the type of ground-breaking programs and services that receive national recognition would seem harder than ever to pull off. But library staff nationwide pull rabbits out of their hats on a daily basis, and we tip our hats to all.

Each year, the research team for the Public Library Funding & Technology Access Study conducts interviews with library staff in at least two states to provide the qualitative component of the study. For the current 2009-2010 study, interviews took place with staff in Arizona and Tennessee. This included the Nashville Public Library, one of the 2010 National Medal honorees.

The IMLS announcement highlighted some of the unique outreach and public programming initiatives that demonstrated the Library’s role as a “…partner capable of bringing significant change and good to its beloved community. “  Our research team observed this same responsiveness in its technology access and training.

 In 2009, Nashville Public Library began implementing its own laptop labs in a way that brings together several trends within public library technology, and three distinct mobile labs were created to address these areas: job search, staff training, and teaching.  The mobile lab supports the ever increasing needs in all categories, including computer class offerings:

Nashville Public Library Computer Classes
  FY2008 FY2009 FY2010*
Classes Offered 124 185 285
Class Attendance 961 1,632 2,226
*Projection based on July 2009-February 2010 data

 

Mobile computer labs are becoming a more common fixture in the public library landscape. They address space limitations, and also greatly expand outreach to the community. Read the 2009-2010 Reports from the Field to find out more about Nashville’s mobile lab, and many more important trends from Tennessee and Arizona libraries.

Who’s gaming @ your library?

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In honor of National Gaming Day @ your library on November 13, let’s take a look at a relatively new data point from the Public Library Funding & Technology Access Study: What peripherals do public libraries support, provide or allow patrons to use with public access computers in the library?

We ask about:

  • access and storing content on USBs or other portable drives (e.g., MP3 players)
  • digital cameras
  • burning CDs or DVDs and,
  • providing access to recreational gaming consoles, software or websites.

Here’s what we’ve heard back from public libraries over the past three years:

Recreational Gaming Consoles, Software or Websites Available to Users in Public Libraries
Urban Suburban Rural Overall
2009-10 79.3% 65.8% 57.5% 64.1%
2008-09 57.2% 59.1% 53.4% 57.2%
2007-08 66.8% 58.1% 54.2% 57.7%

Which states are the most game? Eighty-seven percent of public libraries in Oklahoma offer recreational gaming, followed by Minnesota at 85%, and Kentucky and South Carolina at 80% (Figure 95 – PDF).

Looking back, the survey also suggests a change in library policy regarding gaming and patron peripherals. The leading factor preventing or limiting access to peripherals, gaming and the option of burning CDs and DVDs was library policy restrictions (63%), followed by cost to purchase or support the service (48%). In 2009-10 (figure C-22 – PDF), cost was the leading factor, followed by policy concerns (40.7%) and inadequacy of library computer hardware or software (40.4%).

How have attitudes changed at your library and in your community re: gaming?

ALA NACo presentation highlights libraries supporting workforce development

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Phillip Gilfus, Fayetteville, NC

Over the past few years, the ALA has begun to make itself, our members and the profession more visible to key decision makers by exhibiting at national conferences sponsored by the American Association of School Administrators, National Association of Counties (NACo), ICMA and others. Sometimes conference attendees ask: “What are you doing here?” (since we’re not selling a “product”) while others say: “We’re so glad to see you’re here.” In both cases, we have a great opening for a conversation about how libraries are doing in their local communities (or schools), answer questions and share materials related to the resources available through our nation’s libraries. While many of the people who stopped by left their library cards at home, we were able to talk several conference attendees into showing us the smartest card in their wallets.

More than one person, however, who stopped by the booth told us they were in our corner – but we need to do a better job of marketing ourselves and our services to gain support. With so many demands on library staff – and often fewer staff to meet those demands as furloughs and layoffs take their toll – making time for marketing and advocacy is a challenge and a necessity.

In addition to staffing the booth at the NACo 75th anniversary conference in Reno, Nevada, I was excited to present a program. In partnership with Michael Dowling, director of the ALA Chapter Relations Office; Susan Nemitz, director of the Ramsey County Library (MN); and Susan Wolf Neilson, adult services manager and business librarian with Wake County Public Libraries (NC), our proposal for “Working Smarter: Libraries Partner to Support Workforce Development” was accepted.

Susan Neilson speaks at the National Association of Counties conference. To her left are Wake County Commissioners Betty Lou Ward and Joe Bryan, who both spoke about the essential roles the library plays in the county.

Both Susans (along with their county commissioners) did a great job talking about how library use has increased during the economic downturn and highlighting new collaborations and services geared to workforce development. In addition to providing access to the Internet and more than 600 computers, Ramsey County Library is part of a digital literacy taskforce, which also includes St. Paul Public Library, the Minnesota Literacy Council, Employer Solutions, and more collaborating to benchmark best practices, share digital literacy curriculum and conduct staff training. Working with Workforce Solutions and using federal funding for salary, the library also hired 21 people for 12 weeks to do RFID tagging, resulting in a value of $130,000. Through a summer youth program, the library also brought in seven young adults to work in the library and ultimately hired four of them.

Wake County’s award-winning Employment Assistance Program began in January 2009 with programs in four areas: career retooling, technology skills, life management and small business assistance. The program involved the support of many partners, including JobLink, UNC-Chapel Hill, and the State Library of North Carolina. Library staff marketed the programs through Twitter, Facebook, blogs, and websites for The News & Observer newspaper and the library. More than 1,050 people participated in the programs, more than 800 attended one of the technology classes, and more than 200 received direct job and career assistance. “Perhaps the most important strategy was to utilize the community. Library staff found many people who were willing to help and volunteer their time to teach résumé writing, career coaching, interviewing and other skills needed,” Neilson said.

Combining new PLFTAS data on how libraries support job seekers, new data from the Opportunity for All: How the American Public Benefits from Internet Access at U.S. Public Libraries, and local stories and statistics, libraries have a strong story to tell.

White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel is quoted as saying, “Never let a serious crisis go to waste…it’s an opportunity to do things you couldn’t do before.” What would you like to do that couldn’t be done before? What would you like elected officials to know about your library services right now? Who are you partnering with to extend the library’s reach? Let us know, and we’ll share your stories and examples as we continue our outreach to elected officials.