Library Revolution

Just for the record:

No, I do not like stereotypes.

No, I do not think all librarians are bun-wearing old ladies.

Yes, many librarians are quite fashionable.

But I can’t say I agree with the outrage over Paula Ryan’s participation in New Zealand’s National Library Conference. See the video here. (via)

http://www.tv3.co.nz/VideoBrowseAll/NationalVideo/tabid/309/articleID/34668/Default.aspx#video

Librarians are professionals, and part of that territory is presenting a professional image when representing your organization and profession. This is something that is well acknowledged by other professionals, and there are tons of resources out there aimed at helping people project the kind of professional image that will further careers as well as portray your profession positively in the public eye. And part of presenting a positive professional image is dressing for the part.

But have you been to a library conference lately? Let me put it to you this way. I would NEVER represent my organization and profession at a conference, meeting, or in a library wearing a hoodie sweatshirt. Or crappy old sandals that look like they’ve spent one too many days at the beach. Or (God forbid) holey jeans. To me, that is not the way to project a confident, credible, competent professional image. But I see others presenting themselves like this all the time.

And maybe I’m shallow. But I really have a hard time taking these folks as seriously as I do their more put-together colleagues. But I know I’m not alone in thinking this way.

A while back, Professor Laura Morgan Roberts posted a good article about presenting a professional image in the Harvard Business School “Working Knowledge for Business Leaders” blog.

She talks about a lot of different aspects of presenting a professional image, and I think her comments about stereotypes are particularly relevant to librarians.

“Members of negatively stereotyped identity groups may experience an additional form of identity threat known as “devaluation.” Identity devaluation occurs when negative attributions about your social identity group(s) undermine key constituents’ perceptions of your competence, character, or commitment. For example, African American men are stereotyped as being less intelligent and more likely to engage in criminal behavior than Caucasian men. Asian Americans are stereotyped as technically competent, but lacking in the social skills required to lead effectively. Working mothers are stereotyped as being less committed to their profession and less loyal to their employing organizations. All of these stereotypes pose obstacles for creating a positive professional image.”

How does one combat this sort of unfair stereotyping, especially when it can be detrimental to your career or profession? By cultivating and maintaining a professional image that you do want to be identified with.

“First, you must realize that if you aren’t managing your own professional image, someone else is. People are constantly observing your behavior and forming theories about your competence, character, and commitment, which are rapidly disseminated throughout your workplace. It is only wise to add your voice in framing others’ theories about who you are and what you can accomplish.

Be the author of your own identity. Take a strategic, proactive approach to managing your image.”

There are many, many ways that professionals can take charge of the image they project. They work on their writing skills. They take courses in public speaking. And they build professional wardrobes. Doctors, Lawyers, and Business professionals all do this. They think it’s important, and seek out advice on how to do it effectively.

But librarians get all huffy if someone suggests that they, too might want to consider the image that their professional wardrobe projects and look for tips for improving that image? Come on.

Why is professional attire for librarians such a taboo topic? I feel like by talking about it I’m opening myself up for tons of criticism about “perpetuating stereotypes.” I think that’s a big part of what happened in NZ. Somebody thought it was a good idea to include a speaker about professional attire, and it caused a huge stink. But if we don’t talk about it and open ourselves up to the idea that all professionals, including librarians (maybe especially librarians, given the stereotypes?), can use help in presenting their desired professional image more effectively.

 Share

I just can’t help getting excited by the fact that there are so many interesting ways to organize and present information these days.

This word tree was created from data about the items added to the public libraries of Suffolk County, NY so far this month. It took me about 10 minutes to put together.

I don’t know how practical it is, but it sure is interesting and fun to play around with. And it gets me to thinking about the ways we can organize out data and present it to the public…

 Share

I’m not the worst public speaker in the world. (But I’d like to think I’m not too terrible, either!) And since I’m often called upon to speak, I’m always glad to get little reminders about how to improve my public speaking skills.

Here’s a list I came across today (via Lifehacker) that presents a good, brief overview of the basics we all need to remember when speaking to an audience. How we present ourselves as professionals is so important, and I felt like this simple little list hit a lot of the basics that, at least to me, tend to differentiate between an OK presentation and a polished, dynamic one.

The ones I need to remember the most:

5. Talk to your audience, not at them - People hate it when they get talked at, so don’t do it. You need to interact with your audience and create a conversation. An easy way to do this is to ask them questions as well as letting them ask you questions.

9. Watch what you say - You usually don’t notice when you say “uhm”, “ah”, or any other useless word frequently, but the audience does. It gets quite irritating; so much that some members of the audience will probably count how many times you say these useless words.

These are the two I plan to work on the most this fall meeting season. I’m sure those of you who hear me speak will let me know how I’m doing!

 Share

Can I even say how much I love the PLVD Director’s Blog?

What a thought provoking post (one of many great ones!) about the astounding changes we’re seeing in the information world and they way libraries fit in.

“Many librarians will argue that understanding and adapting to changing customer needs has always been a core part of what we do, and to some extent I agree. I also believe, however, that the shift in the relationship between people and information that is being driven by digital technologies is analogous not to the introduction of video cassettes but to the development of the printing press and the accompanying explosion in the availability of the written word. I’d hate to see librarians as the scribes of our day….”

I love seeing a library director sort of “thinking out loud” like this for all of her community to hear and possibly join the discussion.

 Share

From the OMG I wish I had written this file.

Seth Godin talks about “punishing” your customers for the sins of a few jerks who like to take advantage.

Read the post and think about your library.

 Share

I just love this so much that I had to post about it even though everyone else has the same idea.

I love seeing all of the answers, all offered this way in the respondant’s handwriting. It’s so effective.

The answers are great and wide ranging. But here are a few of my favorites:

Motivating

Where I am, tailored to my interests and delivered in the format required. i.e. virtual or hard copy

Social Connected Seamless Mobile

A Place ASpace Where I want to be

An Option on your i-pod

Ubiquitous

Like McDonalds: Everywhere, easy to find, with a big menu and a tasty product!

In my pocket

The New Black

Bloody Awesome

And my very favorite:

Looking Towards 2027

 Share

She** is frustrated. She and her colleagues spent a lot of time designing their library’s blog, determining content, establishing tone, making sure that every aspect projected the correct image for the library. It was supposed to open up communication with the patrons. It was supposed to bring in new users and make the community more aware of the library and its services. It was supposed to just work.

When I spoke to her the other day, she was ready to throw in the towel.

“Nobody comments. Nobody reads. I don’t think anyone even knows it’s there.”

And I know that she isn’t alone… I’ve heard the “Library Blog Blues” many times before. Unfortunately, there isn’t one single answer. Does blogging work for businesses and libraries? Yes. Is it easy? NO. Creating a “successful” blog is an extremely complex endeavor, and I think that too many libraries are suckered by the myth that if you put a blog together for your organization, the right people will just find it and use it. But in real life it’s not nearly that easy.

We discussed this, and talked about some of the thing she might experiment with to jump start things a little. We talked about the blogs we personally liked to read, the things we perceive as making a blog “successful.” We talked about some of the things other libraries are doing that they felt were really working for them. She still seemed daunted.

Then I mentioned marketers and how they always talk about “telling a story.” You know, presenting something authentic and compelling that your readers can identify with. Not necessarily a narrative (or maybe so!), but writing something your readers can connect with emotionally and that will engage people.

“We don’t really tell stories,” She said with a thoughtful expression, “We just tell people what’s new in the library. Maybe there’s something to that…”

So we brainstormed.

Instead of a post like this (I see these posts every day!):

“XYZ Public Library has just expanded their collection of knitting books. If you are interested in learning more about knitting, take a look at these new titles: (List Of Books)

Also, out Tuesday Night Knitting Club is always looking for new members. Contact the Reference Desk for more information – XYZReference”

What if the post read more like this:

“Not long ago, while doing my regular Wednesday night reference shift, I realized I had helped seven different patrons that week track down books about knitting. As I was helping them, I realized that only one of the seven knew that our XZY Library has a knitting group that meets on Tuesday evenings!

As an avid knitter myself, I helped coordinate this group about four years ago. We have about 9 men and women from all over CommunityXYZ who just love getting together each week to knit and talk. It’s a great social experience and the members are a wealth of knowledge when it comes to knitting. Just last week, one of our members had a problem with an afghan she was working on, and the rest of the group put their heads together to help her get out of the jam. Just look at the beautiful finished product! (Picture of afghan)

This group is always ready to welcome new members, and since it looks like we may have a knitting craze going on, I wouldn’t be surprised to see some new faces! Drop in on Tuesday evening around 6 pm, or for more information, make sure to contact us at xzylibraryreference@xzylibrary.com .

With the run on our knitting books, I also thought it might be time to refresh our collection a little and add some more current books to interest knitters. Here are just a few of the books we now have to offer our growing population of avid knitters. (List of titles with links to catalog – maybe a short blurb on each?)

Don’t worry about availability on these books. Put one of them on hold if it is checked out!

–Emily the Librarian”

OK, OK. It’s not the perfect post. And it took a lot longer to write. But this is the sort of thing we brainstormed that day, and it definitely tells more of a story. A story about the library, the community, the individuals involved, and the resources available. (Plus, if I’m a knitter in XYZ Community and I Google XYZ knitting, maybe just maybe I’ll come up with this!!)

She and I brainstormed what other kinds of stories her current library blog might tell, and I think something clicked. She was excited again.

I got an email from her today:

“I got 6 comments yesterday!!! :)”

Does your Library’s blog tell a story?

Link

Link

Link 

** This librarian didn’t want to be identified… yet.

 Share

Apparently there is some trouble with viewing my blog using Internet Explorer. I think I can get this fixed, but haven’t had time to look at it yet. Thanks for bearing with me.

 Share

Ellen at Half Hollow Hills Library (one of our local Long Island libraries)sent me a link to their Flickr photos showing a recent in-library publicity project. To promote their new video on demand service, they used movie star cutouts holding bookmarks. I really got a kick out of the pictures of Johne Wayne, Marilyn Monroe, Humphrey Bogart, etc. hanging out in the stacks and with the staff. It’s nice to see them promoting a fun service in a fun way.

While I was looking at these pics, I also saw some of their children’s program photos. Loved the pics of the kids reading to the dogs.

Thanks, Ellen, for making me smile.

 Share

Michael Stephens blogged recently about librarians being timid, a theme Michael Casey wrote on in The Transparent Library.

To quote the article,

…getting new initiatives off the ground sometimes seems to need an act of God, simply because new services mean change. For some librarians, change represents the potential to fail. For others, it’s a fear of success, that a new service might be too popular and draw too many people.

This is something I struggle with all the time when working with librarians on new initiatives, so it really struck a nerve with me.

Actually, it really gave me one of those “AHA!” moments. He’s right. Most of the librarians I work with and have trouble motivating to try anything new aren’t afraid of failure at all. It’s success that scares them to death.

Then I saw this commercial during the Mets braodcast:

I think that this is exactly what we are like a lot of the time.

Oh my God, if we succeed in this new project, we’ll have to deal with the consequences! We’ll have to make decisions, set new priorities, and (gasp!) make some changes!

I don’t mean to belittle the feeling. It’s potentially overwhelming. Especially if we start succeeding all the time.

But as the guy in the commercial sums it up, “Isn’t that kind of the idea?”

 Share