{"id":1595,"date":"2009-03-12T00:01:25","date_gmt":"2009-03-12T06:01:25","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blaine.org\/sevenimpossiblethings\/?p=1595"},"modified":"2009-03-12T11:52:03","modified_gmt":"2009-03-12T17:52:03","slug":"share-a-storyshape-a-future-day-fourhow-to-make-the-library-work-for-you","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/blaine.org\/sevenimpossiblethings\/?p=1595","title":{"rendered":"Share a Story\/Shape a Future, Day Four:
How to Make the Library Work for YOU"},"content":{"rendered":"

Jules:<\/strong><\/font> As I mentioned yesterday<\/strong><\/a> here at 7-Imp, I’m happy to be involved in this week’s blog tour for and by the people who create and engage their readers: teachers, librarians, parents, and people passionate about literacy. Yes, a literacy blog tour: It’s a way to share ideas and celebrate everything reading has to offer our children. I love the idea, and I’m pleased to be one of the many voices this week in this literacy project. It’s called Share a Story — Shape a Future<\/em>, and it’s the brainchild of Terry Doherty from The Reading Tub<\/strong><\/em><\/a>. Check out the project’s web site<\/strong><\/a> if you want to backtrack and read what you’ve missed this week and if you want to see what’s-to-come. Here’s<\/strong><\/a> a master schedule; Day One was devoted to “Raising Readers,” Day Two to “Selecting Reading Material,” and yesterday to “Reading Aloud — It’s Fun, It’s Easy.” <\/p>\n

Today, Day Four of the tour, is a day devoted to “A Visit to the Library.” (Check the bottom of this post for today’s—and the rest of this week’s—schedule.) I am joined by public librarian Adrienne Furness. I already gushed yesterday<\/strong><\/a> about why I instantly thought of interviewing her<\/em> for this literacy blog tour, so I’ll try not to make her blush today. Bottom line is that she’s an exemplary public librarian. <\/p>\n

Adrienne is one of two Children & Family Services Librarians at the Webster Public Library<\/strong><\/a> in the Monroe Country Library System<\/strong><\/a> in Rochester, New York. She blogs at What Adrienne Thinks About That<\/em><\/strong><\/a>, as well as here<\/strong><\/a> at the Monroe County Library System and the wonderful Homeschooling and Libraries<\/strong><\/em><\/a>. She’s the author of Helping Homeschoolers in the Library<\/strong><\/a><\/em>, published by ALA Editions last year.<\/p>\n

We’re here to talk about how patrons can best make the library work in their favor. Adrienne, isn\u2019t it fun to be a part of this multi-blog project? I\u2019m especially happy to be involved, since I am currently not working in a library, though I have the requisite degree and such. I\u2019m working from home, part-time and in my jammies, yet I know from my previous experience as a librarian some of the misconceptions about library use. And I\u2019m glad to play a part, I hope, in helping clear some of them up. (By the way, because I cannot stand<\/em> to post without images, I’m going to throw in some book covers of titles about libraries. Just below is probably my very favorite one.) <\/p>\n

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Adrienne, since you are a public librarian—and a very, very good one at that, in my not-so-humble opinion—and I\u2019ve not done public librarianship myself, I thought I\u2019d let you start off. In fact, I\u2019m thinking of this as more of an interview of the expert, but I promise I\u2019ll respond to your musings. <\/p>\n

So, I know that we considered naming this discussion something else, which was your good idea: Even Librarians Get Overdue Fines<\/em>. I think I know where you were going with that -\u2013 that patrons sometimes get embarrassed about circulation missteps, thinking that, say, they will get scolded for an overdue book. Or any number of other things. Can you talk a bit more about that? I know that in my own experience \u2026shoot, I am a librarian myself, and I paid a fine last week to the Nashville Public Library that was about $5.00. And it had been neglected for entirely<\/em> too long.<\/p>\n

Adrienne:<\/strong><\/font> I was so excited to be asked to be a part of this because I am all about libraries and literacy and reading to kids. One of the things that guides a lot of decisions I make as a librarian is that study after study after study about literacy shows that the more exposure children have to lots of different types of reading material, the more likely it is that they will become successful readers, maybe even the kind of people who read for fun. It seems to me that the number one easiest way to ensure that there is a variety of reading material in a child\u2019s life is to take that child to the library on a regular basis (weekly seems reasonable) and encourage him or her to check out a lot of books, but I cannot tell you the number of parents I talk to who have decided to stop using the library altogether because they had an overdue fine or accidentally damaged a book. In the cases I\u2019m thinking of, it\u2019s not that the family can\u2019t pay for whatever it is\u2014they\u2019re just too horrified to deal with the whole thing. <\/p>\n

Which\u2014ACK!\u2014this is not why families should decide to stop coming to the library, you know? We\u2019re not here to judge. Heck, the revenue generated from fees is part of our budgets\u2014we NEED that money. Plus, these things happen to everyone. A couple years ago, I dropped a library book in the bathtub (ANOTHER library\u2019s book, no less). I mean, I should totally know better than that, but I did it and I had to pay for the book and that\u2019s just how it goes. No big deal. You could choose to look at it as a way you support the library. <\/p>\n


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If you want to avoid fines and fees, the best way to do that is to know your library\u2019s policies and procedures. Most libraries will have some kind of handout that lists things like how long you can take particular materials out, whether (and how!) you can renew them, and what the library\u2019s policies are on overdue materials. <\/p>\n

Another way *I\u2019ve* personally avoided overdue books is by signing up for the LibraryElf<\/strong><\/a>. I\u2019m kind of evangelical about the Elf. What it does is send you a daily snapshot of your library account\u2014what\u2019s due today, what\u2019s due in the next three days, the status of your holds, what-all-else you have checked out. You can get the snapshot sent to your email or you can set it up as an RSS feed in Bloglines<\/strong><\/a> or Google Reader<\/strong><\/a> or whatever. You can even get text alerts on your phone. If you, like me, have multiple cards to manage, you can have several cards on one account, and the daily message will include everything from all the cards on the account. I\u2019ve been using it for years now, and I love it.<\/font> <\/p>\n

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Jules:<\/strong><\/font> Ooh! Ooh! Fabulous! You see, this is oh-so helpful. I remember hearing about LibraryElf years ago, but I suppose I assumed that it couldn\u2019t accommodate several cards on one account. Shows you what I know. I\u2019m signing up! <\/p>\n

Again, I\u2019ve never done public librarianship—only school—so I\u2019m surprised to read that parents will actually stop using the library due to overdue fines or inadvertently-damaged books. I\u2019m with you: NO! NO! That is nothing. Oh heavens, we\u2019re all human. I\u2019ve had to pay for lost library books in my day, too. And I\u2019m a very member of the profession. <\/p>\n

I have several more questions for you, but I want to address this one next, since I think you\u2019re a fine children\u2019s librarian, and I wish I could attend your story times \u2013- not only for my children, but for my own<\/em> enjoyment. <\/p>\n

I think that sometimes a lot of parents are guided by what I\u2019ll call the Shhh! Principle \u2013 that if their children are a bit loud in the library, as hyper and energetic children are wont to be, they are perhaps mortified. I don\u2019t know about you, but in library school, we were actively taught to regard the children\u2019s room, particularly the story-time area, as The Place Where It\u2019s A-Okay to Make Noise. Do you think sometimes parents back off from story-time attendance, because they fear their children are too antsy or misbehave too much or won\u2019t sit down and be quiet already or that type of thing? I dunno. I think some parents might think that way, and if so, that\u2019s too bad, because story time is for fun. <\/p>\n

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\"IsaacI\u2019ve always loved the last part of Isaac Bashevis Singer\u2019s<\/strong><\/a> {pictured here} 1978 Nobel Prize acceptance speech<\/strong><\/a>, in which he lists the reasons he writes for children, including \u201c{w}hen a book is boring, they yawn openly, without any shame or fear of authority.\u201d<\/em> He also said, elsewhere, that the \u201cchild is still selfish to demand an interesting story. He wants surprises and tensions\u2026Young as they are, fresh from the egg, they know exactly who they are, and where they belong.\u201d<\/em> I think we story-time librarians know this—and most of us, I\u2019d say, appreciate that about children—so we expect some ants-in-the-pants. <\/p>\n

Do you generally have any story-time tips for parent-patrons? And, on a similar note, isn\u2019t it true that public librarians gladly accept suggestions for collection development \u2013 that if a parent, say, really wants to have a new title added to the collection or read at story time, that they can talk to the librarian and it will at least be considered? I think often patrons aren\u2019t aware of this. And most public librarians I know are happy to get suggestions. <\/p>\n

Adrienne:<\/strong><\/font> You are so right about the Shhh! Principle. We do our youngest story-times for children aged 12-23 months, and I always have to put a lot of energy into reassuring parents that I do not expect children that young to sit and listen to me read stories for a half hour and that it is, in fact, not even desirable to have children that age sit passively for a half hour. Toddlers don\u2019t learn much sitting around. Singer\u2019s words are apt, especially for preschoolers. They need to be able to react and ask questions and just be their own wonderful selves in the library, ESPECIALLY in story times. So, yes, we expect and welcome some squirrelliness. In Webster<\/strong><\/a>, the entrance to our Children\u2019s Room is a rainbow, so one of my favorite sounds every day is when children rush through the front doors shouting \u201cThe rainbow! The rainbow!\u201d while skipping along toward the Children\u2019s Room. This lets me know I\u2019m doing something at least a little right on a daily basis. <\/p>\n

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Now, of course, some parents have concerns about bringing their kids to the library or story-times because their children have developmental delays or attention issues or other special needs. The best advice I can give in these situations is to talk to your librarians. I think I\u2019m speaking for a lot of us when I say that we are happy to make accommodations when we can to make the library more enjoyable for everyone\u2014this is especially true of programs. I want all children to feel welcome and included. Arguably, it\u2019s the children who have the hardest time paying attention who stand to gain the most.<\/font> <\/p>\n

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(Jules adds: Adrienne and I just really, REALLY like this. I know this may be difficult to read. Click on the image itself to see a bigger, more legible version.)<\/em><\/p>\n

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Text \u00a9 2001 by Dean Schneider and Robin Smith.
Reprinted from the March\/April 2001 issue of The Horn Book Magazine<\/em>.
Image used with permisson of Roger Sutton\/The Horn Book<\/em>.<\/center><\/p>\n

Personally, I appreciate getting feedback from patrons about EVERYTHING. I can\u2019t always do EVERYTHING, but I almost always buy items patrons suggest and take a look at things they recommend. I\u2019ve planned programs and made changes to our room based on patron suggestions (even kids\u2019 suggestions\u2014our Idea Box is one of my favorite things in the Children\u2019s Room). {Jules adds: Have you seen Adrienne’s “REAL Suggestions from the Children’s Room” series of sorts at her blog<\/strong><\/a>? SO GREAT. Here’s<\/strong><\/a> one of the most recent ones.}<\/em> The library belongs to the community, so we can\u2019t really do our jobs all that well if we don\u2019t know what people in the community are thinking, particularly those community members who use the library frequently. Librarians may look busy, but that\u2019s just because we can\u2019t help but read whatever\u2019s in front of us. We also really love talking to people, so please don\u2019t feel like you\u2019re a bother or interrupting. You\u2019re a vital part of what we do every day.<\/p>\n

Jules, wouldn\u2019t it be so fun if we could do a story time together someday? Oh, to dream!<\/font> <\/p>\n

Jules:<\/strong><\/font> Oh, to dream, indeed! You don\u2019t even know how many times I\u2019ve read the great posts at your blog and thought, I want to be in a public library one day, but I won\u2019t do it unless, for some wild reason, I\u2019ve moved to northern New York and can work with Adrienne.<\/em> We know we\u2019d, at the very least, always have good pots of coffee goin\u2019.<\/p>\n

\"That<\/p>\n

\u201cSquirrelliness\u201d is such a good way to put it -\u2013 in regards to children, that is, at story time. It\u2019s probably true that parents get too worked up, though they mean well. Again, I\u2019m a librarian, and I even do THAT. I frequent my local public library\u2019s story times, and I sometimes all shush-like and a little too stridently fuss at my girls for, say, dancing a bit too long to the song (you know, they\u2019re still running around the room like wild monkeys, though the song\u2019s ended), for not sitting down soon enough when it\u2019s time to get quiet for a story, for TALKING TO THE LIBRARIAN DURING THE READING OF THE BOOK (I think this could be its own post, including the various ways librarians handle that), etc. I guess we just can\u2019t help it. But thank goodness they have librarians who are willing to have fun and sing and dance. <\/p>\n

Now, here\u2019s a question for you about which I\u2019m not at all sure myself, since my training was in school—not public—librarianship: How do public librarians feel about patrons making suggestions about the OPAC user interface? In case that is geeky library speak, it means the online library catalog, making it possible for you to get on your computer at home, have access to the library\u2019s web site, and see if a book is available \u2013- as well as check your own record online, including renewing books. I use two libraries here in middle Tennessee, and one of them has an OPAC that is sometimes frustrating to me. For instance, I can\u2019t renew materials and see my holds list (or my, ahem, fines) at the same time; I have to do those separately instead, typing my long<\/em> card number several times. The other one is much more user-friendly in that way, but it also has some weirdness going on in which, when I am prompted to type in my library card number in order to check my record, the number suddenly appears, as I type it, in the search box for the catalog. And then everything goes downhill, and I have to backtrack and type the number again. And it makes me curse creatively and inappropriately each time. <\/p>\n

So, I\u2019ve always wondered: If I—as a very devoted library patron—gave unsolicited feedback, as humbly as possible and with my very friendliest possible smile (maybe I could throw in a twinkle in my eye), about improvements to the OPAC that would make life easier for patrons, would I get mean looks? Or grumbles when I walk away from the desk? (I once had a traumatic public library experience in which I was grumbled at by a librarian—okay, she exclaimed something like, \u201cMY GOD!\u201d very loudly when I walked up to the desk—IN FRONT of everyone for checking out the maximum number of books on my two library cards. Picture books for my children. Oh THE HORROR! How dare I? But that\u2019s a nightmarish story for another day.)<\/p>\n

Adrienne:<\/strong><\/font> As I\u2019ve been writing along, I keep thinking that at some point I should admit that sometimes library staff are less-than-friendly to patrons, even in the best of libraries. Sometimes I am less-than-friendly myself\u2014it usually comes of being tired or hungry or overwhelmed or discouraged about a patron who was recently yelling about a fifty cent overdue fee. I worked at McDonalds for many years while I was in college, and during interviews, people always ask me what I learned from that job that can be applied to libraries. What I can tell you is that working the reference desk in a public library is WAY more like working the drive-thru at McDonalds than it is like anything academic or pretty. <\/p>\n

Anyway, the OPAC. Please do tell your librarians what kinds of frustrations you\u2019re having using it. Tell them what works, too. When you can point to something else that works better, I think that\u2019s also very helpful. We can\u2019t make these things better if we don\u2019t know what is and isn\u2019t working for people. There are a couple things to bear in mind when you talk to someone, though. First, the average front-line librarian has absolutely zero control over the OPAC and may already be hearing your complaints from other people. If you sense some frustration when you talk to someone, that\u2019s probably why. They\u2019re probably thinking that they\u2019d love to change whatever you\u2019re talking about, but they don\u2019t know how. I know I feel that a lot. Second, the people who do have control over the OPAC are the people who make and sell it, and they make. changes. ridiculously. slowly. <\/p>\n

As a for-example, our OPAC is shared by all the libraries in Monroe County<\/strong><\/a>. It used to be that when you were searching in a given library, there was a tag on the results list that would let you know which items were owned by the library you were standing in. Months ago, the tags disappeared. Patrons complain about it all the time; *I* complain about it all the time. They\u2019re still not back. I have no idea why. It causes me as much trouble as it causes any patron, and when people comment on it day after day, I TRY to nod and look sympathetic\u2014but it\u2019s so frustrating when there\u2019s nothing I can do to solve the problem. Librarians are problem-solvers by nature. It\u2019s a strain when we\u2019re repeatedly confronted with problems we can\u2019t solve\u2014BUT if we don\u2019t hear about them, we can\u2019t do anything about them, either. So tell us. <\/p>\n

Jules, YOU BET on the coffee. We\u2019re getting a videocamera for the library soon, and I want to make a little mini-documentary for the website about how the children\u2019s staff is all addicted to coffee. People are always commenting on how patient we are with the kids; the coffee is why.<\/font> <\/p>\n


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Jules:<\/strong><\/font> I definitely agree about being half-glass-full about your OPAC feedback \u2013 or any feedback, for that matter. Accentuate the positive first. Excellent idea. <\/p>\n

I have one more question for you, as I suppose we should be wrapping this up. (But, my, it\u2019s been fun chatting with you!) <\/p>\n

Even I, as a librarian, am a bit fuzzy on how exactly the friendly, local reference librarian can help patrons. Rather, I know what he or she is supposed to do, but sometimes I get shy about asking for their expert research help. I have a feeling it\u2019s silly of me to be shy like that and that they are there to answer questions. Any advice for me and other patrons? <\/p>\n

Adrienne:<\/strong><\/font> Oh, the librarians are totally there to help you find the answers to your questions, whatever they are. Sometimes questions will be out of our scope (like if you\u2019re a college student looking for research articles\u2014that\u2019s what your college library is for), but most things parents and kids are asking for are things we can find. In our Children\u2019s Room, we help find information for kids\u2019 assignments and personal interests. We try to match readers with the books they want to read, be they (real examples) biographies of presidents who have been assassinated or picture books in which cake is featured prominently. We help find non-book materials that match certain parameters\u2014good audiobooks for a family road trip, maybe, or music CDs on the multiplication tables. We do a fair amount of helping parents find materials to help them deal with the various issues they face\u2014potty training, getting the kids to sleep, discipline, even burn-out. My feeling on the issue is that I can have the best collection in the world, but if people can\u2019t find what they\u2019re looking for, I might just as well not have bothered. So I definitely want people to ask, and I am so happy when I can send them away with something they wanted to find.<\/p>\n

Yeah, I suppose we should be wrapping up. We could go on and on. I\u2019m always so glad to talk to you!<\/font> <\/p>\n

Jules:<\/strong><\/font> Me, too! Thanks for chatting with me on this fab blog tour—especially since you made time to do it while you were travelling and teaching—and let’s hope there will be a Part Two next year. <\/p>\n

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Day 4 of Share a Story–Shape a Future: A Visit to the Library<\/em>. Hosted by Eva Mitnick at Eva’s Book Addiction<\/em><\/strong><\/a>:<\/p>\n