Digitization 101

Making the News: Library Advocacy and Local Media

Christi Buker (Pennsylvania Library Association):

• Use traditional advocacy and social media
• Make sure their legislative community is fully engaged
• Focused your limited time and resources
• The Pennsylvania Library Association  (PLA) have created handout that provide information on the good, bad, and what’s possible (the ask)
• In 2018, PLA focused on awareness
• In 2019, PLA focused on positive revenues within the state
• Suggested that you get your county to acknowledge National Library Week
• Do media training

• Use data to supplement stories on people. Marry anecdotal stories with data.
• Educate your journalists about the library

LITA Top Technology Trends

Speakers:  Ida Joiner (moderator), Victoria Blackmer, Marshall Breeding, Elisandro Cabada, and Alison Macrina

This Top Tech Trends session was focused on privacy.

What is causing the privacy concerns?

• Internet of things - the connection of the entire world 
• Inclusion of sensors in many things that are collecting personal data
• Not all libraries have secure websites - what a person does on a library's website should be private
• A need for libraries to use more encryption
• A recognition that a library's website may be secure, but the ads on it track user activity
• Analytics which capture user information
• Virtual reality and augmented reality
• Data storage
• Facial recognition - they have been some conversations about using facial recognition instead of library cards
• Consumer surveillance devices
• Vendor privacy issues
• People using Alexa, etc., for quick reference questions
• The use of drones

Libraries cannot assume that others will figure this out in a way that suits them and their patrons.  Libraries need to get involved and assure that the privacy concerns of their community are being met.

FUTURE-READYing Your Library: Preparing for the Future Today

Speaker: Marcellus "MT" Turner

Marcellus Turner is the Executive Director and Chief Librarian of the Seattle Public Library.  During his introduction of the topic, he said that this might not be what people expected and that it was okay to get up and leave.  That made me even more intrigued!

MT and Seattle Public Library are preparing the library of today for tomorrow.  While Seattle Public is well-known, that library was built to be the library of tomorrow, but rather to liberate our ideas about what a library can be.  Now SPL is working hard to figure out the trends that point to the future needs and what the library must do to meet those needs.  The goal is to be proactive, rather than being reactive.



SPL has been  on this project for about 18 months and are now at a point where they can begin sharing information. They are still gathering information and do want to engage a futurist, so the work is not yet done. They hope in sharing that they can also learn from others.  MT promised that as they continue to learn, they will continue to share.  He noted that they have hired a policy officer to help with this effort.

MT showed us this information on their strategic direction, noting that what they do will touch on these three areas: Individual, Community, and the Institution. 


This was an interactive session.  When we sat down, MT gave each of us a color-coded card, which related to 12 different areas.  These are areas that other industries are thinking about, and he emphasized that we need to think about them too. The areas are:

• Emerging Technologies
• Future of Work and Education
• Changing Demographics
• Financial Sustainability
• Corporate Influence and Consumer Expectations
• Climate Change
• Growing Inequality and Inequity
• Urbanization and Density
• Institutional Trust, Privacy, and Big Data
• Library as Concept
• Librarianship and Staffing
• Customer Service and Engagement

This was a session where my mind was fully engaged and I wished it could have gone on longer. Yet my notes are minimal.  Not every library has the funding and support to engage in strategic thinking like this and so it was inspiring to hear from a library that can take the time and resources to do this.  I cannot wait to hear what MT and SPL learn.  I do hope that some of those lessons will come while my own public library is working on its strategic plan!

Sustainability Is Now a Core Value. So... Now What?

Speakers: Rebekkah Smith Aldrich and Matthew Bollerman

As the session description says, "In 2019 ALA Council voted to make sustainability a core value of librarianship. So what's next? How do we embed this new core value in our work as a profession, in our libraries, and in our association?"

Smith Aldrich and Bollerman took turns talking about sustainability.  They noted that we - as individuals - want the people we care about the most to have the best possible lives...and that we want the same for our communities, too. Sustainability is one way of providing the best possible future for those around us and our communities. As libraries, however, we are late to this game.

Smith Aldrich and Bollerman are working to get sustainability as a topic in the MSLIS programs and in ALA accreditation. They noted that three MSLIS programs have already inserted sustainability into their coursework (Syracuse University, San Jose State Univ., and Rutgers).

They see sustainability as having a triple, interconnected impact, which they call the triple bottom line:

• Environmentally sound (earth)
• Social equitable (people)
• Economically feasible

Making Real Change: Moving beyond the Interpersonal to Create Actual Diverse, Inclusive, and Equitable Environments for Both Library Users and Employees

Anti-oppressive practices (AOP) grapple with power inequities that uphold structural forces like racism and sexism. Librarianship has primarily focused on individual expressions of AOP. However, AOP must include institutional and ideological change, which can be more challenging.

This session will discuss the AOP framework, explore examples of AOP in libraries, and give participants tools for starting larger conversations at their own institutions. Participants will discuss what their institution is doing that focuses on the individual, and explore how theories of organizational change can be used towards institutional AOP.

I have returned from attending the American Library Association (ALA) Midwinter Conference in Philadelphia. It was a packed four days for me and I'll be providing highlights in several blog posts, beginning with this one about day 1 (Friday, Jan. 24).

Opening Keynote

ALA President Wanda Brown opened the conference.  In her remarks, Brown noted that "we are the heartbeat of our communities."  That is something that we - libraries and library staff - know, but is something that our communities rediscover on occasion and then think that this relationship between us and them is new.

Wanda Brown  introduced Wes Moore, who was our opening keynote.  This was the second time that I've been able to hear Wes Moore speak and he was as engaging as he was at IFLA.

Moore began by talking about his early life and his connection to the public library. When he was  in fifth grade, he read at a third grade level.  His mother used Brown's love of sports to connect him with books, and his love of reading was born.  (That first book was on the Michigan Fab Five.)

He then talked about writing The Other Wes Moore, which was a book about individual choice and societal dynamics. He then moved to talking about his upcoming book, Five Days: The Fiery Reckoning of an American City, which is about the protests and activities in Baltimore after the death of Freddie Gray in police custody.  Moore calls this a story about poverty.

Freddie Gray had led a tragic life. He was born underweight to a mother who was an addict, and that means he was born an addict.  He got lead poisoning from his environment before he was 2 years old.  Freddie's life did not get better and it was not a peaceful one.  Moore believes that the week Freddie Gray was in a coma may have been the most peaceful week of Gray's life.  That is heartbreaking.

• How did we get here?
• What do we do next?

The Exhibit Hall

I know that an important funding stream for an association is its conference and that the vendors are critically important to that. So I do believe in going to the exhibit hall.  I'm always pleased to see new products and will send relevant info to colleagues, when I can.  And yes, the exhibits can just be fun!

On Friday, one booth that stood out to me was the Islamic Circle of North America.  They had copies of the Quran and other books available for free, and were more than willing to talk about Islamic culture.  I'm heartened to see exhibitors like this, who are at the conference to extend the educational content into the vendor area.

Short Edition had short story dispensers around the conference site.  These dispensers contained locally-curated content of one-minute, three-minute, and five-minute stories.  A dispenser in the exhibit hall contained comics and stories specifically for young adults.  I was fascinated and printed several stories over the four-day event.  Yes, I am reading them.

Colleagues wondered if this functionality could be done using existing technology and whether children/young adults would print many stories - creating piles of papers - without reading them.  I agree that both questions are good ones.  Concerning too many people printing stories, I'll note that I saw very few people printing stories, which felt strange since most people at the conference would describe themselves as readers. I do think this functionality could be quite interesting in some environments.  I hope I run across one again, so I can print/read more!

Library Journal Librarians of the Year

Friday evening, Christian Zabriskie and Lauren Comito - founders of Urban Librarians Unite - received the Library Journal Librarian(s) of the Year Award.  The more I get to know Christian and Lauren, the more impressed I am with their work.  If you are unfamiliar with them, please read the LJ article.

Christian is now the executive director of the Onondaga County Public Library (system), where I am now the president of its Board of Trustees.  I am thrilled that he is in Syracuse and that I'll be working with him in the weeks and months to come.

This is what I'm doing in the coming months.  If we end up in the same location, let's meet for coffee!

Conference

Currently, I have only one conference on my schedule:

• Jan. 24-27 - ALA Midwinter Conference (ALAmw20) in Philadelphia, PA.  Look for me in the Convention Center and in the Reading Terminal Market, where the food choices are awesome!

Teaching

I'm teaching the following this winter and spring:

• Copyright for Information Professionals (IST 735) - Jan. 13 - Apr. 28 (asynchronous online, credit-bearing graduate course)
  Basic ideas, concepts and perspectives of management as they apply to the information professions. Students learn to understand and apply basic principles of organization theory and behavior and managerial techniques needed to improve organizational effectiveness. This course is offered through Syracuse University.


• US Copyright Law in the Library: A Beginner's Guide (ALA eCourse) - Feb. 2 - Mar. 15 (asynchronous, non-credit-bearing)
  The library is a hub of content, all of it subject to copyright law. The legal reality of copyright is dynamic—changes in technology have created a landscape that is constantly adapting and can be difficult to predict. If you don't have any formal training in copyright law, it can be intimidating to know how to answer your patrons' copyright questions and to know what you can and cannot do with your library’s content and resources. It can be tough to understand the line between providing information and answering a legal question.
  
  In this eCourse, you will be guided through the basics of copyright law and provided with the foundation to become your library's copyright expert.
  
  Each week, you'll learn how copyright law informs what libraries, library staff, and patrons can do with their materials and how you can stay up-to-date as this area evolves. You'll be able to check and affirm your knowledge through focused self-assessments.  This asynchronous eCourse is offered through ALA Publishing.


• The Public Library as Institution (IST 600) - Mar. 25 - June 16 (online with synchronous and asynchronous components each week)
  This credit-bearing course covers the unique aspects of public libraries include structure, governance, funding, and community interactions. In addition, public libraries are impacted by many societal concerns. This course prepares students to examine and support those areas of public librarianship. This course is offered through Syracuse University.


• Productivity 101 - May 14, 9:00 a.m. - 12 noon, SCRLC offices in Ithaca, NY
  Productivity. It's important, but we often struggle with how to stay organized so that we are productive. We struggle with email, time management, and managing workloads. We want to delegate tasks, and even say "no" to some, but we struggle with the best way of doing that. In this interactive workshop, you will learn and use methods for these areas, and become more productive. Both paper and digital methods will be discussed.

Other Stuff 

First, I am now the president of the Onondaga County Public Library Board of Trustees.  It is a honor to be able to serve this library and the OCPL system in this way (32 libraries in total)! 

Second, in 2017, I became involved in the Poor People's Campaign: A National Call for a Moral Revival. This is a continuation of the campaign begun by Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. After the 2016 elections, I wanted to get involved some how in making a difference in our country. Like many others, I looked for an effort that resonated with my values.  I particularly wanted to get involved in something locally. This is where I''m donating my energy working with the NYS Poor People's Campaign and the CNY organizing committee.  Why am I posting this here? Because I just want to share something that is important to me.

The year 2019 is coming to a close. Every year seems busy and often too busy. While I think of things I want to blog about, frequently I find I don't have time to do the posts.  I hope that might change at some point in 2020.  For now, here is a rambling look back at 2019 with some new thought thrown in.

Digitization

I have not spent much time this year thinking about digitization outside of the ALA Annual Conference (post). However, I have colleagues who report occasionally about their continued digitization efforts and I am pleased at the progress they are making. With moves towards augmented reality (AR), it is likely that our digitized material is and will be integrated into some of them. What is augmented reality? According to Wikipedia:

Augmented reality (AR) is an interactive experience of a real-world environment where the objects that reside in the real world are enhanced by computer-generated perceptual information, sometimes across multiple sensory modalities, including visual, auditory, haptic, somatosensory and olfactory. AR can be defined as a system that fulfills three basic features: a combination of real and virtual worlds, real-time interaction, and accurate 3D registration of virtual and real objects.

Actually, a quick search shows that there are already historical sites using augmented reality, such as James Monroe's Highland in Virginia. Are they including digitized materials? That I cannot tell, but I hope they are.

The other area, related to digitization, worth noting is the need to provide more digital materials to support online education.  That includes ideas like controlled digital lending, which was also a topic at ALA (post).  This is an area where our needs are moving quickly. We need to have the correct laws, licensing, guidelines, etc., to support this trend.

Copyright

Rather than looking back, I want to look forward. January 1, 2020 will mark the second New Year's Day in a row where copyrighted works will enter the public domain due to their age.  In celebration, Lifehacker has published These 1924 Copyrighted Works Enter the Public Domain in 2020.

More information on Public Domain Day can be found in Wikipedia.

Onondaga County Public Library

Over two year ago, I joined the Board of Trustees for the Onondaga County Public Library (OCPL) System. Quoting our website:

OCPL is one of 23 public library systems chartered by the Board of Regents of the State of New York. It operates the Central Library, nine Syracuse city branches and two satellite libraries, and 21 independent libraries in suburban Onondaga County.

These libraries serve a county population of 461,809. Within the City of Syracuse (population 142,749), the library users include 30.5% of the population, who lived below the poverty line in 2018.  One of the services OCPL has expanded this year, with funding released by our County Executive, is technology backpacks which can be borrowed for people to use at home (or elsewhere).  Each tech backpack includes:

• Chromebook and charger
• Verizon hotspot and charger
• Quick start guide for using the equipment

These have been deployed across the county based on concentrations of poverty.

Among the other good news at OCPL is that we have a new executive director coming in January 2020.  Christian Zabriskie is well-known in some circles for his work in Queens and Yonkers (NY), as well as co-founding Urban Librarians Unite (ULU). In 2012, Christian was named a Library Journal Mover and Shaker. Recently, he and Lauren Comito, his ULU co-founder, were named Library Journal's Librarian(s) of the Year 2020.

My personal OCPL good news is that I am becoming Board president in January.  This will put all of my library knowledge, and ability to get work done through others, to the test and I'm looking forward to it!

Poverty and Libraries

Our public libraries are for everyone, including people with all different abilities and backgrounds.  They are most important to those in marginalized communities, whatever "marginalized" may mean in that context. The question every public library should be asking is what it can do to be of service in those communities. Once asked, then the library needs to talk with members of that community to figure out the answers. The library should not jump to conclusions, because that could mean that the library is doing what it deems to be correct, rather than what the community needs.

Many groups are focused on serving the poor in our communities and there are some specifically focused on raising up the voices of the poor. The Poor People's Campaign, started by Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., is one of those groups that is working across the U.S.  If you are a public librarian, what groups are working with those in your community who are living in poverty? Who is advocating for the poor?  What civic engagement activities can you and your library do to make a positive change in your community, in regards to poverty?

There are other issues in our communities: the opioid crisis, racism, homelessness (and home insecurity), the perpetually unemployed, etc.  These issues may have been glossed over by your news media, but they tore at your community in 2019. What can your library do to help?

Gig Work

One of the things that is happening around us is the increased amount of "gig work" that is occurring. Gig work can be defined as, "...income-earning activities outside of traditional, long-term employer-employee relationships."  Gig work impacts how we use technology and information.  It is impacts how space is used in our communities, including our libraries which offer space for people to work and meet, as well as access to technology.

This year, I heard Dr. Steve Sawyer give a talk about his research in progress related to gig work.  What stood out to me was the infrastructure - hidden to me - that has been created to support knowledge workers, who do not have a corporate office.  For a growing number of people, there is no office waiting for them in a corporate office building. Rather they are given the "flexibility" to work from home or at another location which suits them.  Sawyer noted that corporations used to provide offices, technology, and support, but now workers must acquire those things themselves (to varying degrees). Yes, a business may provide some tech support, for example, but because the person is not located where the support is, the person may need to do most of the tech support themselves.

There are a growing number of coworking spaces in our communities. You might not know about them, because you're not looking for them. If you've heard about one, you likely thought it was an aberration, but it's not and we're beyond the trend phase of this. If you know nothing about this, this article from ChargeSpot will be helpful.

If you are working in a library, how is your library supporting gig workers? Think about knowledge workers and those in other parts of the gig economy, like Uber and Lyft drivers. If there are coworking spaces in your community, are you interacting with them? Do they see the library as a resource?

Steve Sawyer is interested in specific aspects of the gig economy, which is not what I took away from his talk! (Sorry, Steve.) A paper of Steve's, with three collaborators, is available on ResearchGate.  That paper is, "Platformic Management, Boundary Resources for Gig Work, and Worker Autonomy." I know that he has other writings on this topic, which you can find through various databases.

T is for Training

I'm mentioning this, because I rarely do on this blog. In 2008, Maurice Coleman started a twice monthly podcast called T is for Training. The podcast is focused primarily on training (in and outside of libraries) and technology, although we focus on other issues.  I've been involved in T is for Training since its start.  It has changed over the years, because nothing can stay exactly the same. Who is involved has changed as well as, in 2019, when we record. We've also become closer colleagues and friends. There is nothing like a twice-monthly hour-long conversation to help create a close community!

T is for Training episodes are available on a variety of different podcast platforms. The website includes information on when we record as well as show notes. There aren't transcripts of the episodes, which means this podcast is not fully accessible. The show notes do capture the topics discussed and often a long list of resources mentioned.

The Best Tool of the Year

I've written before about the bullet journal method of staying organized and focused. This method grew into the most important tool for me this year.  With the number of committees I've been on, etc., my bullet journal has become by trusty companion. Yes, better than the previous work journals that I have kept. In a increasingly digital work, I think it is telling that the best tool for me remains paper.

And so this is my year in review!  I hope 2019 has had some bright spots for you.  May 2020 bring you the opportunities you have been working towards!

Happy New Year!

Given the conversations in the U.S. since fall 2016 and some of the actions that have occurred, it is not surprising that there were many sessions related to bias, microaggressions, diversity and inclusion. I was able to attend only two. I'm giving you the descriptions because these capture important information.

New Destinations in the Recruitment, Retention, and Advancement of People of Color to the Library Profession

 

Description

In spite of ongoing diversity initiatives and programs by organizations such as ARL, ACRL and other groups, recruitment, retention and promotion among library and information studies (LIS) students and library workers is lagging. Two recent projects, the REFORMA Telling Our Stories: Community Building to Recruit and Retain Latinx to the Library Profession grant and the Hampton University Forum on Minority Recruitment and Retention in the LIS Field grant, both awarded by the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS), address the need to set new goals and create profession-wide efforts to look at the recruitment and retention efforts if we really want to diversify the profession. Libraries that succeed in recruiting must simultaneously focus on retention and promotion of new hires. Mentoring programs have proven to be effective in supporting new professionals and aiding them to remain in the field. There is a need to develop a climate in the workplace that supports and encourages advancement. The Hampton LIS Forum, held August 1-2, 2018 at Hampton University provided a safe space for the discussion of diversity initiatives and the concerns of people of color within the LIS profession. The forum also created a think-tank to create actionable strategies to address diversity in recruitment and retention. This presentation will discuss both grant-funded projects and the need for continued efforts and research to address the lack of diversity of people of color within the library and information studies field.

Speakers: Miguel Juarez, Tina Rollins, and Tess Tobin

 

Notes

The speakers wanted to spent more of the time having a discussion with the audience, but unfortunately, they spent too much time providing background in this one-hour session.  What is clear, though, from their presentation is that there are areas where we can focus, in order to improvement recruitment, retention, and advancement.  Those areas include two which drew my attention:

• Mentoring
• Leadership training
  

We often have a specific idea of what mentoring is.  However, I like the varied list of what was mentoring can be in the Tomorrow's Professor post entitled "Mentoring and Productivity." Our staff of color may benefit from mentoring that provides one (or more) of the following:

• Professional Development
• Emotional Support
• A Sense of Community
• Accountability
• Institutional Sponsorship
• Access to Networks
• Project Specific Feedback
• Role Models
• Safe Space
  

Library staff of color need to find and connect with mentors, who can provide the type of mentoring they need.  While a library might provide a mentor, staff should be willing to look elsewhere for additional mentors, who can provide a different point of view and perhaps a different mentoring relationship.

In terms of leadership training, current and future leaders need to be trained on working with diverse staff members, no matter what that diversity might be.  We cannot assume that someone already has those skills.  This training could occur in a number of different ways and might need to occur more than once, since we really don't leave everything about working in a diverse and inclusive environment in one sitting.

Our staff of color should also receive leadership training, because they will be leaders.  Some will become team leaders, managers or directors, while others might lead a project.  They should get into that leadership role with an understand of what it entails and how to succeed as a leader.  They should see leadership as a natural progression in their careers.  Having people of color in leadership roles puts them in the position of being role models for other staff as well as our communities, so we need to help them succeed, rather than setting them up for failure.

An Introduction to Implicit Bias and Microaggressions

Description

The American Library Association commits to ameliorating marginalization and underrepresentation within the Association and the communities served by libraries through increased understanding of the effects of historical exclusion. This introductory training will explore implicit bias and microaggressions. Participants will be able to identify how these concepts create barriers and begin to explore ways to disrupt our biases and respond to microaggressions. This training will be presented three times throughout Annual Conference and is open to all conference attendees.

Speakers: Mee Moua and Michael Wenger

Notes

They noted the history of bias in the U.S., noting that it was used to justify enslavement and conquest.  Some bias has been based on pseudo science.  Some have been quite intentional through federal government actions.

Bias is a preference for - or against - a group of people and it occurs on a subconscious level. We all are biased. We all can learn what our biases are and then be more mindful of how we consciously react in various situation.

One of the exercise we did was to discuss how we would handle the following scenario.

Two groups of students - one predominately white and one predominately black- are sitting at separate tables in the library, and both groups are speaking loudly to each other.  Your colleague walks over to the table that has mostly black students and tells them to be quiet or they will be kicked out of the library.

What message do you think the students at either table received from the interaction?

What would you do or say to the students, if you were the one responding?

What would you do or say to your colleague?

That was a fascinating discussion! Wow.  Did we all read the scenario the same way?  And then what did we decide to do?  You might discuss that scenario with your staff and see what happens.  I guarantee it will be educational.

This session was both informative and fun.  The speakers created good interaction with the participants and assured that we interacted with each other at our tables.

Resources

• Steele and Aronson. (1995) Stereotype threat and the intellectual test performance of African Americans.
• Devine, et al. (2015)  Long-term reduction in implicit race bias: A prejudice habit-breaking intervention
• National Center for State Courts. (2013) Helping courts address implicit bias
• Eberhardt (2019) Biased: Uncovering the Hidden Prejudice That Shapes What We See, Think, and Do

Thoughts

It is likely that every sessions at ALA related to diversity, bias, etc., began with some sort of an overview of the basics.  While I know having an understanding of the basics is necessary, I wish there could have been a different way of doing it, so that each session could have spent more time one what was unique about that session.  This might have meant creating an introductory session each day, which was marked and promoted as such.  Then the other sessions could have had in their descriptions that people were expected to attend one of the introductory sessions first.  Yes, I know this would be a hassle, but I think participants at these sessions would have appreciated it.

Finally, I want to say that I appreciate ALA having so many sessions on these topics. Now more than ever, we need to be trained and retrained on them.  And then we need to be willing to use what we have learned to make our libraries more welcoming for everyone.

I was unable to attend these two sessions, but want to tell you what they were and  point you towards articles about them. Why? Because I believe the topics to be important.

Library Confidentiality: Your Privacy is Our Business

American Libraries covered this session with an article.

Description

Protecting patron privacy has long been a tenet of libraries. In today’s environment of social media dominance, political partisanship, and big data collection and analysis, libraries continue their gate-keeping tradition. Participants in this program will learn about the policies, guidelines, ethics and laws behind the privacy and confidentiality standards that affect their libraries. Attendees will have several opportunities to share and explore cultural and policy approaches to privacy and confidentiality with their colleagues, while strategizing to resolve challenging patron privacy scenarios and policy concerns they may encounter at their own institutions.

Privacy is as much an institutional cultural construct as it is a framework of laws, regulations, and policies. We begin by reflecting upon our own personal concepts of privacy. The presenters will share what students have told them about their privacy fears. You will find that our concerns are surprisingly similar, and yet we wittingly or unwittingly share our private information on a regular basis. As information professionals, what is our role in creating privacy and confidentiality awareness among our patrons and staff? Our examination expands to compare and contrast how we, as a profession, protect the privacy of our patrons even if that is at odds with how our patrons want (or do not want) their privacy protected.

This program makes participants aware of the potential for challenges to patron reading records and models options to be both proactive and reactive, outlines the history and practice of ALA’s ethical and legal response to those challenges, and reflects upon the increasing institutional focus on assessment, data-driven decision making and the use of Big Data to prove our value. Will these new initiatives threaten our patrons’ privacy?

Speakers: Kathleen Ross and Nancy Greco, St. John Fisher College

PLA Legal Issues in Public Libraries Forum

This event was part of the PLA meeting at ALA. American Libraries did an article on it.

Description

Can a patron require us to accept a gift subscription to a publication we don't want? Can I play music during a story hour and have the children sing along? What if we stream the story hour from our website? We notice one patron often comes into the library barefoot. Can we do anything about that? Can "that" group really be allowed to use our meeting room? We have received a list of books for which a number of patrons (there is a signed petition) want restricted access so that children cannot read or check out the books unless there is a parental permission on file. Must we abide by their wishes? The library has a new crafting space, with glue guns, various cutting blades and other sharp objects. Can we have patrons sign some sort of release protecting the library in case someone gets injured? I am reviewing an agreement from a new online content provider. What does it mean when the agreement says the vendor waives all warranties including non-infringement and that the library will indemnify the vendor? Need answers to these and similar questions?

PLA announces a new conference resource and informational session, the Legal Issues in Public Libraries Forum. The Forum is an open discussion venue for legal issues common in public libraries such as patron privacy, challenges to both in-house and online content, patron behavior, copyright and licensing, other liability issues such as those related to maker spaces, and more. Recent cases and legislation affecting libraries can also be discussed. The Forum serves as a resource, a place where issues you may be facing can be vetted in a neutral space. The Forum draws upon the experience and knowledge of your peers, of those in attendance.

Held at future Midwinter and ALA Annual Conferences, the Forum is convened by Tomas A. Lipinski, Dean and Professor at the School of Information Studies, University of Wisconsin Milwaukee, author and co-author with Mary Minow and Gretchen McCord of numerous books and articles on various legal problems in libraries. Tom, like Mary and Gretchen, is both a librarian and a lawyer. The hope is to always have several lawyer librarians in attendance as well as seasoned library administrators.

Please note this Forum is intended to provide accurate information in regard to the subject matter covered. However it is not a place to obtain legal advice or other professional service. If legal or other expert assistance is required, the services of a competent professional person should be sought.

Among the 701 exhibitors at the ALA Annual Conference were several digitization vendors; however, I only took photos of two of the booths.  Interestingly, there is no way to search the exhibitor list on the ALA website to locate all of the digitization vendors. (Trust me, I tried.)  With that as a introduction...

What stood out to me?

First, I continue to be pleased that digitization vendors such as SMA, DLSG, Backstage Library Works, and others continue to exhibit at library conferences.  For some in our industry, digitization is still "new" (even though it isn't). So having a presence and being willing to talk about the technology and its uses is important for those thinking about digitization for the first time (or thinking about digitization in a new way).

Second, the technology is changing.  Scanners are getting bigger.  Complete systems are available for use by library patrons.  Digitizing is being integrated with systems to help students study and help community members create their own works (e.g., photo albums).

By the way, if you have not looked at digitization equipment in a while, don't make decisions based on your old knowledge.  While no one is screaming this from a mountaintop, you should know that these vendors are continuing to develop their technology and systems. They are not standing still.

Third, speaking of complete systems, DLSG offers the Knowledge Information Center, which allows patrons to scan materials and have the output in several different formats, including searchable PDF, JPEG, MS Word, KIC Study System, and others.  These complete systems allow users (patrons, students) to control what they digitize and how they are going to access the material.  While I've mentioned DLSG,  I'm sure other vendors are offering similar technology.

Fourth, what vendors display at conferences isn't always what they have available on their websites.  DLSG had two interesting publications at their booth:

• Digitization Technologies for Public Libraries
• Digitization Technologies for Academic Libraries 

While I cannot find these publications on the Internet, these seem to be similar (but not the same) to some of DLSG's online content, such as this about using KIC in K-12 education.  This is a reminder that if you're interested in a company or technology, it can be good to pick up material from their booths, even if you don't talk to anyone.  What you pick up may be a unique and helpful marketing piece.

I should note that I skimmed the 701 exhibitors, rather than taking a deep dive into any particular area.  I did not have as much unstructured time as I would have liked, and so did not really spend as much time in the exhibit hall as I likely should have. The time I had was spent getting a feel for the entire exhibit hall, going to a couple specific meetings, talking to library colleagues, and resting my feet.  (Thanks to those companies that had seating available that could be used without feeling that a marketing pitch was eminent.)

Photos

Below is a photo of the SMA booth, which contained large format scanners. There are also three photos of the DLSG Knowledge Information Center (KIC) booth, which was massive.

In this session, Brad Fitch, president and CEO of the Congressional Management Foundation, spoke on how to build relationships with elected officials, as well as effective communication tactics.

Description

Building relationships with elected officials can sometimes be difficult and uncomfortable. It forces you and your key stakeholders to get close to politicians in ways that may feel “prickly” – like hugging a porcupine. This program will help participants overcome that discomfort, revealing the methods and benefits for building relationships with elected officials. Participants will learn: who members of Congress and state legislators listen to; what congressional staffers believe are the most effective communications tactics for influencing undecided Members of Congress; and how to conduct effective in‐person meetings, influence legislators at town hall meetings, as well as effective advocacy in the state/district.

Summary

I want to note that early in his presentation, Fitch recommended the documentary The Congress, which was released by Ken Burns in 1999.  Clips from the documentary are available for free, with the entire documentary available for purchase.  This documentary provides the history of Congress, which most people know little about.

Fitch, who has been a Congressional aide, gave us a valuable lesson on advocating with our elected officials.  We tend to think that an official needs to hear from many people, in order to be spurred to action, but that is not true.  Often just hearing from 10-30 people is enough, especially if those people personalize their communication, and connect themselves and their stories to the issue.

Note bene: The photos below are of slides Fitch used during his presentation. The background on the slides was white, but when I photographed them, the background displayed in a rainbow color.  I don't know why it happened, but I do like the result.


As the slide above shows, in-person visits from constituents provides the most influence, followed by contact from constituents' representatives, individualized email messages, and a visit from a lobbyist.  What provides the least influence is what we often do and that is a form email message.  Those form email messages, which many organizations have us do, have the least amount of effect.


This slide notes that a personal story related to the bill or issue is rated as "helpful" or "very helpful" by 79% of politicians and their staffers surveyed.  When a constituent provide a reason for supporting or opposing a bill or issue, that is seen as "helpful" or "very helpful" by 90% of respondents.  Information about the impact the bill will have on their Congressional member's district was rated as "helpful" or "very helpful" by 91% of respondents.


So what is unhelpful? As the slide above shows, it is unhelpful when the constituent:

• Didn't have data on impact on the person's district or state
• Didn't know the Congressional member's history on the policy or issue
• Was unspecific with their request
• Didn't convey a personal story related to the issue
• Was rude

Fitch provided a recipe for a successful interaction with a member of Congress or a Congressional staffer.  He said to:

• Begin with the end in mind.  In other words, know what you hope to achieve.
• Set the stage for your story. This could be a brief introduction.
• Paint a picture or, in other words, tell a personal story related to the issue or policy.
• Describe the fight or conflict related to this issue or policy.
• Include a surprise.
• Introduce the potential for success and joy.  What will happen if this issue or policy is addressed in the manner that you are advocating for?
• Finish with a hook.

I've listed seven items above, but I think he had five, which means a couple these should be combined. What doesn't show is that these steps can happen quickly.  You will not have endless amounts of time to talk with your representative or that person's staff member.  You will need to do this likely in just a few minutes.

Due to Brad Fitch's work in DC, this was a valuable and well-thought out presentation.  I clearly could not capture all of the information he provided.  Luckily, his organization has useful information on its website (Communicating with Congress), where we can continue our learning.

By the way, the ALA Cognotes publication had a story on this session.  It is on page 12 in the June 24 issue.

Learn from Others

We are fortunate that there are library advocates in our midst, who are willing to train us as well as spearhead advocacy efforts.  Among them are Libby Post, John Chrastka and Patrick Sweeney, and ALA.  It is likely that your regional or state library association (e.g.. NYLA) also provides help with and training for advocacy.  In other words, if advocating for your library or cultural heritage institution is new to you, there is someplace where you can learn more about what to do, as well as people who can help.

Yes, there were copyright related sessions at the ALA Annual Conference in Washington, DC.

Copyright Help 5 cents

This was not a session.  A group of copyright librarians had a Copyright Help booth near the registration area and I thought this was awesome. I have no idea how many people may have stopped to ask a question.  However, I do know that we need to recognize that asking questions is important and helpful, especially when you can someone who understands copyright law. Kyle Courtney, pictured above at the booth,  has spearheaded an effort to create copyright first responders. Like this booth, those first responders are available to help triage questions people might have.

Resources

• Harvard’s Copyright First Responders to the Rescue (2014)
• Copyright First Responders webinar now available (2017)
• Kyle Courtney and the Copyright First Responders (2018) 

Empowering Libraries to Lend Digital Books via Controlled Digital Lending

Michelle Wu, Jim Michalko, and Kyle Courtney gave this session on controlled digital lending (CDL).  Description:

Book scanning projects have made tremendous strides in bringing public domain literature online for the world's scholars and enthusiasts, but materials published after 1923 are still not widely available due to policy and copyright uncertainties. The Internet Archive has developed a controlled digital lending service (CDL) that enables libraries to digitize and lend a digital version of a physical volume stored on their shelves. Through CDL, a library circulates the exact number of copies it owns, regardless of format, while ensuring that users cannot redistribute or copy the digitized version. Using CDL, libraries can make available the 20th-century scholarship that is largely absent from their digital holdings in a way that respects the rights of authors and publishers. This panel will bring together librarians, publishers, and ebook specialists to share their experiences about serving patrons via controlled digital lending.

With controlled digital lending, a library can digitize a book, store the physical book, and then lend the digital version to one person at a time.  In other words, lending the digital book in the same way you would lend a physical book. Having the book in digital form would allow it to be loaned more widely. This uses both Section 109 and Section 107 of U.S. Copyright Law.

What's the catch?

The Position Statement on Controlled Digital Lending notes the following:

libraries should (1) ensure that original works are acquired lawfully; (2) apply CDL only to works that are owned and not licensed; (3) limit the total number of copies in any format in circulation at any time to the number of physical copies the library lawfully owns (maintain an “owned to loaned” ratio); (4) lend each digital version only to a single user at a time just as a physical copy would be loaned; (5) limit the time period for each lend to one that is analogous to physical lending; and (6) use digital rights management to prevent copying and redistribution.

If this area is of interest to you, I encourage you to read the resources below.

Resources

• Controlled Digital Lending by Libraries (website)
• A White Paper on Controlled Digital Lending of Library Books (2018)
• Controlled Digital Lending of Library Books (2018)
• Controlled Digital Lending Concept Gains Ground (2018)
• DPLAfest 2019: Session highlights (2019) - Yes, this includes information on CDL, which was discussed at this conference.

Figuring out the Fourth Factor

With more then 21,000 participants and hundreds of vendors in the exhibit hall, there is clearly too much to do.  So I unable to attend this session, "Figuring out the Fourth Factor: Copyright librarians discuss fair use case law," but thankfully American Libraries wrote an article on it. 

Coasters from the Copyright Help Booth

Here are coasters about fair use factors 2, 3, and 4.  Sadly, there didn't seem to be a coaster available for factor 1.

This year, I attended my first American Library Association Annual Conference. Yes, my first! I spent more than two decades involved in the Special Libraries Association and made that my primary affiliation and conference home. While I had been around the edges of a couple ALA Annual Conferences, I had never fully immersed myself.  This year, I dove into the deep end!

The conference was June 20-25 in Washington, DC with most of the events being on June 21-24.  There was too much happening for me to blog during the conference, so my hope is to catch up this week, including a post on digitization vendors. So stay tuned.

I want to note the size of this conference, because most people have no idea how mammoth it is.  This year, the total attendance was 21,460 participants. That was higher than 2018 (17,599 in New Orleans) and lower than 2017 (22,702 in Chicago).  It was also lower than the most recent annuals that were held in DC.   The 2007 conference in DC had 28,499 attendees and 95+ exhibits.  In 2010, the conference was again in DC and had 26,201 attendees.  Participation in the ALA Annual Conference does vary based on location, with some locations being more desirable than others.  While 21,460 is lower, the conference is still huge given number of rooms needed for sessions, the number of hotel rooms used, the sheer number of concurrent sessions, etc.  It is a conference where you cannot see or do it all, even if you never slept.

Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor

Let me tell you about one session.

Many authors speak at ALA and this year Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor was one of them. Justice Sotomayor is the author of My Beloved World, Turning Pages, The Beloved World of Sonia Sotomayor, and the forthcoming Just Ask!  She was a warm and engaging speaker, who wandered the ballroom as she spoke. She shook hands with people and had her photo taken with those who asked her questions (questions were submitted in advance).  As you can see from the photo above (she is off in the distance in a white jacket), there was security present, whom she said was there to protect her from herself!  However, she did note that no one should make any sudden moves.

From her talk, one thing stood out to me and it was in response to a question.  Justice Sotomayor said that how she writes legal briefs has changed since she has been writing children's books.  A children's book need to be focused in terms of topic and pages. Her legal briefs have become shorter and more focused, according to her law clerks and she seemed quite pleased with that.

While I have not read any of her books, I thoroughly enjoyed listening to her talk about herself and her books. And I pleased to know that someone who is so down to earth is serving on our Supreme Court.

It's June and I have several conferences on my schedule for the remainder of 2019.  If you are attending any of these, let's get together!

Conferences

• June 20-25 - ALA Annual Conference, Washington DC - While I've been to events "around" the ALA Annual Conference, this is my first time as an actual attendee, and I'm looking forward to it!  This is the third annual conference to be held in DC in the last 12 years.  In 2007, there were 28000+ attendees and 950+ exhibits), while 2010  had 27000+ attendees. Due to its size, if you want to cross paths with me, please message me here or on Twitter, so we can arrange to get together.
  
  By the way, I would be happy to talk with people about the iSchool Public Libraries Initiative and the research we have done over the last year.


• Sept. 24-26 - ALISE Annual Conference, Knoxville, TN - This is the first time in recent history (if not ever) that the Association for Library and Information Science Education (ALISE) Annual Conference is being held without being adjacent to another library conference.  While I appreciated networking with people who were attending the other conference, it will be nice to be able to focus solely on the topics and sessions at ALISE, including those on assessment and accreditation.


• Nov. 13-16 - NYLA Annual Conference, Saratoga Springs, NY - Yes, the NYLA conference will be back in Saratoga Springs (and again in 2020).  As a member of a public library board of trustees, I've found the conference to be even more important to me.  I look forward to what new information I'll learn this year.

Courses at Syracuse University

In the fall, I will be teaching these courses at Syracuse University in the School of Information Studies.  If space is available, non-matriculated students can enroll in them.

• Management Principles for Information Professionals (IST 614) - Aug. 26 - Dec. 10 (on campus, graduate course)
  Basic ideas, concepts and perspectives of management as they apply to the information professions. Students learn to understand and apply basic principles of organization theory and behavior and managerial techniques needed to improve organizational effectiveness.


• The Public Library as Institution (IST 600) - Oct. 2 - Dec. 10 (online with synchronous and asynchronous components each week)
  This is a new course, which I am developing and which will be offered regularly.  The description is: Unique aspects of public libraries include structure, governance, funding, and community interactions. In addition, public libraries are impacted by many societal concerns. This course prepares students to examine and support those areas of public librarianship.

Looking ahead to 2020

I want to note that the ALA eCourse I gave this year on US Copyright Law in the Library: A Beginner's Guide went very well. I think it is a good sign that students wanted to learn more. I will be giving this eCourse again in February 2020 and it will be expanded to six-weeks in length.  Look for more information on this in the fall.