OK-ACRL Blog

Our library recently renovated the first and second floors and decided to discontinue a large portion of journals that we were receiving in microfiche. In part this decision was based on the lower usage statistics for microfiche.  However, we also decided to order a new microfiche/microfilm reader.  We went with the ScanPro and are now struggling to learn another new technology.  Some of us are still wishing we had just kept the old readers, even though they would turn off unexpectedly.  It wasn’t anything a good hard smack to the side of the machine wouldn’t cure.  Anyone out there have some helpful tips about the ScanPro?

Another old item that we rid ourselves of was the change machine.  After every two or three dollars it would make a grinding noise and a circulation staff would have to fetch the keys to open the machine and clear out all the dollars.  It was very easy to fix, but an annoyance.  If all else failed you could just reach your hand inside and count out dimes for patrons.  Our new machine shiny and pretty and gives change every single time.  Oh, and did I mention it shoots the change across the room?  It also does not have the ability to give just dimes as change (our copies at 10 cents each).  It gives 3 quarters, 2 dimes, and 1 nickel.  There are little tubes inside that you have to fill up with the appropriate coins.  The holes are all shaped for quarters in case you want to make all quarters come out.  Sounds good, right?  It is until you try to put in an entire stack of dimes that fall down the tube and land sideways.  We have a long skinny poker that came out of an old card catalog that we use to poke the coins flat.  If this doesn’t work, you have to basically disassemble the machine and dump all the coins out from each tube and start over.

In all seriousness, we love our new floors.  While renovations can be a real pain, the end result is usually very nice.  So what am I griping about?  Do I have a point with this post?  Yes, I do.  As Garth says “thank god for unanswered prayers,” and don’t replace things just because they are old!

A friend recently shared this article with me, Lifecycle Librarianship: Giving up the information illusion will keep librarians and libraries relevant for a lifetime, By Bill Crowley — Library Journal, 4/1/2008.In the article, Crowley argues that the library field’s emphasis on the provision of “information” has been misguided.  Information technology jobs are being outsourced overseas, and researchers are satisfied by what they find on Google.  Crowley makes the case for the library profession to move away from the focus on information and towards the services that studies show people expect from libraries: a safe and friendly physical place where they can learn, read, and meet throughout all stages of life.

I learned from the Librarian in Black that OKACRL’s very own 2007 conference speaker, David Silver, has announced his annual September Project: Connecting the world one library at a time.

5th Annual September Project

From the wonderful David Silver at the University of San Francisco, the following announcement:

Welcome to the 5th annual September Project! The September Project is a grassroots effort to encourage events about freedom and democracy in all libraries in all countries during the month of September. September Project events are free and organized locally.

In 2004, we began the September Project to break the silence following September 11, and to invite all people into libraries to consider topics of patriotism, democracy, and citizenship. Initially, events focused on September 11 and largely took place on September 11. As the project evolved, events spread throughout the month of September and focused on issues of freedom and democracy.

To date, public, academic, school, and government libraries around the world have organized September Project book displays, community book readings, children’s art projects, film screenings, theatrical performances, civic deliberations, voter registrations, murals, panel discussions, and so much more. What will this year bring? How can you participate? Organize an event at your library, and tell us about it! We’ll post all events on this site as they develop around the world.

The September Project: Connecting the world one library at a time http://www.theseptemberproject.org/

Cameron University in Lawton, OK has two openings listed. “Assistant Professor and Head of Collection Services - Library” and “Instructor/Assistant Professor - Library”.  More info at http://www.cameron.edu/personnel.

In keeping with some of the thoughts raised in last year’s OK-ACRL conference on how the Web/Web 2.0/the Internet have affected our society, here’s an interesting clip featuring a talk given by Clay Shirky, internet consultant (to LC and the BBC, among many other big clients) and an author and frequent speaker on Internet culture. Having been a Victorian literature person in my pre-librarian life, I find his discussion of how gin played a key role in the Industrial Revolution to be a very insightful comment, and his ideas about contemporary media and interactive media give us something for us to think about as we continue to transform the library from a center for pushing out static media to a center for sharing and producing dynamic media.

http://blip.tv/file/855937/

Northeastern State University of Tahlequah, OK is seeking an Executive Director of Libraries.

Northeastern State University invites applications and nominations for the position of Executive Director of Libraries.  We are seeking an individual who can communicate library programs and services effectively to the University community, who is an effective motivator and manager of physical, human and financial resources, and who will embrace the opportunities that new technology offers while retaining the traditional virtues of a great library.  The Executive Director of Libraries reports to the Vice President for Academic Affairs.

http://www.nsuok.edu/humanresources/jobs/showJob.php?jobID=1245

Also from the ACRL Insider blog:

2008:

March 17: ALA/ACRL Elections Open
March 20: Leading Change (Webcast)
March 26–29: ACRL/Harvard Advanced Leadership Institute for Senior Academic Librarians (Cambridge, MA)
March 27: ACRL OnPoint - NIH Public Access Policy (Online Chat - Free!)
April 2: ACRL Springboard Event (Webcast - Free for ACRL Members!)
April 7: Proposals for 2009 ACRL Midwinter workshops and Annual preconferences due
April 7-28: Creating a Comprehensive Plan for Information Literacy (Online Seminar)
April 10: Being and Finding a Mentor (Webcast)
April 11: Deadline for ACRL Documents for ACRL Spring Executive Committee meeting
April 21 - May 9: Designing Web Sites for Academic Libraries, Part 1 (Online Seminar)
April 24: ALA/ACRL Elections Close
April 29-30: ACRL/LAMA Joint Spring Virtual Institute, “Leading from the Middle: Managing in All Directions”
May 1: ALA/ACRL Election Results Announced
May 8: Keys to Innovation (Webcast)
May 12: Proposals for 2009 ACRL National Conference contributed papers, panel sessions, preconferences, and workshops due
May 13-14: National Library Legislative Day (Washington, DC)
May 15: ACRL Spring Executive Committee meeting
May 26: ALA/ACRL Offices Closed
June 2-21: All Users Are Local: Bringing the Library Next Door to the Campus Worldwide (Online Seminar)
June 24 - 27: 49th Annual RBMS Preconference, “Rare and Special Bytes: Special Collections in the Digital Age” (Los Angeles, CA)
June 26 - July 2: 2008 ALA Annual Conference (Anaheim, CA)
June 27: ACRL Preconference - Assessment of Academic Library Effectiveness: Using ACRL Standards for Continuous Evaluation
June 27: ACRL Preconference - Library Instruction 2.0: Building Your Online Instruction Toolkit
June 27: ACRL Preconference - Mindfully Resolving Conflicts: Facilitation for Diversity Issues
July 4: ALA/ACRL Offices Closed
July 7-28: Creating a Comprehensive Plan for Information Literacy (Online Seminar)
July 27-August 1: Institute for Information Literacy Immersion ‘08 Program (University of California, San Diego)
August 3-8: ACRL/Harvard Leadership Institute for Academic Librarians, (Cambridge, MA)
August 31: ACRL 2007-08 Fiscal Year Ends
September 1: ACRL 2008-09 Fiscal Year Begins
September 24-27: ACRL Board Strategic Planning and Orientation Session
October 20: Proposals for 2009 ACRL National Conference poster sessions due
October 24-25: ACRL Fall Executive Committee meeting
November 23: Proposals for 2009 ACRL National Conference roundtable discussions due

2009:

Jan 23–28: 2009 ALA Midwinter Meeting (Denver, CO)
March 12-15: ACRL 14th National Conference (Seattle, WA)
July 9–15: 2009 ALA Annual Conference (Chicago, IL)

From the ACRL Insider blog: The March 2008 issue (Volume 69, Number 2) of College & Research Libraries is now available online.

2008 is well under way and it is time to make sure you have renewed your OK-ACRL membership!  Forms are available on the OK-ACRL page.

Today’s Front Pages This cool resource was highlighted on Lifehacker:

“Want so see how the newspapers around your region played the Super Tuesday results on their front page? Just want to get a quick glance at your own newspaper’s front page without clicking through its web site? The web site of the Newseum, an interactive journalism museum, offers a nifty “Front Pages Worldwide” tool that’s updated daily and comes in list, gallery, or (coolest of all) map flavors. Simply mouse over a town or city to see that papers’ front page, or head to the list or gallery options to grab a read-able PDF of it. For capturing a piece of a major story in your town or just keeping yourself informed, the Newseum is the web version of having a stack of papers delivered to your desk.”