Programs at the libraries

My department at the library has been doing many programs geared towards the public utilizing our collection. These programs are used as vehicles to advertize what is in our collection and how library patrons/customers can take advantage of them.

Program titles included, but not limited to, Small Gardening; Patent Your Million Dollar Idea; Quilting 101; How to Enter and Present Your Best Science Fair Project; Weatherization & Energy Conservation; African-American Health Yesterday, Today & Tomorrow; Mathematics; Skywarning; Winter Weather Hazard; Tuskegee Airmen; Investment Club; Small business, etc.

We have always had great attendance and feel proud to be the pacesetter in organizing and executing some of the best programs at our Main library outside of our Special Collections and the Childen's Library departments.

In addition, each month a colleagues set out a table display of books, props and other materials highlighting a particular subject or season such as Tea, Men's Health, Thanksgiving, Christmas, Mathematics, Women's Health, Computer, Black History Month, Winter, Fitness, Gardening, Quilting, Moon, Science Fair and Cooking.

The way we go about choosing our program is for someone to come up with an idea, look for a presenter [mainly someone from outside with good knowledge of the subject - sometimes an honourium is involved], submit a program request to our service director for approval, submit flyer designs and publicity request to our Marketing department, request patrons/customer call in to reserve a seat, request poster advertisement, provide refreshments [they are the stuff that draws the crowd], reserve a room or use the departmental space [we have a large reading room of which we use a section], and reserve all the technical aids.

Anyone who has other topic ideas of programs, improvements or can offer success program stories, please .

Librarian as a Library Security Administrator.

Should a Librarian be appointed a Library Security Administrator? If so, what criteria will be used for that? What value and/or ideas does the Librarian bring to the job had s/she NOT being either a former Law Enforcement Officer or retired Military Personnel? Does it take away the professional growth of the Librarian?

These are pertinent questions that a friend of mine, who is a fellow Librarians, has since my friend'sappointment as the Coordinator of the Library's Security. Personally I think a librarian can contribute to the area of librarian management considering that most of us deal with security everyday at our various locations --- books & periodicals theft, book & periodicals vandalization, assault, child pornography, pedophiles, breaking & entry, computers missing, purses and handbags missing, etc.

I believe whoever is appointed into this position should be sent to some security and/or law enforcement training for familiarization, especially with the new technologies that are prevalent in the society. Also, the fact that libraries are considered safe haven for children, it is good that a librarian can be in this position.

What say you?

The future of Libraries!

I've always wondered what the future of libraries will be with the advent of the new technologies -- the Internet, Podcast, Wikki, MP3, iPod, Cellphones, WiFi, RFID, etc?

Will Librarians still be relevant in this age of wireless information transfer?

Will books still be relevant in this era of online publishing and so on?

Personally I do believe that books are here to stay!

Also, I believe that not everything can be scanned and put online. Some art cannot be scanned no matter the level of technology. Nothing beats having a book at hand to browse. In fact, I've discovered that lots of people still print out what they find online. When I asked most of them, "why?", they claimed that the monitors are bad for their eyes or that it was more convenient for them to read the paper copies.

Flipping through books can be exciting and fulfilling --- the touch, the pictures, the words, etc. I learn more and faster reading books than online.

Librarians are needed to teach people on how to navigate through the new information overload. Librarians are needed to index these new information and structure them for ease of use.

There are many Internet tools resources on the Internet. Librarians can help library patrons in utilizing these resources such as the location of an Internet services provider, browse the Internet to seek information, as well as information on how to cite Internet resources, Web browsers, current Internet trends such as Java script and Applets, and other miscellaneous resources such as Inter-networking ethics and policies, general shareware and public domain software. Also, Librarians can benefit from the Internet as tool for enhancing their profession such as trying to convert materials to Web format such as SGML, TEI, and HTML, Web page tools, etc.

Welcome!

I am a Librarian in one of the inner city libraries in the USA. This blog is an avenue for everyone to share their thoughts, experiences, ideas, travels, and background. I look forward to many contributors with their ideas, thoughts, experiences, travels, and background. Primarily, Librarians can learn from each other to navigate through our dynamic and changing profession, and new technologies. We will discuss how to take advantage of these tools and apply them to our profession while providing best practice customer service.