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Obsolete eBooks - Poster Session

Last month I presented a poster session at the national American Theological Library Association annual conference.

A poster session is commonly used to display research on poster board. The researcher stands in front of their poster during a scheduled time of a professional conference when fellow attendees can meet and dialog one-on-one on the given topic. Guidelines for poster dimensions are provided by the association organizers.

My poster session was on weeding obsolete eBooks. Libraries have Collection Development Policies that guide their decisions about what kinds of books they will buy to support the research and information needs of their patrons. In our case, we focus on adding items that support the HIU curriculum. The policy also addresses the criteria for the de-selection of materials. Books or videos that have become out-dated or irrelevant over time may be weeded out (i.e., topics that are no longer taught). Physical condition, circulation history, and the need for shelf space are also considered - but not so much for eBooks.

eBooks can certainly “age” over time but that did not occur to me until after we nearly lost a collection of over 2,000 eBooks due to an accounting mistake.

I found very little written in the library science journals about the deselection of eBooks and very few of my colleagues had even considered it. Should we keep all eBooks forever just because we can? Can we discard old eBooks? What are the implications for library policies and for institutional accounting practices?

I submitted my idea when the ATLA annual conference organizers posted a call for presentations in January. It was accepted in March and I was asked to submit a brief bio to establish the level of my credibility on the subject and abstract to pique the interest of conference attendees for the program. Then I began thinking about how I might deliver on my promise to fully, yet succinctly, present a complex issue (as I saw it) visually within proper context.

With everything else on my plate, why did I prioritize this? Committing to give a presentation, write an article, or participate in a panel discussion at a conference is a good way to force myself to engage in the current topics affecting the library profession. To get prepared, I have to take my idea and go deeper with study and reflection.

During the session, I ended up telling my story several times, engaging in interesting dialog with colleagues, and coming away with more questions to think about. I had created a supplemental LibGuide ahead of time and handed out the URL with my business cards for follow up.

It is good for me professionally. It is good for the academy. It is good for the university. And besides, it’s fun!

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ Robin Hartman is Director of Library Services at Hope International University. She is curious about how the organization and communication of information shapes society and is committed to equipping students to impact the world for Christ.

Web 2.0 Training: Lesson 7 - Social Networking and Facebook

Finally! The Arlington Heights Memorial Library has added Lesson 7 of 13 on their Baker's Dozen Blog for staff training in Web 2.0 applications.

As you may recall, the last Web 2.0 lesson was on Web-based music programs such as Pandora. I have enjoyed my Pandora Radio stations where I can customize the kinds of music that I want to hear. I don't have to download, just listen. If a song comes along that I don't like, I just click a thumbs-down and it goes away! I'd sure like to do that on the radio in my car sometimes! I hope you have checked it out.

Lesson 7 is on Social Networking and specifically, Facebook as a social networking tool. Most of you realize that I have a Facebook account already. I joined about a year ago and today I have 183 folks I call my FB Friends. Some are my friends in real life that I see every day - like Wende and Curtis Holtzen. Some are old friends I knew in college, high school, or even junior high! I have some FB friends that I used to work with and some of my FB friends are family. I am FB friends with John Rowe, Gary Tiffin, and Tyrone Wells (and I'm a FB fan of his). I am also FB friends with a number of former Library employees like Caleb Acton, Hana Kim, John Davies, Krystal Harris, Solange Christmas, Kevin (& Ina) Thomas, Jason Hensley, Jennifer (Hensley) Prest, Dionne (Glenn) Sincire, Allison (White) Mangrum, Allison (Otey) Goldsworthy, and others.

Why? Well, truth be told, the first reason I wanted a Facebook account was to be friends with my daughter. I can see her friends and some of the interactions between them on FB. Then, I went to a workshop at Pepperdine last May where I heard a presentation on the use of Facebook by libraries and librarians -- including a history of FB and some tips & tricks, and dos & don'ts. I wanted to also keep up on the current generation of communication tools. As you know, our students come to us with a new set of communication technologies almost with every four years. Their expectations for access to information evolve quickly. I feel we need to be prepared and not caught off guard as we plan for future generations.

So, here's our Lessson 7 assignment:

1. Read AHML's Lesson 7: Social Networking and Facebook on their blog. (You do NOT have to create a Facebook account or become a fan of their library as they require of their staff, but see #4 and 5 below.)
2. Read at least the first page introduction to the article "How Facebook Works" by Jonathan Strickland on HowStuffWorks.com.
3. Watch the YouTube video on Social Networking in Plain English (It's 1:48 min. and SO easy to understand!)
4. If you have a Facebook account already, you must send me a message on Facebook telling me what you think of this lesson.
5. If you do not have a Facebook account, I will not require you to create one. But you must have someone who has one give you a five-minute tour of their account and then have them send me a message on Facebook telling me you have completed the tour... or you can take a tour of mine. Besides me, here are some people in the library who have a Facebook account: Nicky, Terri, Bethann, and probably every student Library Assistant.

Have fun. Let me know if you have any questions.

Web 2.0 Training - Lesson 6: Music 2.0 Style

This is an optional assignment.

Go to Baker's Dozen blog, Lesson 6: Music 2.0 Style. Read the post and do the 3-step assignment if you choose. However, when you get to step 3, make a comment about it on our blog instead of theirs.

Your assignment (if you choose to accept it):
1. Create a Pandora account.
2. Create your own "station".
3. Share what you think about Pandora by "commenting" on this blog post.

I'll be learning along with everyone on this one.

Web 2.0 Training - Lesson 5: YouTube

Go to Baker's Dozen Lesson 5: YouTube then come back here for your assignment.

Assignment Modification:
Their assignment requires their staff to create a YouTube account. However, I don't think you need to create a YouTube account to prove you know how it works well enough for our purposes -- but you can do it for extra credit! :-)

But please do:
1) Search for and find 3 videos on your topic of interest
(Joe, Did you know there are hundreds of videos on watching trains? Just search for "railfanning" and you get over 15,000 hits - over 200 just in Fullerton!)
2) "Share" each one on your del.icio.us account and tag it.
3) Then "Share" them with one of your co-workers by email - use the "Send Video" option.
4) Please share one with me so I know you've done it.

Have fun! Any comments?

Web 2.0 Training - Lesson 4: del.icio.us and Social Bookmarking

Go to the Bakers Dozen Lesson 4: del.icio.us and Social Bookmarking. There is no modification of the lesson or assignment. Follow the directions on their blog.

In case the video on Social Bookmarking in Plain English is not there, you can use this link and watch it on YouTube instead.

You guys are my favorite lifelong learners... and great sports!
Thanks!

Web 2.0 Training - Lesson 3: LibraryThing

Go to the LibraryThing Lesson in Bakers Dozen. There is no modification of the assignemnt.

FYI - Terri has a LibraryThing account she has expanded beyond the 200 free entries. You might ask her about it. She even posted about LibraryThing on our Darling Library News & Events blog in May this year. If you had been subscribing to it back then, you'd know that! :-)

Web 2.0 Training - Lesson 2: RSS and Feedreaders

Go to the Bakers Dozen Lesson 2: RSS and Feedreaders

When you get to the video, come back here and click on the link below. (Their video was no longer there when I tried it.)

See the Video: RSS in Plain English (3:44 min.)

Your assignment:

1. Register for a free Bloglines account.

2. Find and subscribe to a minimum of 5 feeds. (You can always unsubscribe afterwards.)

Hint: Use Bloglines’ search box to find feeds. You’ll need to change the default "Search for Posts" to "Search for Feeds." Then try to find feeds for your favorite news outlets such as CNN, Chicago Tribune, USA Today, etc. Once, you find a feed that you like, click on "Subscribe to feed."

And guess what? You can even find and subscribe to the Baker’s Dozen blog and the Darling Library News & Events in your Bloglines account. If you watched the video on RSS Feeds in Plain English, you will know the first step is to sign up for an RSS Reader (i.e., Bloglines) and then go to your favorite sites (i.e., Darling Library News & Events). Look for the orange icon in the right column. Then you will be given a choice to subscribe with Bloglines. Click on the Bloglines icon or choose it from the dropdown menu... scroll to the bottom and click the Subscribe button. Done!

Also I recommend the Blogs in Plain English (2:58 min.) as an excellent explanation of blogs from the same guys that brought you RSS in Plain English.

Web 2.0 Training - Lesson 1: Blogs

From Baker’s Dozen: 13 Web 2.0 Technologies (http://community.ahml.info/bakersdozen/)

Guess what! We're starting an in-house training program on Web 2.0. If you're like me you've heard of it, but don't know what all it entails. I'm preparing to do a presentation on it to the PCC faculty in October so I was looking at it more in depth. I think we all should at least be familiar with it and since another library has done a training program on it for their staff, I'm going to ask that you all complete the training too. It's called Baker’s Dozen: 13 Web 2.0 Technologies and is written for the Alington Heights Memorial Library staff. It looks like they put lessons up once a month and each lesson has an assignment. The first 5 lessons are available now:

1. Blogs
2. RSS and Feedreaders
3. LibraryThing
4. del.icio.us and Social Bookmarking
5. YouTube

This means we should finish up the 13th lesson in May 2009 but we're 5 lessons behind so we need to catch up! (It's not urgent to get "caught up," but I will ask you about it during the performance reviews in January or February.)

The first lesson on Blogs is pretty elementary but I think we'll go ahead and follow their lesson plan anyway except... This is your first assignment:

Read the lesson but where it says to make a comment on that blog don’t do it! Instead add a comment to our blog here:

• Scroll down to the bottom of this entry and click on the "comments" link. You’ll then see text that says "Leave your comment" as well as a large box that you can type text in.


• Enter your comment and push the orange "Publish Your Comment" button.

If you have a Blogger account (I think most of you do) then you will be asked if you want to use that identity or not. I'm not sure, but I don't think you will be able to publish a comment on our blog unless you do have an account because we don't allow anonymous comments to our staff blog.

Earthquake Damage

McReynolds Book Signing

Emergency Lockdown: In case of unhealthful air quality

In case of unhealthful air quality:
Refer to “Hazardous Material Leak or Spill” section of the Crisis Management Plan notebook.

Click on the Emergency label for more information on library emergency procedures in this blog.

Emergency Lockdown: In case of intruder

In case of intruder (i.e., possible shooter):

If the intruder is in the library

• Call 911 as soon as possible.
• Call Security (ext. 7333) as soon as possible.
• Report to the Crisis Management Coordinator (ext. 1211).
• Follow instructions regarding “Physical Threat” in the Emergency Procedures Flip Book or “Armed Suspects/Shooting” or “Hostage Situation” sections in the Crisis Management Plan notebook as appropriate.

If the intruder is elsewhere on campus

• Lock the doors as soon as it is safe to move toward the library doors.
• Inform patrons of the danger and move them to a more secure location if needed (i.e., away from windows).
1. First Floor – Supervisor’s office.
2. Second Floor – Technical Services Office (if unlocked) *or the ID Room if the Technical Services Office is locked.
• If it is dark outside, turn out the lights. At night, people outside the library can clearly see in while those on the inside see a reflection. Turning out the lights inside will minimize the advantage of an outside intruder.

In the case when the Building Coordinator is not present, the two Student Library Assistants on duty will coordinate with each other to follow the procedures outlined in this plan as appropriate and make calls as soon as it is safe to do so.

Click on the Emergency label for more information on library emergency procedures in this blog.

Emergency Lockdown Plan

In certain emergencies, library staff and patrons will be safer to remain indoors. The Crisis Management Coordinator will communicate the nature of the emergency to the library Building Coordinator once such an emergency has been determined. The Building Coordinator will follow the procedures outlined in the Crisis Management Notebook as appropriate.

• Assess the safety of the library staff and patrons and report to the Crisis Management Coordinator as soon as possible.
• Make an announcement using a bullhorn to alert all occupants with the following script:

“Your attention please, we have just been informed that we are in a lockdown situation. Please calmly move away from the windows and proceed to either the Library Supervisor’s office on the first floor or the Technical Services office* on the second floor. Thank you for your cooperation.”

• Lock the doors if needed (i.e., in the case of an intruder on campus outside the library)
• Move patrons to a more secure location if needed (i.e., away from windows).

1. First Floor – Supervisor’s office.
2. Second Floor – Technical Services Office (if unlocked) *or the ID Room if the Technical Services Office is locked.

In the case when the Building Coordinator is not present, the two Student Library Assistants on duty will coordinate with each other to follow the procedures outlined in this plan as appropriate and make calls as soon as it is safe to do so.

Click on the Emergency label for more information on library emergency procedures in this blog.

Emergency Evacuation: In case of bomb threat

In case of a bomb threat:

1. Refer to “Operational Plan for Bomb Threat” section and “Appendix D: Bomb Threat Site Specific Checklist” in the Crisis Management Plan notebook.
2. Refer to Bomb Threat section of Campus Emergency Procedures flip booklet.

Click on the Emergency label for more information on library emergency procedures in this blog.

Emergency Evacuation: In case of earthquake

In case of earthquake:

1. Head for cover under a desk or table away from book shelves and windows.
2. Do not stand near book stacks.
3. Tell others to move away from bookshelves and windows. Assist others if it is safe.
4. After shaking ceases, follow evacuation procedures, above.

Click on the Emergency label for more information on library emergency procedures in this blog.

Emergency Evacuation: In case of fire

In case of fire:
Follow "R.A.C.E. to safety" procedures outlined in the Emergency Procedures Flip Book on FIRE / MEDICAL EMERGENCIES page.

1. Pull fire alarm if the fire is in the library, and the alarm has not been sounded.
2. Follow evacuation procedures.

R.A.C.E.
Upon the detection of smoke and/or fire:

Rescue - Rescue/Remove person(s) from the immediate fire scene/room.
Alert - Alert personnel by activating the nearest fire alarm then call to report the exact location of the fire.
Confine - Confine fire and smoke by closing all doors in the area.
Extinguish - Extinguish a small fire by using a portable fire extinguisher or use to escape from a large fire.

Evacuate the building immediately.

Click on the Emergency label for more information on library emergency procedures in this blog.

Emergency Evacuation: When Students are On Duty

In the case when the Building Coordinator is not present, the two Student Library Assistants on duty will work together as follows:

Student Library Assistants stationed on the first floor (Front Desk) will:

1. Escort patrons out on the 1st floor according to established evacuation routes.
2. Take the Emergency Procedures Flip Book, Library Staff emergency contact information, and Library Staff regular schedules.
3. Assist the Information Commons SLA with evacuating patrons from the 2nd floor if necessary.
4. Take roll.

Student Library Assistants stationed on the second floor (Information Commons) will:

1. Escort patrons out from the 2nd floor according to established evacuation routes.
2. Assist patrons as needed, requesting help from the 1st floor SLA if necessary.
3. Assist Front Desk SLA with taking roll.
4. Call Building Coordinator as soon as possible.

Click on the Emergency label for more information on library emergency procedures in this blog.

Emergency Evacuation Plan

An evacuation will be indicated by a fire alarm or notice from the Hope International University Crisis Management Command Coordinator (CMCC).

Evacuation Assembly Area – Nutwood Lawn (north side of the library)

Evacuation Plan

• In the case of an evacuation, the library staff and patrons will leave the library toward the north and meet on the Nutwood Lawn.


• The Building Coordinator will make an announcement to alert all occupants with the following script:



“Your attention please, we have just been informed that we need to evacuate the building. Please calmly proceed out the north exits to the lawn facing Nutwood Avenue. Thank you for your cooperation.”



• The Building Coordinator (or designee) will take the Emergency Procedures Flip Book, Library Staff emergency contact information, and Library Staff regular schedules.


• Once assembled, the Building Coordinator will take roll, writing down the names and condition (i.e., in need of medical attention) of all present and those known to be absent or missing, reporting to the Crisis Management Coordinator as needed.


• The library staff and patrons will remain on the Nutwood Lawn until given further instructions from University or Emergency Officials.

Click on the Emergency label for more information on library emergency procedures in this blog.

Emergency Overview and Contacts

This information comes from the Library Emergency Preparedness Plan found on the shared drive at L:\Safety+Emergency\Library Emergency Preparedness Plan.doc. The information here is for access when the networked shared drive is not available.

Building Coordinator Contacts
- Robin Hartman, ext. 1212; cell: (714) 926-4624
- Nicole McDermott (Back-up), ext. 1223; cell: (714) 272-8328
- Solange Christmas (Back-up), ext. 1219; cell: (562) 618-2775

After 9:00pm and on the weekends there should be at least two Student Library Assistants (SLAs) on duty.
- 1st floor Front Desk (Main), ext. 1234
- 2nd floor Information Commons Staff Desk, ext. 1225
The duty schedule is posted at these desks and on the library’s shared drive at S:\Library Assistants\Schedules\YYYY\Semester YYYY\Weekly Schedule.doc.

The library’s hours of operation and all exceptions are listed in the Patron Handbook and on the Library’s web site (http://library.hiu.edu/faq.html#two).

Two general types of emergencies are covered in this plan, evacuation and lockdowns:

Evacuation Emergencies
An evacuation will be indicated by a fire alarm or notice from the Hope International University Crisis Management Command Coordinator (CMCC). Evacuations will be necessary for emergencies such as fires, earthquakes, and bomb threats. Evacuation Assembly Area – Nutwood Lawn (north side of the Library)

Lock-Down Emergencies
In certain emergencies, library staff and patrons will be safer to remain indoors (i.e., a dangerous intruder or hazardous materials leak). The CMCC will communicate the nature of the emergency to the library Building Coordinator once such an emergency has been determined. The Building Coordinator will follow the procedures outlined in the Crisis Management Notebook as appropriate.

Detailed instructions are posted separately in this blog. Click on the Emergency label for all library emergency plans.