LSW Raising Money to Help the Louisville Free Public Library

Damage at the Louisville Free Public Library

Last night, I followed the tweets and pics of my friend, Greg Schwartz, as he described the destruction that had befallen his library due to heavy rains.  Damages are estimated at roughly $1 million for books, servers, computers, etc.

We all know the importance of libraries to the communities they serve and how important they are to maintaining a sense of normalcy during times of upheaval.  In an effort to assist the Louisville community and let them know that we are there for them, Steve Lawson and Library Society of the World have started a project to raise money for the Louisville Free Public Library.  The goal is to raise $5000.

Here’s the official announcement from Steve’s blog:

I have set up the email LSW.LFPL@google.com and linked it to my PayPal account. I intend to collect money at that address until September 1, at which point I’ll send a check in the name of the Library Society of the World to the LFPL Foundation. You can just send money to that email address using PayPal, or use the button below:

If you’d rather send a check, send it to the Library Society of the World Clubhouse, PO Box 7893, Colorado Springs CO 80933. Make the check payable to Steve Lawson.

Don’t worry about how much you can afford to donate. My own contribution will be small-ish, between $20 and $50.

But there are about 300 members of the LSW room on FriendFeed. There are close to 1,000 members of the LSW group on Linkedin. I would like to think we can raise at least $5,000 for LFPL by September 1. That’s only $17 per FriendFeed member, or $5 per Linkedin member.

For this to work, you have to trust me. I promise that every dime that comes through PayPal or check will go to LFPL. (PayPal takes a small cut if your donation is charged to your credit card (rather than your bank account) and if you don’t choose the option to pay those fees yourself, so it’s possible that I won’t get the full amount of your donation. I’ll only be able to donate the money I actually receive after PayPal fees.)

On September 1, I’ll total up what we have raised and send it to the library. If you would rather give money yourself instead of sending it to me, here is the address and phone number given in the Louisville Courier-Journal:

The Library Foundation
Attn: Flood
301 York St.
Louisville, KY 40203
(502) 574-1709

Five thousand dollars or more for Louisville Free Public Library by September 1. Think we can do it? I’ll keep you posted.*

*Reprinted thanks to Creative Commons

 

Worlds Connect @ Your Library

Mary Kintz Bevevino Library: Worlds Connect @ Your Library

This year, National Library Week 2009 will be celebrated 12-18 April with the theme “Worlds Connect @ Your Library.” National Library Week celebrates the contributions of our nations libraries and librarians.

Different libraries celebrate with different events and our library is no exception.  Beginning Tuesday, 14 April, the Mary Kintz Bevevino Library will begin hosting different activities centered around the connections that our students, faculty and staff have made in different parts of the world.  For a schedule of events, check here.

Each day of NLW, I will post a picture and a snapshot of that day’s event.  For those of you unable to celebrate at our library, please go to your local library and find a way to connect through free access to books and computers, help with homework and job searching, music, movies and other programs. 

For information from the American Library Association about National Library Week, check here.

 

We’re on flickr

A couple of weeks ago, I asked our new library director about putting some of the pictures from the Sister Mary Carmel McGarigle Archives on flickr and she told me to present the idea at the next managers’ meeting.  I put together a little slide presentation to show to the managers and gave a brief speech showing how other institutions (both public and private) are using flickr to promote their libraries and archival collections.  Without much debate, I was given the go ahead pending clearance from the marketing department.

I’m happy to report that the Siser Mary Carmel McGarigle Archives at Misericordia University is now on flickr.  I used  the Library of Congress as the model for setting up our flickr account and setting up the format for the pictures.  Currently, there are only 3 photographs but I plan to start adding more next week.   We’re using free access, with the option of upgrading to pro should we find it necessary.   

My hope is that people will look at the pictures and be able to fill in some of the missing details such as the stories of the people behind the photographs.  Right now, my plan is to use group shots from the mid-1920s when the college was founded to the early 1970s when the college was used as an evacuation point during Agnes Flood.

I’m incredibly happy to have this opportunity to share pictures from the archives with the public.  If you have any questions, comments or suggestions, please do not hesitate to contact me at archives@misericordia.edu.

 

Hiring a Library Director

We are in the process of hiring a new director for our library, so naturally the  conversation amongst my co-workers is focused on what kind of person we need to run our library.  Of course, everyone agrees on the basic things:  no micromanagers, open door policy, easy to talk to, etc.  But on a deeper level, we know that we need someone who is innovative and is willing to move our library and, ultimately, the campus out of its technological comfort zone.  We need someone who is willing to try something new and explore new avenues of providing information to our students.

As the conversation about the qualities we are looking for progressed, I began to think very specifically about not only what I want in a director, but what I need in a director.  In theory, we are supposed to be patron focused, but I think we need to be a little staff focused too.  We need to be a bit selfish in thinking about the qualities that we are looking for in a new director.

I come to the library field at a strange place in my career.  For five years I worked in an academic library as an Archivist’s Assistant and Reference Librarian but because I was part-time, I was left out of the loop.  Therefore, I’m not up on the workings of academia and how the wheels turn.  So I’m basically learning by trial and error (and, trust, there has been a lot of error).  Furthermore, I wasn’t as driven to be active in librarianship because it was a part-time job that was helping me to meet the needs of my family.  That’s not to say that I was any less dedicated to the profession than full-time librarians, it just means that my focus was on raising my children and not being a mover and shaker.  Therefore, I know that I am in need of a lot of mentoring from whoever becomes our director.

With this thought in mind, I have created a wish list of the things I need in a library director:

• Encourages professional development and lifelong learning.  Working at a small private institution has taught me one thing:  money doesn’t grow on trees.  Not that I didn’t know that before, but I just assumed that money for professional development would be a given, especially in an academic institution.  I was wrong.  So I’ve had to be creative in finding my own opportunities for professional growth.  I want someone who not only encourages this, but can help me and the other staff members find ways to develop professionally without it costing a lot of money.
• Has a web presence.  I want to be able to google the individual and see that he or she has contributed to the field of librarianship and continues to contribute using new and emerging technologies.  Our library has opportunities for growth technologically and we need someone who is not afraid to get their hands dirty and try new things.  I like technology and I think it can be incredibly useful in providing access to our students and we need someone who understands that libraries are more than brick and mortar.
• Can advocate not just for the students but for the staff.  Our institution has a lot of people on campus who are looking out for the students but there’s no one really looking out for the library staff.  We need someone who can go to the administration and state what we need and why we need it.   Sometimes libraries get put on the back burner because people really don’t understand that the library is (or should be) the heart of the campus.
• Has marketing skills.  Other departments have people touting their virtues and letting students, community members and administration know what they have to offer.  We need someone who can go into the community and tell people this is what we have to offer to our students and to you, the members of our community.
• Understands that their job isn’t done behind closed doors.  I want someone who doesn’t spend all of their time holed up in their office without bothering to connect to the students, staff and faculty.  For example, I am a big admirer of our president because he is one of the few people I have met who has an honest-to-goodness-true-blue open door policy.  His office is in the administration building and when he’s in there, the door is open.  If you have a problem, you can talk to him.  If you want to stick your head in the door and say “hi,”  he knows your name.  That openness contributes to the sense of family and community that we are known for.

So those are some of the things that I am looking for in a new director.  What would be at the top of your list if you were hiring a new director or even a new staff member?