The Weekly Blurb

Theft and vandalism in the library – by librarians! You wouldn’t steal someone’s purse. You wouldn’t shoplift from a store. You definitely don’t come in to work with a can of spray paint and damage municipal property. And yet some of you unintentionally commit theft and vandalism in the workplace!   Before you go shaking your heads and thinking I’m talking about someone else, take a look at the software you have downloaded onto your c... More...

Do your library users know as much as you think they do? While I’m settling into the role of Public Services Consultant, The Weekly Blurb comes out of what has happened during the week. This week, a certain theme seemed to be developing as I went to meetings, talked to co-workers, and listened to presentations. That theme was educating the library user and how this must be an active endeavor, rather than an assumption that people will automatically know how the library catalo... More...

 Videoconferencing for Libraries   Before coming to Alberta I had not heard anything about videoconferencing in libraries.  Soon, however, I began hearing about the RISE project which attempts to “link southern Alberta communities of all sizes in a library-based videoconference network.” 1 While on van run I saw a videoconference room in a couple of our libraries, and here at headquarters videoconferencing has a room to itself (while employees are doubled up in of... More...

                                                                               What’s the Tweet about Tw... More...

Hi all,   I’m writing this while in Calgary for NetSpeed ’09.  I’ll tell you some of the things I’m learning here next week. For now, the following is an issue that has cropped up a few times recently, so I thought I should address it.   Donations Policies: A Matter of Give and Take   Sometimes receiving book or materials donations from your patrons is like Christmas: you open a box and you see everything shiny and new. Oh the deligh... More...

Going into OverDrive! You’ve been hearing about OverDrive. You know it’s going live on November 2nd. Are you ready for it?   Some time ago, Kelly O. sent out information on how to download the software needed. A few of you responded, and now six libraries are ready. Six. Hmmm.   I’ve attached the software download information again, so if you’ve simply forgotten – here’s the reminder. When you have installed it, ... More...

This week, I went on van run with Joanne, so I haven’t been able to spend much time in the office. I did, however, get the chance to see most of the libraries in the Northern Lights Library System and met a lot of you briefly (very briefly!) You know how you start out with preconceived ideas of how things should be until reality taps you on the shoulder and says, “Now wait a minute…”? I’ve been experiencing that this week. Before going on vacatio... More...