PVLD Director's Blog

Leaving the electrons behind

I'm heading off on vacation, so this image from Nicholas Bate seems particularly apt.  I'll be spending some time at home/the beach (I am fortunate that they are one and the same!) and some time in the mountains.  Unfortunately due to some family circumstances I won't be able to leave the electrons entirely behind I'm going to do my best to limit my exposure...and I certainly won't be blogging! 

I'll be back in about 10 days... Happy Canada Day to my family and friends up north, and a wonderful 4th of July to the Yanks!

 

 

Teamwork

It's Performance Review season at the Palos Verdes Library District, so I've been busy getting ready for my own upcoming review as well as for those of the 12 people who report to me.  In reflecting on the past year, one of the things that has really struck me is how the level of collaboration across departmental boundaries has increased.  We've been talking about a "One District" model of operations for the entire seven years that I've been here, but it's only this year that I really feel that we are getting traction in making it a reality.

I'm sure a number of factors have contributed to this acceleration in our effectiveness as a Leadership Team including the talent and energy of the team members and new District-wide planning mechanisms such as our Marketing Committee, but I think this article  referenced in Bob Sutton's Work Matters is on to something, particularly with regard to "Misperception #2"

Misperception #2: It's good to mix it up. New members bring energy and fresh ideas to a team. Without them, members risk becoming complacent, inattentive to changes in the environment, and too forgiving of fellow members' misbehavior.

Actually: The longer members stay together as an intact group, the better they do. As unreasonable as this may seem, the research evidence is unambiguous. Whether it is a basketball team or a string quartet, teams that stay together longer play together better.

Our Leadership Team has now been together, without any changes in membership, for a full two years.  It's not a huge amount of time, but it's the longest stretch of stability in the team in my tenure here, and I have to think that just the fact that we have some solid experience in working together is part of what is driving our success.

Given a talented team of ambitious people and a small organization with limited opportunities for promotion I know that the current team won't be together forever, but I am looking forward to seeing what we will accomplish as long as we are!

What Big Media Can Learn from the New York Public Library

Just came across this fabulous article (thanks Execupundit!) from The Atlantic.  It's about what traditional media companies can learn from how the New York Public Library is leveraging digital and social media, but it is rich with tips for other libraries, too...like these (emphasis mine):

• The days when libraries could base their mission and activities on the concept that "Information was not just an idea, but the set of physical objects that contained it" are long gone.  "Everywhere you look within the New York Public Library, it's clear that the institution has realized that its mission has changed. It's no longer only a place where people take out books and scholars dig through archives. The library has become a social network with physical and digital nodes."
  
• Success depends on the energy and enthusiasm of the employees who can do amazing things if supported.  "...the NYPL is succeeding online because of desire. The library's employees give a shit about the digital aspects of their institution, and they are supported in that shit giving. I mean this in the most fundamental way possible and as a damning critique for media companies. Second, the library sees its users as collaborators in improving the collections the library already has. While serving them online costs the library some money, they are creating value, too, by opening up conduits into the library for superusers."
  
• Driving the transformation of libraries isn't just the purview of the Librarians.   Biblion, an amazing Ipad app about the 1939-40 World's Fair, was developed by Donna Lee, head of the Communications Department and a former television producer who created it in the face of resistance from what she refers to as the "curators" who ".....had to give up control of the collections to outsiders, outsiders who would put something out in months, not the years that they themselves might spend creating a similar project." - but on the positive side had already created the basis for the app in a 700 page "finding aid".  In other words Ms. Lee took a typical "librarian" work product and turned it into what the article calls a internal "hot date"...and now everyone wants "their" collection to get the Biblion treatment.
• Amazing things can be accomplished when we turn let our users play too.  "A library is not just a place that collects information and processes information," May said. "We create the tools and structure the information so that others can enhance the collections." Another NYPLer, Doug Reside, Digital Curator of Performing Arts, put it even more simply, "The public library can be used to organize people to organize information....That is to say, the NYPL's collections can become more valuable to all of its users by tapping into the energy and expertise of some of its users. The role of the library is to create the right kinds of conduits for superusers to get involved....When you put information in the hands of people, they come up with all kinds of stuff that people within an institution might not think about."

It's tempting to thing that some of the projects described in the article are possible only in an institution as rich (in content, staff, and community resources as well as dollars) as NYPL, and some of them (like Biblion) surely cost a fair amount.  On the other hand, how hard would it be to replicate NYPL Wire, which uses the free Tumblr application to push out "a flow of tiny stories from and about their collections"? Initiative, storytelling ability, and a bit of time.

Lastly, but perhaps most importanty, the physical collections and spaces still matter. 

Of course, the thick library buildings will remain rooted in the streets of New York. Many collections, mostly because of copyright issues, will remain locked in basements and available only to pro researchers. But that probably won't be the only use for these beautiful, expensive buildings. Rather, the library would like to see them become hubs of conversation and collection improvement. Some of the Internet-sparked thinking about community building and the value of users is rubbing off on the physical space of the library. The New York Public Library is getting webbier by the day. Institutions famous for wanting people to be quiet now want you to speak up.

"I think we can become places of conversation," the curator Reside said, "Places where information is not only pulled off the shelf, but conversations can also happen around the contents of the library."

Users, even in a library, can no longer be shushed.

Want some inspiration about what is possible for libraries?  Read the article!

 

Work and Life

Nearly 8 years ago, when I was considering whether to apply for my current position, I attended a panel discussion called "So You Want to Be A Library Director" at the California Library Association annual conference.

The key message conveyed by the panel of distinguished Library Directors is that being a Library Director is not a 9-5 job.  They emphasized that successful Directors attend library and community events on many evenings and weekends anmd participate in community and professional organizations ...and that is in addition to the 40+ hours/week it takes to fulfill the internal leadership and managerial responsibilities.

The job of Library Director is amazingly rewarding, but it is also one in which the lines between "work" and "life" can get pretty blurry.

If you believe  many magazine articles and self-help books that is a bad thing, but my own experience leads me to believe that today's post from Nicholas Bate is closer to the truth - 

"...remember that great work-life balance is more about removing the distinction than fire-walling the difference."

I'm not advocating that your work become your entire life, but if you feel the need to totally segregate what you do for a living from the rest of your life maybe its time to think about a different career?

 

 

 

Lists

Judging from the comments on Facebook (where my posts automatically appear) and here I am not the only list geek out there...a fact that was confirmed last night when I was flipping through the copy of Dwell Magazine (I'm also a design geek!) that the Hyatt Sacramento thoughtfully puts in each room and came across a reference to this exhibit at the Morgan Library in New York.  I love the idea of getting insight into the lives and personalities of people via their lists.  Wish I was going to be back there to see it!

Put that on the list

Ever since college I have lived my life by "to do" lists, to the point where if something important doesn't get written on the list there is a high probability it will fall through the cracks. 

I started out using little spiral bound books of lined notecards on which I would write my list every day, tearing out the previous day's list each morning, copying uncompleted items from the previous day into a new list, and adding new items as the current day unfolded.   When I discovered Daytimers and their equivalents I was in heaven - one place to keep all of the information I needed to run my life!

Over 15 years in the mining and manufacturing industry reinforced the value of lists.  Manufacturing operations are governed by production lists, keeping equipment running depends on PM's (Planned Maintenance activities that are essentially lists of recurring activities such as oil changes, filter changes, etc. that need to be done on a schedule) and a key element of every quality improvement program from Total Quality Management to Lean Manufacturing is standardization of activities via checklists. 

As copmputers became a more entrenched part of my daily worklife I began using task lists in Microsoft Outlook, and now that PVLD no longer uses Outlook (we use Google Apps for email, calendar, etc.) I have discovered Toodledo, which allows me to manage tasks on any computer via the Internet as well as via an app on my Iphone with seamless synchronization, forward emails to create tasks, and do cool things  like create sub-tasks, categorize and prioritize tasks, create recurring tasks, and more.

I still sometimes use paper for specific lists - like things that need to get done before a trip - that my husband I both need to see.  Somehow it is easier to put a yellow notepad on the counter so we can both add and check-off items than to try to manage a shared list digitally.

I guess you could call me a "to do list" geek, but honestly I don't know how I would juggle all of the competing demands in my life without my lists, which I sometimes call my back-up brain.

That's why I read this post by Nicholas Bate with a sigh of recognition:

On Check-lists

They sound a pretty dull topic. Not exactly break-through productivity material. But...

Next time you're waiting on the tarmac for take-off you can be sure everyone of the airline's team is working his/her way through a meticulously prepared and thoroughly polished check-list to ensure nothing is forgotten. Your lawyer will have a check-list of basic questions when you go and see him/her about a dispute. Your doctor has a check-list of standard bio-markers s/he wants to measure before any kind of diagnosis. Professionals rely on check-lists to cover the fundamentals so they can use their critical thinking and their reflective thinking for the diagnosis, the odd surprise and the necessary innovation.

Too often in business we're still scrabbling trying to run a decent meeting, wondering why we forgot our phone charger and why we never have time to think.

In a word: check-lists

Amen!

Libraries in Trouble

Drastic cuts to public library services are being considered in cities such as Oakland and San Jose.  This discussion on KQED's Forum program is not short, but it gives an excellent overview of the role libraries play in communities (and schools), as well as different funding models.  Worth the listen!

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Private libraries in India - lessons for public libraries in the US?

A couple of years ago Joan Frye Williams and George Needham did an April Fools Podcast about a mythical commercial library that they allegedly encountered on a road trip. 

Turns out that in India that idea isn't so far-fetched according to this post on Bangalore's Citizen Matters blog describing how Indian entrepreneurs have responded to the fact that India's public libraries fall short of their U.S. counterparts with regard to what we would consider basic services - from up-to-date collections to welcoming spaces to story times...by creating for-profit libraries that offer these things and more.

Looking at the websites for some of the libraries profiled in the Citizen Matters post I was surprised by the ingenuity of the business models. 

Eloor, which was founded over 30 years ago and has five branches across India, is at this point a strictly physical library although it plans to offer an online catalog and Internet-based services soon. Members pay a deposit plus a "reading fee" of 10% of the purchase price of the book (or more if the book is kept more than the 14 day loan period).  The reading fee is the library's source of revenue, while the deposit is to ensure that books are returned and is refunded in full if the membership is closed.  The amount of the deposit determines how many items the customer is allowed to check out at any given time.  People who choose not to become members can borrow books without paying the deposit, but they have to deposit the full purchase price of the book which seems to be refunded (less the reading fee) when the book is returned.

Mylib.in  is a hybrid physical and online library offering both a reading room (I loved the description from their website - "a comfortable reading space surrounded by books which gives the age old charm of "Reading in a Library". We feel great when families spend their weekend afternoon in our library or when school kids drop by after their school or when executives laze around in the bean bags after their office hours to catch up on the business magazines.") and an online catalog of items that can eithre be picked up at the library or delivered to (and collected from) home or office within 2 days.  Much like Netflix, Mylib.in offers a variety of pricing plans to meet different needs from "pay per book" to various combinations of membership terms (3 month, six month, etc.) and number of items that can be checked out simultaneously.

"Easy Library" seems fairly similar to Mylib.in with regard to how it operates (combination of physical space and online/delivery) but with a fee structure more like Eloor's.  Easy Library also offers events like story times for kids and author talks.

Then there is Just Books - similar to Easy Library and Mylibrary.in with regard to services but a franchise business model with 13 locations across Bangalore and opportunities to open franchises in other cities.

Private "children's libraries" are a niche in their own right, with libraries such as Out of the Box and Discover Kids Library offering physical libraries, collections of books, magazines, puzzles, and toys, reading enrichment, outreach to schools, and other services typical of an American public library's Children's Services department.

Browsing all of these websites really made me think about both our public library services and our funding models here in the U.S.  While I firmly believe in the value of libraries as a public institution, I think we could learn from what is happening in India.  Could we too offer Netflix-style home delivery if people were willing to pay for it?  Is a pay-per-use model really so bad?  What about charging extra for value-added or priority service? 

Some of these are ideas we've tossed around here at PVLD, but learning about India's private libraries made me realize that they are not just concepts, they are viable business and service models.  Definitely food for thought!

 

D-Day

When things got crazy and stressful at my last job, a colleague who was a retired Army officer used to say "Just remember, women and children won't die over this".  This puts things in a similar perspective...thnk you Michael Wade of Execupundit for sharing:



Whinge for the day

As they say in Australia, you would have to be "blind Freddy" not to know that California is facing a budget crisis of epic proportions, or that libraries across the country are being forced to close branches and drastically curtail services as a result of local government shortfalls.

Here at PVLD we've been relatively fortunate, and have managed to make it through the economic downturn so far thanks in no small part to the efforts our employees have made to find new sources of revenue (Passport services, notary services, exam proctoring services....all provided by existing staff in addition to their usual jobs) and curtail spending.  Woe betide the person who accidentally leaves colored paper in the photocopier causing the next staff member who uses it to waste a few sheets when they find their document has been printed on yellow or sky blue!

Given the above, it truly irks me when I see examples of other government agencies (and sometimes other libraries) doing things that seem to me to be plain wasteful.

A case in point from this morning:  I opened a manila envelope mailed from the California Department of Developmental Services and addressed to me, and inside found a 255 page printed copy of the "Lanterman Developmental Disabilities Services Act and Related Laws".  No letter of instruction, just the book.  I can only assume that a copy was sent to every Library Director in California with the intention of having us add it to the library collection. 

I may just be having a bad day, but I find it really difficult to believe that anyone thought this was a good or appropriate use of taxpayer funds...not because I have any concern about dissemintaing information pertinent to people with developmental disabilities, but because it surely would be much cheaper to make a document like this available digitally via the Internet rather than incurring the expense of printing thousands of copies, preparing them for mailing (envelopes, mailing labels, staff time), and mailing them (even at bulk rates)....especially at a time when services to the developmentally disabled are threatened with drastic cuts? 

Furthermore, If asked for information about laws relating to people with developmental disabilities, I'm pretty sure that the first place our librarians would look is on the Internet, not in the library catalog.  In fact, as we undergo a comprehensive review of our collection, it is precisely items like these (highly specialized, too flimsy to be circulated, and with contents that are readily available online) that are being weeded.  If the librarians did decide that an item such as this should be added to the collection, it actually would cost PVLD a not insignificant sum to catalog it and label it, and get it ready for the shelf.

I don't mean to single out the Department of Development Services....today's mailing is just the latest in a string of similar unsolicited "gifts" of printed booklets, pamphlets, and flyers from various State agencies.  I know that the total expense of all of these mailings is a drop in the bucket of the overall budget deficit, but surely it would be better to use the money to actually provide services to those in need rather than send out a barrage of information and hope that it somehow connects with someone who is looking for it.

And public libraries aren't immune from this kind of behavior.  Each month I receive a multiple page, full-color, glossy newsletter from the Queens Library in New York describing all of their (admittedly fine) programs and events...and more recently making a plea for support as they face their own severe budget cuts and library closures.  I can only assume that the newsletter is sent to every Library Director in the country, since I certanly never requested it.  Usually receipt of the newsletter is followed a day or two later by another mailing from Queens suggesting that, for a fee, they would be willing to help PVLD with our marketing needs. 

Huh?  How can it possiby be a good use of library funds to do a mass mailing of a very expensive marketing piece that is clearly aimed primarly at the Queens community to Library Directors nationwide?  Surely that money would be better spent on library services and programs...and if this is their marketing approach I question what real value we would get from their consulting services.

So that is my whinge for the day.... I know I am probably just in a craby mood, and the intentions of the people who think this stuff up are really good, but I needed to get it off of my chest!  Thanks for listening...