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Friday, December 30, 2011

Great post about customer service

Read what the Strange Librarian has to say!

Click here

Year drawing to a close

2011 is drawing to a close.  The roads are so quiet.  They said on NPR this morning that only about 1/2 of the US population is working this week!  My library got our book deliveries early.  This is most likely because the colleges are closed for their break.  This is such a good time to reflect on what we want to continue, what we want to create and where we want to be.

The New Age people tell us that there is only the present.  No such thing as time.  That is all an illusion.  Still, I have to put that meeting into my day planner.  And, it seems to me that we need to learn constantly.  A teacher who I like says that there are no mistakes.....So, if you did something last year....like not get that big weeding project done or miss the ALA midwinter conference....no mistake....Just plan to get it done this time!

One thing that this leaping libertine librarian loves is lists.  Sure, we may not get everything done that is on the list.  Simply writing down that plan, that dream....putting pen to paper or keyboard to cyberspace....means that maybe, just maybe, this will be the year you write that grant proposal for the literacy program or for the E Readers that you want to demonstrate at your library.

What are you planning to keep the leap in your librarian in 2012?




Thursday, December 29, 2011

Books make the woman (or the man!)

They made me the person I am today....Francie Nolan sitting and reading her precious books...

"From that time on, the world was hers for the reading. She would never be lonely again, never miss the lack of intimate friends. Books became her friends and there was one for every mood."
- Betty Smith, A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, Ch. 22

or Scarlett O'Hara in Gone With the Wind 

 Scarlett: Sir, you are no gentleman.
Rhett Butler: And you, Miss, are no lady.

Pippi Longstocking

 “But Nightshirts aren't dangerous," Pippi assured her. "They don't bite anybody except in self defense.”
Astrid Lindgren, Pippi Longstocking

Ah, the books!  Put them on kindles, nooks, between the pages, write them on lined paper....they sing to us day and night!

 

Recharging Ourselves and Our Users

Sometimes the library is just the place to be.  People are sitting and reading.  Some of them are reading magazines, others are looking at the screen.  They are reserving books and checking to see when their request might be in.  Many, many people have just gotten devices as holiday gifts and are entering the world of downloadable ebooks and audiobooks.  They are still coming in to the library to find out what all the hoopla is all about.

"I downloaded this book for my mp3 player, but now I have a kindle.  What do I do?"

"My computer literally burned out.  Do you have a laptop I can borrow?"

A woman whispers, "I've never used the internet before.  I'm so embarassed.  Can you help me?"

Someone is hoping to read the book that they just read about in the Boston Globe.

One of our jobs here in the library is to help people find what they are looking for in various formats.  We serve ourselves and our customers best when we keep the faith and learn how to teach the formats to our hopeful users.  Of course, yesterday, I had to ask my son to show me how to register my new ipod nano....Hey, it gave him an opportunity to be a teacher and that's not a bad thing!

We teach our customers and they teach us.  They show us what it is that we can do to help them.  They teach us what we need to become in this digital environment.  We help them on their way.

Not to mention the museum passes.....and on a holiday week, they are a high demand item!

One of the joys of being a librarian is that, in order to be our best, we need to keep learning along with our users.  Some moments are bumpier than others.....like when the person can't get the tax forms in hard copy because we don't have them yet.  And they simply don't want the online version.....Still, I wouldn't trade it....Even on the days when I'm limping and need to recharge....hey, maybe I can plug me into the laptop next to my ipod nano!











Tuesday, December 27, 2011

phantom librarian Minuteman

 "I was working at my laptop in a Minuteman Library. The Reference Desk was to my right. All of a sudden, the Library Director started scolding the Reference Librarian (probably not her actual title) and the woman ended up in tears. This should never have happened within earshot of a patron. I let certain people know about it (I have friends in high places)."
My goodness....the leap leaves a library when something like this happens.  Luckily, the phantom reported the incident.
Let's resolve to avoid such instances in the New Year!
 
 

Christmas Conversations, good book to read

I was in Connecticut with my partner's family.  The young woman was saying that she did not want her books on a machine, thank you very much.  She is 21 years old!  She likes the feel of real books and does not want them on a device.  That was very interesting to me.  Also, my partner seems to be sticking with the regular book type book more often than not.  Hmmm....looks like the sound of turning pages may not be going anywhere too quickly.

Speaking of books, you may want to read Orientation and other Stories by Daniel Orozco
here's an article about the book  .   The book is beautifully written.  The author creates scene and character with an effortless brilliance that leaves me gasping.  The title story is hilarious.  Anyone who has ever worked in an office will appreciate it.  The story about food binging is so wonderfully written...The author seems to have a real insight into people...he could have been a psychotherapist or a Shakespeare or both.  He knows how to create people and paint the picture of their lives with a verbal brush that leaves me gasping....The runner in the story about running is so believable.  Brilliant!  Five leaping libertine librarians up!



Saturday, December 24, 2011

librarytopia

As a holiday gift, I got a librarytopia.  Our budget is unlimited, we are building a cafe that has plenty of room and a library book and media store.  We have a gift shop that has lots of adorable items with our library logo on them.

We have a coach who takes unruly teens and adults and forces them to run around the track and/or swim laps until they are so tired and mellow that they can follow library policies with no difficulty whatsoever.

The librarytopia has a drive up hold pick up window that is staffed by our top notch personnel.....oh, and the parking lot.  First of all, it is free.  Second of all, it is unlimited.  There is so much space.

The staff enjoy the free trip to Canyon Ranch that they get twice a year to refresh, rejuvenate and recharge.  They can take their family and loved ones of course as this is considered essential to one's well being.

The library has tantalizing displays.  The books are always clean and in excellent condition. It is so nice that the budget for books and non print materials is always increased.

We love the library kiosks that are located throughout the community where one can get books, playaways, dvds, cds, kindles, nooks, ipods and other goodies for no charge.

The new wing...what can I say?  So lovely since we had all of the best space planners in to plan.  Thanks to Kimberly Bolan for her help with the young adult room.

Thanks to our full time outreach librarian, we are now offering ESL, computer, tech talk, and job hunting classes in six different languages.

What a blessing! 















Thursday, December 22, 2011

A blog about readers advisory blogs

Urban fiction book club? Why not!

librarian stops a child from being abducted

things to cut before cutting libraries

Here's a great website....click here!

Kimberly Bolan--the Indie Librarian

I had the pleasure of seeing Kimberly Bolan speak about non print materials in the library a couple of years ago.  She did a fabulous job helping to redesign the young adult room at the Bedford Free Library in Massachusetts.

Read her inspiring customer service comments here


Monique Delatte--inspirational

street lit/urban fiction

I love ordering urban fiction at my library.  We have lots of readers and I know that this is an important genre for them.

Here is a great blog to help you order street lit






good customer service article

Business Programming

How about business programming at your library?

The Dayton Metro Library System is doing some inspiring programming!




Book discussion groups

Tuesday, December 20, 2011

Questions...and comments

If the book is mis-shelved and the librarian can't find it, does it exist?

Why are vampire books so popular?



Why do so many people think that the book Eat, Pray, Love is inspirational?  A well-to-do young woman gets a book contract to eat in Italy, pray in India and love in Indonesia.  She left her husband.  I should care why? 

Did you know that not all librarians are neat freaks?  (like the libertine, leaping variety).

How can anyone believe that you can eat more and weigh less? 

Why do people write comments in the library books?  And why do I find them annoying and amusing at the same time?

If you get in touch with your inner librarian, do you both have to pay taxes?

Do not ever touch questionable stains in your library books.

If the classic has no movie tie in, can we persuade people to read it?  And does it count if you saw the Masterpiece Theater version?

What is the secret of The Secret?

How would Jane Austen feel if she knew about this? 

Do you realize that we librarians used to look everything up in books and periodicals and that we would not use the word Google for years at a time?







the dog ate it/Wicked Appetite

I love this sort of thing:

today, the library customer had to replace the lost book Wicked Appetite.  The dog chewed all around the edges....guess he had a wicked appetite!  Thoughtfully, the canine left the  text of the book intact.  Thus, when she gave me the replacement copy, the customer was able to take the original home!

A staff member checked in a book called Not On the Ball and placed it on our non fiction to be shelved truck rather than in the outgoing to other libraries bin.

About a week ago, someone returned a book called Do It Now! and it was 180 days late.....











Happy Holidays to You!

To everyone following this blog....Thank you!  You keep me leaping and libertine!  I wish you and yours wonderful wonderful holidays.  May they not be holidaze......


Interesting take on the kindle

The library where I am currently employed has a terrific large print collection.  The woman who does the ordering has definitely got her finger on the pulse of what people are looking for.  Still, yesterday, when I was in the dentist's chair having my teeth cleaned, x-rayed and generally examined, the hygienist told me something interesting.  Of course, I could not respond as I had a mouthful of metallic tools.

Apparently her daughter has some difficulties with her eyesight.  She has not really been able to read much until she got the kindle.  Because of the low glare and the ability to adjust the type to a comfortable size, she is able to go back to her first love, reading.

Now that is a nice thing!


Monday, December 19, 2011

Now that's romantic!


customer disservice, the tone

The tone is everything.  My leap becomes limp when the customer demands that I do something.  And I forget to breathe and think.  It is important to separate the tone from the message.  Is there any truth in what the person is saying?  If so, then we must be vigilant....And, boy is it hard!


Saturday, December 17, 2011

Awful library books....

Yikes!  Someone just donated the book:  "The New Joys of Jell-O".  Please don't invite me over when you prepare one of these recipes....and that goes for the fruitcake as well!




Be the change you want to see

This quote works in the library.  What is it that you want to see?  More passion?  Bring it!  More outreach? Even if your staffing is short, you can take baby steps.  Are there too many complaints and not enough solutions?  How can you be a solver?  Be the change you want to see.  Sometimes this leaping librarian uses that phrase to try and get my inner Ghandi going.



Friday, December 16, 2011

The name, please

I find that there are times when I can't get the answer that the customer is looking for right away.  It is always, always helpful to take his or her name and phone number.   This way, I can tap into the wealth of knowledge that my colleagues, our databases, and, sometimes a good night's sleep can provide.  It is suprising how effective it can be to simply get the information and assure the customer that you will do everything you can to get that answer. 

Just the other day, this helpful step allowed me to email some very good articles to someone from our Credo Reference database.  We had found some books on the topic (Paris and Prague in the Sixties), but the articles were really "right on the money".







Thursday, December 15, 2011

yikes! A worrisome article

Care about your care.org

This is a good site.  Send your customers and yourself to careaboutyourcare.org

Resources to help you assess the quality of your health care, like hospital and health plan ratings, plus tips for how to talk to your doctor, manage your medications, handle hospital stays and cope with conditions such as asthma, diabetes and heart disease.

Great Books

Why not have a great books discussion group at your library?
Get started here


barrier free library

Isn't that what we are all looking for?

Look at this!




urban renewal! NYPL

How do I renew Library materials?

Items that have not been requested by another borrower and have not exceeded the maximum number of renewals become eligible for renewal 2 days into the current loan period.  You may renew circulating items up to 10 times.* 

That is the policy at the New York Public Library.  Pretty generious, huh?


Wednesday, December 14, 2011

Reader's Advisor! Keeps me leaping

This libertine, leaping librarian is happy because one of our library customers just came in to tell me that she loved the two authors I recommended she read.  They are:

StewartO'Nan
Nancy Thayer

I recommended these authors to her based on some of the other authors she told me that she enjoys reading.
The happy customer tells me that she is now recommending these authors to several friends.

Warms the cockles of my heart.  By the way:  does the heart really have cockles?  I thought that was Molly Malone in Dublin's fair city?  













Tuesday, December 13, 2011

You're Parking Up the Wrong Tree!

Parking.....Our phantom librarian tells me that he loves going to the Lexington Public Library because he is able to park easily and, usually, for free!  He also likes the Newton Free Library for the same reason. (Massachusetts).

This leaping, libertine librarian used to work in a library that had a shared parking lot...first come, first served.  And it filled up faster than you can say.....library APP.

In my library utopia, there is a drive through window for hold pick ups!  Furthermore, there is lots of parking...not to mention bike lanes and great, secure bike and scooter parking!

Oh, and, of course, public transportation and beautiful walking trails!





Monday, December 12, 2011

Spinky Sulks by William Steig

If you have had it with libertine librarians leaping because you are just too tired, too underpaid, too stressed, too underappreciated and if you hear about the Fish! philosophy one more time, well, you don't know what you will do....and if you are tired of run on sentences...then you must, you simply must read:  Spinky Sulks by William Steig!  You will feel better.  I promise!  Children's lit can put the leap back in your librarian!




Make their day!

Read this. Click here. Good stuff!

Worth thinking about in our libraries.  We don't want to be so rigid that we lose customers!

What do you think?  How can we "make their day?"  (That's the Fish philosophy!)

To tell you the truth, making their day better can make our day better...and our jobs more secure!






Fun displays...check out the For dummies!

The kindle update

Well, this leaping, libertine librarian played a concert yesterday.  And I'm not writing about the piccolo that broke and the flute teacher whose customer service was so superb that she loaned me a piccolo.  No, what I am writing about is my partner's Kindle.  He was reading his book while waiting for the concert to begin.  And he looked happy, too!

On the other hand, he assures me that he will only use the kindle for special times such as travel and waiting for concerts to begin.  He likes the feel of the books.  He does not want to be on his laptop and then on his kindle all of the time.  Still, he is very engrossed in the book that he downloaded from Overdrive.

So far, so good!




Saturday, December 10, 2011

The Phantom Librarian

The Phantom Librarian may be visiting you.  Today, the PL was at the Newton Free Library.  He was very pleased to see so many of the videos that he was seeking on the shelves.  He notes that Newton buys multiple copies of the dvds that he is seeking.  The shelving was convenient and user friendly and he was one happy customer.  He rates his experience:  four phantoms up!  He chose to use self check out and found it convenient and user friendly.  Way to go Newton Free Library!


Thursday, December 8, 2011

Books I'd Like To See

Feel the Fear And Stay In Bed

Eat More, Lose Weight, And If You Believe This, I Have A Bridge To Sell You

Wherever You Go, There's A Starbucks

A Course In Miracle Whip

The Idiot's Guide to The Idiot


Mannequins For Dummies

The Twelve Steps For Stair Builders

A Glutton For Gluten:  Unhealthy Recipes That Taste Good

You Can Be A Millionaire Using Monopoly Money

Do What You Love, The Creditors Will Follow

Jane EyreHead


















Be a Zen librarian

Read Unshelved.com

Keep that humor coming!
Read unshelved.com  and you too will have pimped out book carts!


jammin 94.5 portrait of a librarian

This libertine leaping librarian heard her son's alarm go off this morning.  He was listening to Jammin' 94.5.  That is a station that features rap music.  He loves to listen to "Ramiro" and the "Jam scam".

Ramiro was saying "what do librarians do all day?  Read?  Shelve books?  He was stunned about the story that you see below.  As if librarians are not interesting people who do all kinds of things!  Most of them great and above board!

Really, Ramiro.  Get a clue!  Read this blog! Talk to this leaping librarian's son!

OSTON (FOX 25 / MyFoxBoston.com) - A Saugus woman was charged Wednesday in federal court with stealing more than $800,000 from a Saugus public library account.
Linda E. Duffy, 65, was indicted on four counts of mail fraud, 10 counts of money laundering and one count of aggravated identity theft.
>> Read the Indictment Here
The indictment alleges that beginning in 2004 and continuing until she resigned in July 2011, Duffy drained funds from a decoy bank account at Eastern Bank in the name of the Saugus Public Library.
Authorities say Duffy first diverted charitable donations to the account, as well as checks intended to pay library fees and fines, then transferred the funds from the decoy account to her own personal account at Eastern Bank. She used the money for personal expenses, including jewelry, home repairs, automotive payments, her home mortgage, among other things.
Duffy allegedly deposited some of the funds into an account in her daughter's name, as well. According to the indictment, to boost the funds in the library account, Duffy also deceived the GE Foundation, the charitable foundation of General Electric Company, into donating over $400,000 to the library to match non-existent donations by former GE employees and their families.
Duffy allegedly deposited these funds into the decoy account as well, and later transferred them to her own account for her personal use. In total, the indictment alleges that Duffy stole approximately more than $800,000 in library donations, fines, and fees, including the funds obtained from defrauding the GE Foundation between 2004 and 2011.
This is not the first time Linda Duffy has battled accusations of fraud. In 1993, she served 21 months in prison after she was convicted of entering fraudulent insurance claims of $120,000 in total.
Duffy was able to secure a job handling money at the library just a few years after getting out of prison. She began working at the library in 1999 as a part-time administrative assistant and became a full-time worker in 2004. If convicted, Duffy faces up to 20 years in prison on the mail fraud and money laundering charges and a mandatory minimum additional two-year sentence if convicted of aggravated identity theft.




Posted: Thursday, December 1, 2011 6:23 am
The former director of the Knox Memorial Library in Wallis is under investigation for allegedly misappropriating funds.
Rodney Gregg Young, who resigned from his position on Nov. 27, is charged with theft of service, felony III, from $20,000 to $100,000.
Young, 41, was released the next day on a $50,000 PR bond.
Young’s case could have been presented to a grand jury as early as Wednesday or the end of September, according to Austin County District Attorney Travis Koehn. The exact date was not know as of press time Tuesday.
The Austin County supported Knox Library received $66,884 for the 2010-2011 fiscal year and $67,393 for 2011-2012.
Young has been replaced by an assistant librarian there.
Young had been working at the library since January 2010.


Wednesday, December 7, 2011