Creativity; Literary maps

News June 29, 2007 (mp3 file: 5.77 MB, 6:09 min.)
Creativity; books on bulletin boards and other library displays

This morning I was reading a newsletter from Quilt University and the author was discussing the value of naps, noting that Thomas Edison took 15 minute naps, awakening refreshed and ready to invent something. That started me thinking about creativity in general. Too often I hear people—including librarians—say they just aren’t creative. I think we're all creative when we start life, we just somehow “unlearn” it along the way—perhaps we’re so busy learning the concrete “facts” and dealing with the tasks of life that we push creativity aside for later—and later never comes for it. Creativity isn’t just about painting or drawing or composing symphonies, it’s also thinking about new ways to do things, looking at something differently, and trying something that hasn’t been done before or done that way before. And I think it may be largely about being willing to try things—even if you’re not much of a risk-taker you can try something small. You can even just THINK about the “what ifs” and imagine what might happen.

I think it requires exercising your creativity. Edison used naps (though I’m sure he used many other things, too; his creativity seems to have had a great deal of exercise!) but naps might not be a practical method for you during your work day; putting your head down on the circ desk for a snooze after school as the kids are coming into the library probably isn’t the thing to do. But maybe as you’re shelving books or doing some of the more routine tasks, or driving to and from work, you can play “What if?” Or take a look at some books about creativity—A Whack on the Side of the Head, or How to Think Like Leonardo da Vinci (now THERE was a man whose creativity was well exercised), or Thinkertoys. Each has exercises to stimulate new ideas and creativity, and are especially useful if you’re just not sure how to get started. Try thinking creatively about new programming (or re-vitalizing established programs) or new services or classes or how you manage your time or…shelve books. Even if you end up not doing most of what you think about, it will strengthen you ability to think creatively—and you may become so intrigued by what you’re thinking up that you want to try some of them out.

One creativity exercise that I’ve seen in several creativity discussions, and that seems to work pretty well, is to take two concepts and then look for relationships between the two, or force them. This example might not be the best, but I’m just doing it off the top of my head—and I’m sure all of you will be able to better me at it. Take teaching people how to do good, effective searches on the Web and compare it with playing golf. You might start with listing characteristics of each—in golf a hole in one is a good thing, you use irons and woods and drivers and putters and a golf ball…(I hope it’s not TOO obvious that I don’t play golf…), you have to take into account wind, the course, etc. Now, if you force relationships with teaching searching skills….a hole in one is like getting the search result you want at the top of the hit list, on the first search. It can be a rare thing, in both instances. The clubs and ball are tools—what tools do you use for searching.? There are skills you need to practice—addressing the ball (choosing search terms?), knowing the course and the layout of the various holes (what search engine are you using, and how do you construct search strings in that search engine?), and adapting your game as you progress, analyzing your position on the green (what kind of results am I getting, and how might I refine the search to get better results?)…etc., etc. Maybe it ends up with something as basic as approaching the teaching of searching by making it a game. (So, what’s the game called, what are the rules…)

Here’s one I just thought of, though I haven’t done any of the relationship forcing—shelving books and drive-in restaurants. Perhaps you won’t wear roller skates to take the books to the shelves, but it’s kind of fun to think about, and it opens up that part of your brain and gives it permission to think about different and fun things.

When you let your mind exercise some creativity it’s a lot of fun, it’s a relief from the stresses or the routine—and you just might come up with some ideas you want to try. And if you don’t want anyone else to know what you’ve been coming up with, they don’t have to. But I’m betting you’ll come up with some ideas you like so much that you can’t wait to tell someone about them. My money’s on you! --Karen

Book reviewed by Marcia:
Literary maps for young adult literature, by Mary Ellen Snodgrass. Libraries Unlimited, c1995.

The Big Question; Books on bulletin boards / displays

News June 22, 2007 (mp3 file: 5 MB, 5:21 min.)
The Big Question; books on bulletin boards and other library displays

I ran across a reference to “The Ultimate Question” in a library blog a couple of weeks ago. The blog author had, in turn, heard about “the ultimate question” from somewhere else (OCLC’s NextSpace) The ultimate question: Would you recommend us to a friend?" (And she added a second question—If not, why not?) Well, I thought, that’s a great question and one that begs to be asked in libraries. We think—hope—that the answer would be a resounding ”Yes!” but wouldn’t we perhaps learn some valuable things should anyone’s answer be “no?” It does get at the heart of what we want to know about our service.

To be honest, I had to go in search of that blog because I’m a good librarian and needed to have a citation. I Googled it. (We all use Google—we know how to use it well and evaluate the results; besides, with a Google data center moving to town I thought it appropriate.) That search failed, not because of Google but because I looked for the big question, not the ultimate question—and I didn’t learn that until the search failed and I scrounged around my notes and found the citation. ( I had been a good librarian, after all.) Still, I got interesting results, even with the wrong keyword. Traveling down a different but parallel track I found some other “Big questions,” not necessarily related to libraries in this context, but many would be interesting questions for libraries to ask.

The Minneapolis/St. Paul Star-Tribune online has a column called “The Big Question,” and the particular column I found was entitled: “What I stand for in 2 words.” The subject was political but wouldn’t asking that question cause us to give some serious thought about what libraries stand for.? Could we do it in 2 words? All right, if that’s too restrictive, what about 4 or 5 words? (For example, I have a sign above my computer that reminds me: “Grow or go.” In my work, family and friends life I attempt to also go by “Be there.”) What would your 2 words be, as a librarian, as a person, and then what would 2 words be for your library? Ask you trustees. It might make for some interesting discussion and insights.

The Delicious Blog had an interesting concept around the Big Question. It simply asked, “Got big questions? Ask ‘em” and then let readers ask their questions in the comments of the blog. How would that work on a library’s blog?

Stephen Abram of Sirsi-Dynix asks Five Big Questions to Drive Strategic Thinking. But you could choose any one of the five to ponder. My favorite is # 4: “Are we automating for the real future? Or are we just automating 19th and 20th century processes? “ I’m going to be asking that about SWILSA and what we do.

Maybe you have your own “big question.” I’d love to hear what it is! -Karen

Blog posts mentioned in today's podcast:
The Ultimate Question” in a library blog (Library Garden)
OCLC’s NextSpace
“What I stand for in 2 words.” (Minneapolis/St. Paul Star Tribune's "Big Question")
The Delicious Blog: “Got big questions? Ask ‘em”
Five Big Questions to Drive Strategic Thinking (Stephen Abram, Sirsi-Dynix)

Books reviewed by Marcia:
Simply super bulletin boards, by Amy Vangsgard. Alleyside Press, c1997.
Off the wall" the art of book display, by Alan Heath
Back to Books: 2000 library activities to encourage reading, by Karen K. Marshall
Publicity and display ideas for books, by Linda Campbell Franklin.

Reading outside the library box; Vision: change and transformative libraries: Books on teaching Internet to staff and users

News June 15, 2007 (mp3 file: 7.72 MB, 8:07 min.)
Reading outside the library box; Vision: change and transformative libraries; Books on teaching the Internet to staff and users

Reading outside the library box

While waiting for the air conditioning in my Jeep to be fixed yesterday I started reading “Made to stick: why some ideas survive and others die.” I’m not very far into it—they were remarkably fast fixing the AC—but it’s looking interesting so far. The authors, Chip and Dan Heath, present 6 principles of “stickiness”—why some ideas ‘stick” in your mind and others are lost almost before they reach your brain. Urban legends “stick,” for example; dry statistics may not. They promise templates for stickiness and I hope they come through for us readers!

This isn’t a book about marketing libraries but it certainly is applicable—how can we make the idea of what libraries offer “stick” with our users and non-users? As I was reading it I quickly settled on a goal for my reading—find out how we might apply this to our early childhood literacy initiative. Another day and time I might re-read it with another goal or project in mind.

What marketing, planning, Internet, leadership--or whatever--books are you reading that might have ideas for your library, even if they aren’t books about LIBRARY marketing, planning, leadership….? I’d love to hear what you’re reading (to add to my list!)

Here are some that I keep on my shelf to refer to periodically, or that are waiting there for me to read (I’ve skimmed all of them briefly, at least..)—I’ll share if you’ll share!

• The other 90%: how to unlock your vast untapped potential for leadership and life, Robert K. Cooper. Random House, 2001. This one is my “pick-me-up,” motivational source for those days that seem to be dragging me down.
• Love is the killer app: how to win business and influence friends, Tim Sanders, Chief Solutions Officer at Yahoo! Random House 2002. (Don’t you just love that job title?) This one is really about networking, but mostly it’s about sharing and giving information and ideas, and having conversations about them. This was published in 2002 and was a little ahead of its time—it’s about social networking before social networking hit the web in a big way.
• The experience economy: work is theatre and every business a stage, Joseph Pine II and James H. Gilmore. Harvard Business School Press, 1999. Think about this for “library as place,” and asking if a library can provide a destination experience for its patrons.
• The World Café: shaping our futures through conversations that matter, Juanita Brown and David Isaacs and the World Café Community. San Francisco: Berret-Koehler, 2005. Conversations….hmmm. Do you see a pattern in my reading?
• The wisdom of crowds, James Surowiecki. Random House, c2004.
• Ambient findability what we find changes who we become,, Peter Morville. O’Reilly, 2005
• Primal leadership, Daniel Goleman. Harvard Business School, 2002.
• The leader’s guide to storytelling: mastering the art and discipline of business narrative,. Stephen Denning. Wiley, 2005
• A field guide to good decision: values in action, Mark D. Bennett and Joan McIver Gibson. Praeger, 2006
• Made to stick: why some ideas survive and others die, Chip Heath and Dan Heath. Random House, 2007.

I’ll share if you’ll share; what are you reading, outside the library box, that gives you ideas for your library and inspires you? Share your books in a comment on the blog. If you’d like to read any of the books let me know—they’re personal copies but I’m happy to loan them out. (Even before I read “Love is the killer app.") --Karen

Vision: change and transformative libraries

In recent podcasts I’ve been sharing some ideas about change and how it affects libraries. I hope that you find these comments “food for thought” – something for you to ponder and see how the ideas apply to your library.

Today I’m offering one more perspective on change.

First, we all know that change happens. It’s unavoidable. But, we tend to respond to change as if it means the end of one thing (which we experience as a loss) and the beginning of something completely new. In reality change usually happens more continuously. Perhaps the word “transformation” would suit our purposes better.

Eugenie Prime, former director of Hewlett Packard Corporate Libraries, suggests that our goal is to establish an environment where change is ongoing rather than episodic – to make our libaries transformative organizations. That is, organizations that are capable of continuous renewal.

This requires a compelling overall vision. An attitude that accepts change and directs it in a way that suits our mission. A vision is what makes necessary changes feel OK. A vision allows us to see things differently, so that we can begin to do them differently.

We also have to communicate the vision repeatedly whenever we have the opportunity – we must tell everyone where the library is going and why. Things like why the library is essential to lifelong learning in your community; why the library is important in closing the digital divide (that is, the economic divide created because the poor cannot afford the latest technology); why the library plays an important part in teaching children to read, and why the Internet is not enough by itself. As I mentioned last week – if we can state the “whys” clearly, the hows will follow more easily – and innovation will be a continuous, positive experience.

What is your vision for your library? Think a bit about how you share that vision every day with your board and your community. --Sue

Books reviewed by Marcia:

• Teaching the Internet in libraries, by Rachel Singer Gordon. ALA, c2001
• Teaching the Internet to library staff and users: 10 ready-to-go workshops that work, by William D. Hollands. Neal-Schuman

Balance, Choices, and Synchronicity; Features, Functions and Benefits

News June 8, 2007 (mp3 file: 3.87 MB, 4:07 min.)
Balance, Choices and Synchronicity; More Perspectives: Features, Functions and Benefits

As I’ve been planning for an upcoming workshop on libraries as destination places I’ve been reading about not only destination experiences but also about the library as place. I’ve discovered that there is quite a bit more being written about this concept than just a couple of years ago—perhaps it’s a balance for the online presence that libraries are creating, and a recognition that people also value their library as a physical place. Now, you know there aren’t many who are more encouraging about libraries embracing an online and social networking role than I but that doesn’t mean that the bricks and mortar library isn’t important; they’re all parts of what “library” means to people these days.

It’s all about balance.

That started me thinking about discussions about books vs. e-books, and reference books vs. online information, and audiobooks and …all I can ever think about when I hear people arguing about print books vs other formats, is….”Wow. Isn’t it grand that we can have both, that we don’t have to limit ourselves to just one or the other. What a rich and diverse universe of reading and information we can provide to our users these days.

It’s all about choices..

And it’s interesting that when you start thinking about something, information and ideas just start appearing; it’s that whole “synchronicity” thing. A blog post about library as place, then an entire blog, then Mary McInroy’s e-mail with the link to the Marketing Library Services article about assessing the library’s physical environment—things started crossing my desk, and desktop. That’s about being open to what’s around you, paying attention to what others are doing and saying and bringing to you. That is also a rich and diverse universe for us to draw upon.

Wishing you balance, rich and diverse choices, and synchronicity…
--Karen

This week I’d like to add a few thoughts to last week’s perspectives on innovation and your library.

Remember that any change might be described in terms of 3 things: Features, Functions and Benefits. Marketing experts tell us that it is important to distinguish between these three components – and to focus on Benefits when selling something whether it is a product, a service, or an idea.

Features are qualities of the actual goods or services themselves. For example, a feature of a new literacy-enhanced storyhour program might be dialogic reading (which basically means that the leader encourages children to participate by asking them questions and allowing them to do a lot more talking); a feature of a new computer lab might be a wireless Internet connection.

Functions, of course, are what those features do – allowing children to respond verbally builds their narrative skills; a wireless connection improves Internet access.

Benefits are explanations of why these things are worthwhile. Why are they worth the time or money you are investing in them? Who will benefit most? How will the change benefit the entire community?

Building narrative skills benefits children because they are one of several literacy skills that will help them learn to read, excel in school, go to college and grow up to be President; good Internet access allows patrons to do online research, apply for jobs, submit college applications, find out how to start a small business and many other things that can lead to a better life for them and bring dollars back to the community.

OK, I may be stretching a bit, but you can see how selling the benefits of something requires imagination and vision. This is what will inspire your patrons and gain their support for any innovations you have planned for your library.

~Sue

Links from today's podcast:

• Library Garden: Library as Place
  
• How to Evaluate Your Library's Physical Environment
  

Marketing in the Web world; perspectives on change; programs for babies and toddlers

News June 1, 2007 (mp3 file: 4.90 MB, 5:21 min.)
Marketing; Perspectives on Change; Programs for Babies and Toddlers

At the top of the 'cast today: Marketing. The web has changed our lives, impacting manythe ways in which we provide services and conduct business—and marketing is no exception.

In the past we’ve chosen a message and used a variety of means to move that message to our customers—flyers and posters, radio, television, speaking at local clubs and events. Word of mouth has always been a part of marketing—the “buzz.” But now it is even more so—MUCH more so. Just think about the web and how people use it to connect and communicate. What used to be word of mouth is now also “word of web” and that has the potential for reaching a much larger audience, much more quickly. That can be really good—if the word of web about your library is good, and people are talking about it.

Darlene Fichter, in an article for Marketing Library Services, suggests seven strategies for marketing in a Web 2.0 world. A link to the article, posted on the InfoToday website, is on the blog. The gist of it: we can’t control what is said online, but we can affect it—and that’s what the seven strategies are about. Darlene says, “One of the best ways to shepherd your brand online is to actively listen and participate in the conversations about your library. You can’t control the message, but you can improve the conversation about your brand online. By actively listening you can learn what your customers care about and get smarter about designing and delivering services that delight your audience.”

Another thought-provoking piece on marketing is a Google video of marketing guru Seth Godin addressing Google staff in, “All Marketers are Liars.” He talks about being at the right place at the right time with the right story. Watch the video to learn about sneezers and permissions and people obsessed with a product that wants to spread. It’s not specifically about libraries, but it certainly has some things for us to think about. --Karen

Links from today's podcast:

• Seven Strategies for Marketing in a Web 2.0 World, by Darlene Fichter
  
• "All Marketers are Liars" Google video presentation by Seth Godin
  

Book reviewd by Marcia:

• Literate beginnings: programs for babies & toddlers, by Debby Ann Jeffery. Amreican Library Association, c. 1995.