Tips for Blogging

This has been a busy week at the reference desk (lots of people looking for school summer reading books). I didn't have any great ideas for today's post, so I thought I'd go meta - a blog post about blogging.

Here are a whole bunch of links I've been collecting that offer tips on blogging, or blogging better, or running a blog in general. Some of them are for personal blogs, but they apply pretty well to writing for a library website.

I suppose I should read them instead of just sharing them, but it's a start:

From iLibrarian:

• 6 Ways to Constantly Produce Quality Blog Content
• 8 Habits of Highly Effective Bloggers
• 13 Types of Posts that Always Get Lots of Comments
• Five Ways to Better Engage Readers on Your Blog
• Write Better Blog Posts Today
• 20 Websites That Will Make You A Better Blogger
• 101 Ways to Promote a New Blog
• How to Blog Almost Every Day
• Top 5 Business Blogging Mistakes and How to Avoid Them
• 5 Rules for Better Web Writing
• 100 Ways To Improve Your Blog
• 100 Terrific Tips & Tools for Blogging Librarians
• 20 Blog Topics To Get You Unstuck
• Handling Negative Comments On Your Blog Post
• The Ultimate Blogger Writing Guide
• Why Start a Blog & How to Make it Work
• 50 Blog Topic Ideas
• Tips for Better Blogging
• Secrets of the 7 Basic Blog Posts

From Librarian in Black:

• Tips for Bloggers - a neat checklist on what to do before publishing a post

From David Lee King:

• Digital Branch Style Guide - geared for organization websites, but absolutely useful for anyone writing for the web

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Work at my Library: Hiring a Head of Circulation

The Head of Circulation at my library is retiring, so maybe you should apply. The details are below and on the Massachusetts library jobs board, but what they don't tell you is that every other week the circ desk has "treat Tuesdays" - very tasty.

Institution: Chelmsford Public Library

Job: Head of Circulation Services – Dept. Head level

Duties/Description:
This full time, 37 1/2 hour per week position is for a versatile, friendly librarian skilled in customer service, reader's advisory and personnel management. Must also have strong technology skills. Schedule includes one night and every other weekend. Job responsibilities include the following: Hiring, training and supervision of approximately 30 part-time library assistants, pages and volunteers. Directing, supervising, scheduling, and participating in tasks at the circulation desk. Explaining library lending policies and procedures.

Qualifications:
MLS required, related Bachelor's degree preferred; experience working with the public required. Should have working knowledge of current fiction and popular culture. Candidate must be open to change and trying new ideas. Must be comfortable managing conflict. Candidate should enjoy interacting with public of all ages and must be able to adapt smoothly to patron demands. Experience working with an ILS critical, interest/experience with open source ILS management desirable

Salary:
Starting salary will depend upon education and experience. Range is: $41,243 to $65,598.

Closing Date:
Applications in by July 16th get first consideration, open until filled.

Send:
Applications should be e-mailed to bherrmann@mvlc Applications may also be submitted to Becky Herrmann, Library Director, Chelmsford Public Library, 25 Boston Road, Chelmsford MA 01824.
The Chelmsford Federation of Teachers, Local 3669, represents this position. The Town of Chelmsford is EEO/AA Employer

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Reference Question of the Week – 7/4/10

Coinciding nicely with the 4th of July holiday, here's a (loosely) government-related reference question:

We have a few regular patrons who are really into conspiracies and religious extremism - at least, a few who always need help with computers.

One minute after opening one day this week, one of them (an 80+ year old, frail, sweet woman) came to the desk with a web address written on scrap paper. She said it was a news site she had never visited, and wanted to print out all their latest stories.

I typed in http://tldm.org, and found their homepage to be about a three foot long list of links to their stories. She wanted them all, but settled for the first 15 stories (which was still 54 printed double-sided pages @ $0.15/page = $8).

While we were printing those (which, as you can imagine, took a little while), she talked about how she likes these sites that give her the real news, or the "news behind the news," that you can't get elsewhere - like how President Odama [sic] is inching toward a gay agenda.

Speaking of Obama, the patron next asked me to find out when the deviled ham logo changed. Not having any idea what she was talking about, I just did a Google images search for deviled ham logo and luckily she pointed to the first one - the logo for Underwood Deviled Ham.

I did a few more searches including the words "change" and "logo" and "underwood," but Wikipedia's William Underwood Company article was the only thing I could find that mentioned the logos. They were/are:

Illustration of can of Underwood Deviled Ham, 1921 advertisement.

New 2008 Underwood logo from Underwood Chicken Spread.

She said she remembers a different one from her childhood, but was satisfied with article saying the logo was updated in 2008. That was the year Obama was elected. In the old logo, the devil is just "standing still." The updated logo now has the color black and other shading, and emphasizes the devil being "on the march." Coincidence?

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How To Search The Web (in 2000)

We just subscribed to the Safari computer ebooks database, so I started weeding our print computer book collection. It's a heavily-used collection, but I found a few books that made me laugh.

Not that they were bad books, just out-of-date for the computer field. Case in point is How to search the web, edited by Robert S. Want, ©2000. Flipping through it was a walk down memory lane - heck, right on the cover were listed search engines that I used to use a lot and now had forgotten about (but I do miss Infoseek):

The book itself was obviously useful in its time, and now is an interesting look back at the past. Among other information, it contains b&w screenshots of each of the search engines' homepages, reminding us what the web looked like 10 years ago - directory browsing is certainly less popular these days:

Yahoo Internet Archive, 7/6/00 Yahoo Today

Ask Jeeves Internet Archive, 7/6/00 Ask Jeeves Today (ask.com)

AltaVista Internet Archive, 7/6/00 AltaVista Today

And this was on the shelf in a library that weeds regularly - who knows what gems are waiting in larger libraries that have the space to keep lots of things.

On another note, my parents will be visiting for the Fourth of July, so I won't be posting again until later next week. I hope you have a good holiday (non-Americans, I hope your regular days are good, too).

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Checklist Manifesto for the Reference Desk

In library near me, the Director did most of the reference work. When she announced her retirement, the staff was worried about having to do reference themselves, until a replacement was found.

She emailed me saying she had just read The Checklist Manifesto, by Atul Gawande, and asked for my help in creating a "reference checklist" for her staff - hopefully, it would help them cover all the bases when helping patrons at the Reference Desk.

I haven't actually read the book (although did read lots of reviews when it was published), but I think the general idea is summarized in this quote from the New York Times review:

In medicine, he writes, the problem is “making sure we apply the knowledge we have consistently and correctly.” Failure, he argues, results not so much from ignorance (not knowing enough about what works) as from ineptitude (not properly applying what we know works).

This is also true of reference work. Some sort of checklist or decision tree is probably covered in most library school reference text books, but I thought I'd take a crack at it. Of course, any checklist like this could vary widely by library, depending on available resources, but the following few questions might help make sure all bases are covered consistently:

Are you sure you understand the question?

• Don't be afraid to ask follow-up questions and to restate the question in your own words to make sure you and the patron are on the same page

Is the patron looking for a specific item?

• It's okay to use Amazon to verify the spelling of an author's name or title, and Novelist or other websites to check titles in a series. Once you know what you're looking for, be sure to check the local catalog, other libraries in the network, and also the state-wide catalog (if you have one) to interlibrary loan the item if necessary. If it's nowhere to be found, should this item be purchased? (refer to your Collection Development policy)
• If the patron is comfortable with it, many books are now available online through Google Books, Project Gutenberg, and other ebook sources

Is the patron looking for a subject?

• Use the catalog to find the right Dewey range so the patron can browse the shelf, and see where other libraries have cataloged their books on this subject
• Remember to also check
  • other collections (Reference, Young Adult, Childrens, Oversized, Vertical File, Special Collections, etc)
  • research databases (especially for homework research or very current information)
  • the library's website (for subject guides, readers advisory, web links, etc)
  • general internet searching to find public websites
    • remember also to search government websites - add site:.gov to Google searches to limit to government websites
  • if you're in the right Dewey section but there are no books on the specific topic, look for a general book on the subject and check the book's index for your specific topic

Is the question about something local?

• Check the local newspaper, local websites (especially newspaper and municipal websites, as well as meetup.com and yelp.com for socializing and events), printed brochures and fliers available in the library, event calendars, etc. Remember also to ask coworkers, as they may have heard of something or be involved with it

Is your answer still “no” or “I don't know” - what else can you do?

• Is the problem that you're in the right place and the information is just not there, or that you can't think of where to look? Keep the patron informed, but don't waste their time - there is nothing wrong with referring them to a larger or specialized library, another Town office, or organization that is more likely to have the resources to answer their question. Be sure to give them contact phone numbers/email address/web address/driving directions/operating hours
• Ask a coworker or supervisor for help
• Take the patron's name and number and offer to contact them when you find something

A strategy I use to try to make reference interactions go more smoothly is this:

• Sometimes it's hard to find the answer with the patron hovering above you watching and waiting. If possible, get the patron started on looking in one area, and then go back to the catalog/database on your own for more thorough research

And to make future reference questions better, here's a checklist about patron interactions in general:

• Have there been a lot of questions on the same topic? If so, is there a way to make this information more readily available for future patrons?
• Pay attention to what kind of questions make you uncomfortable, and then ask for training or explore those areas further
• Remember to show patrons how to do something, instead of just giving them answers. It's also okay to think out loud when working on a question - explaining why you're consulting the resources you are, or why books are in a certain spot in the library, will help the patron and possibly make you think of something you may have otherwise forgotten.
• Look around the Reference Desk - things within reach are probably there for a reason, but can also be the hardest to find if you don't know where they are
• Remember to review applicable common tasks and policies, such as booking museum passes, helping with printing, turning everything on/off

This could definitely be distilled more. At the same time, no checklist will cover every patron interaction, but should at least get people started down the right road. And I'm sure I missed things - what are more tips to give staff new to the Reference Desk?

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Reference Question of the Week – 6/20/10

Instead of a reference question this week, here's a question posed to Unshelved Answers this week:

[What is your] most ironic/moronic question?

A number of librarians have posted almost painful exchanges they've had with patrons - mine is:

A patron came in and asked for information on homeschooling her kids. I showed her the section, and ten minutes later I saw her leaving with our copy of Homeschooling for Dummies - come on, should a "dummy" really be teaching kids?

Check it out and post one of your own.

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