Canadian Libraries

Recently, the OCLC (the Online Computer Library Center), posted a fantastic visual reference on How Canadian Public Libraries stack up!  The results were truly fascinating and I think we can learn a lot about how the public uses and views libraries, through it. The OCLC is a worldwide library cooperative that aims to improve access to information held in libraries and find ways for libraries to reduce their costs through collaboration.

A few of the fascinating comparisons? 

Nearly two out of three Canadians have library cards…almost the same percentage as people who have passports. (But of course, the library is your passport to anywhere, isn’t it?)

Canadian libraries circulate 10 times more DVDs each day than the online DVD rental company, Zip.ca.  (All right, no word on the comparison to Netflix users, but I feel like we could probably give them a run for their money, too!)

Nearly 200 public libraries offer meeting spaces…and Carleton Place Public Library is one of those included!

To see all of the unique comparisons, just click on the photo below to see a larger version.  It’s really something!

Babytime at the library 2.0

Due to the incredible response we had this winter, we’re going to have another Babytime session!  That’s right, we’re looking for parents (or caregivers) with babies who are zero months to 12 months of age, who would like to join us for a six week session starting June 6/13.  We had plenty of names on the waiting list that we’re going to carry over into this session, so there aren’t a lot of spaces available.  If you’d like to join us, please call us right away to register because those spaces will fill up fast.  And yes, you DO have to register—-this is NOT a drop in event.

This session will take place on Thursday mornings from 9:30 – 10am, with time afterward for parents to connect with other parents. This is a great way to get your baby moving, meet new people and learn new and wonderful ways to bond with your child. If you have questions or would like to attend, please call us at 257-2702.  And if you don’t get into this session, never fear…we’ll run another one in the fall.

Science Fiction Writers of America Outraged Over Hydra Contract

When we purchase books, many of us probably never think about all the legal things that go on behind the scenes when a book gets published. Last week, however, the Science Fiction Writers of America were up in arms about a new contract idea from Random House that affects their science fiction e- imprint, Hydra. They are not happy, and Random House doesn’t seem to see the problem.

Traditionally, in simple terms, writers are paid an advance from the publishing company as payment for their work. The publisher assumes all costs for printing, binding, distribution etc., and the book is put on the shelves. As the book begins to sell, the publisher is paid until all their costs are recouped and the advance they gave the author has been recovered, and then the author begins to share the profits with the publisher. If costs are not recovered because a book doesn’t do well, an author might never see any more money other than their advance.

With this new model, there are differences because of the fact they are an e-imprint (which means no binding etc., but includes different costs such as digital marketing), but they’ve also switched up all the rules. An author picked up by Hydra will have to cover all the costs and will be paid no advance. That means, Random House might decide to pay their editors $5000 if they feel it is necessary, and their marketing team $8000 if that’s what they believe they need in order to make the book successful.  The author has no choice in the matter and must shoulder the costs.  Then, when the book starts selling, both author and publisher share the royalties.  The argument is that the publisher is taking a chance on the author by giving them the opportunity and providing them with the best people in the business, and yet they both get to reap the rewards right from the start.

It seems like it might be an interesting way to do business, and one which some authors would jump at the chance for. But wait…….

The catch is that the author now also loses all rights to their work, too...indefinitely. The publisher asks for all rights, in all forms, for the life of the copyright (which could work out to be 70 years or more after the death of the author). You can see why people are upset.

Last week, there was much uproar over the whole idea, and Random House replied with their own letter to the Science Fiction Authors of America to try to make them see the light. I’m not sure it worked.  It might be more work and cost more money and maybe not net the author the same residuals, but it’s looking like self-publishing might be the way to go to avoid the massive copyright problems. You can read the Random House letter here to see for yourself.

The real problem with this new model, if accepted, is that it might be game changing for the business. What if paper books went the same way? Many authors wouldn’t be able to afford the costs of producing the books and would be forced to release in ebook format only.  If other imprints follow this new direction, the world of publishing is changing, for good or not. Will this be the direction ebook publishers have been longing for since their inception? We’ll have to wait and see.

Rules, Rules and more Rules!

While we don’t have a lot of hard rules here at our library, there are some libraries that like to strictly enforce theirs. Some come with fines, others with privileges taken away, but the basic idea is that they really don’t want people doing certain things. Like what, you might ask? How about no balloons? Or no chewing on headphone cords? Both of these are problems in certain libraries, although I can’t recall a time when we’ve had these issues here in Carleton Place.

(This is our biggest “rule” at our library.  Only 4 DVDs can go out per family. Does the rule ever get broken?  Sometimes.  Do we have a punishment for breaking it?  No!)

John Brandon wrote a great article over on the Mental Floss Blog called “9 Very Specific Rules from Real Libraries”.  Just click on the link to see what crazy things are going on in other libraries!

Inspiration

The best thing about going away to a library conference is that we come back so inspired! While we choose the sessions we’d like to attend–many of which apply to the job we do in our own library–we’re also free to go to sessions that are just plain interesting. Often, it’s a tough choice, as there are so many sessions going on at one time, but we manage. (Some people even slip out of a session midway through in order to pop into another one so as not to miss out completely.) Most of the sessions are available online after the conference (handouts, at the very least), but nothing compares to attending the sessions live. It’s the people who make the topics vibrant and interesting.

I attended a variety of workshops. Since my job here in Carleton Place is a combination of technical work and children’s programs, I went to a nice mix of both. I sat in on a session called “The Creative Library”, which had all of us playing silly drawing, word and problem solving games.  The idea is to create a library environment where the staff have great morale and problem solving abilities, as well as being able to foster creative thinking in all areas of librarianship.  What does that boil down to? Well, the examples had library staff playing Wii games every morning together to help bolster team building skills (I can’t imagine having time to do that here, but it was an interesting idea), and staff rooms set up with puzzles and modeling clay in order to allow staff to de-stress when needed.  When tracking productivity and the impact happy staff had on patrons, the results were amazing. While we might not adopt these specific ideas, the creative library approach is something every library could benefit from in some manner.

I also listened to a fascinating talk called “Confessions of a Social Media Librarian.”  At first, I couldn’t imagine that there could be a position devoted entirely to tweeting and posting on Facebook, but in a large university environment, it made perfect sense. While we often center our social media approach around events that take place in the library, she took a very different approach. Instead of tweeting that the library was going to have different hours, let’s say…she focused on tweeting to actual library/university members about things they were already talking about. Engaging the students in dialog about what they were doing at the library and what they needed to know about (for instance, free tables for study space), she got them talking about the library as a positive experience.  I’m not sure how we’ll apply that approach here, but I’d love to have more dialogue with people who USE the library, rather than just tweeting between town facilities.

One of the most fascinating presentations occurred on the final day of the conference. It was titled “Why Libraries Should Emulate Apple Stores”.  The presentation focused on the idea that Apple stores are all about providing superior service and products to its customers.  If libraries could emulate the practice of making each patron feel like the center of the universe, then they’d keep coming back and rave about the services the library provides. Not everyone agreed with the presenter’s claim that Apple wasn’t just out to make money (she was a certified Apple trainer, so apparently, she knew all about the ins and outs of the company), but whether or not they thought the reason behind superior service was wrong, no one could argue with the fact that listening to your customers/patrons is THE way to keep them coming back.

Now  I just have to sit down and figure out how to implement some of these great ideas into my programs and service at the Carleton Place Public Library.

We’re Back!

After an exciting and hectic four days in Toronto, we’re back from the Ontario Library Association’s Super Conference 2013!

After starting out on a foggy and slightly icy morning, we made it to the train station in Smiths Falls and headed out on our journey.

If you haven’t taken the train before, it’s always a comfortable way to travel, with free wi-fi and frequent snack cart visits to get you through the journey. We passed through snow and rain and fog and sunshine, and got to our destination in great time.

I’ll have to admit, the train ride was the easiest part of the trip that day. After checking into our hotel and a quick bite to eat, we were off to visit the Whitehots showroom to purchase books. Let’s just say it was an interesting cab ride out to Mississauga.  But once there, we found LOTS of great books, friendly staff and got down to the business of loading up our carts with books.  While we left a few books on the shelves, we can’t wait until our boxes arrive back here at the library. Then, it’ll be down to work to get them all into our system and onto the shelves. Fun!

Back at the hotel, we made our way to the Conference Center and checked in.  If you can imagine thousands of librarians in one space, this was it.  Excitement was in the air and we were all looking forward to getting down to all the plenary sessions, author visits, presentations and poster sessions. Vendors were busy setting up the Expo which we’d all attend at least at one point during the conference, to view books & products and to meet with the wonderful people who keep libraries current and relevant.

Janet and I headed back to our room after a nice dinner with librarians from Smiths Falls, and we poured over the catalog to see what sessions we’d be attending the next day. Exciting!

Stay tuned for more information on the sessions we attended, people we saw and things we learned. It was a great week!