Ahoy! WAPL 2010 draws 300 to Lake Michigan shore

Thanks to WAPL Conference Chair Dave Weinhold and his excellent team for putting together another great librarian gathering. More than 300 librarians from across the state have been congregating at Blue Harbor Resort in Sheboygan. Among the highlights were a reception at Mead Public Library, a keynote speech by ALA Executive Director Keith Michael Fiels, and guest appearances by journalist and public television commentator Joel McNally and Milwaukee historian John Gurda.

DLTCL Assistant Superintendent Rick Grobschmidt (left) thanked librarians for all they do to assist state residents, especially for "stepping up to the plate" by helping Wisconsin job centers assist the increased number of unemployed residents. Times have been tough for library funding, he acknowledged, but he was optimistic that things will turn around. His speech was laced with gestures to symbolize Wisconsin's economic highs and lows, as well as libraries' excellent response to the new demands. Above, he demonstrates his hope that state funding to library systems, which has been cut in recent years, would soon go back up to normal levels.

UW-Milwaukee SOIS Hosts Ted Samore Lecture May 7

"More than Information: the Public Library as a Center for Reader Development" is the topic at the Annual Ted Samore Lecture, Friday, May 7th, 5:30-7:30 PM at the Helen Zelazo Center, Room 250 at UW-Milwaukee. The featured speaker is Dr. Mary K. Chelton, Professor, Graduate School of Library and Information Studies, Queens College, City University of New York.

There is a $10 registration fee for the public. For more information, or to register, please visit http://www4.uwm.edu/sois/samore.

Ethnic & Multicultural Round Table Proposed for WLA

Faith Steele, post-MLS resident librarian at Raynor Memorial Libraries at Marquette University, has proposed creating an EMIERT (Ethnic & Multicultural Information Exchange Round Table) for WLA. This round table will serve to support librarians of color, librarians who work closely with ethnic and multicultural groups and library professionals interested in supporting diversity in Wisconsin libraries.

New round tables must have 35 people interested in joining the round table before it can be established. The petition will be available at the WAPL conference to sign this week. Interested? Contact Faith Steele,(414) 288-6295, or faith.steele@marquette.edu.

Milwaukee Public Library Proposal Reshapes Network of Facilities

The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports on the Milwaukee Public Library's proposed 10-year plan to merge some libraries into larger, regional facilities and move others into mixed use space, costing just over $18 million. However, the proposal seeks to avoid costly upgrades to existing structures and retain services in a very tight budget environment. Library officials still need the approval of Mayor Tom Barrett and the Common Council during the 2011 budget process in order to proceed.

Library Council Offers "Essential Skills" in Information Literacy

The Library Council of Southeastern Wisconsin will host a conference on information literacy, Wednesday, May 12, 11:00 am to 4:00 pm at Centennial Hall, Milwaukee Public Library. Mike Gousha, Distinguished Fellow in Law and Public Policy, Marquette University Law School, will share his "Reflections on the Media," and Marta Magnuson, Instructor, UW-Milwaukee SOIS, doctoral candidate in Urban Education, will facilitate a panel presentation. For more information about registration and fees, contact Susie Just, Library Council Executive Director, at (414) 271-8470 and email libco@librarycouncil.org.

Mapping Wisconsin's Reductions in School Librarians

School Library Journal reports on the efforts of Shonda Brisco, assistant professor at Oklahoma State College, who presents the effect of statewide cuts to school librarians positions in Google Maps. It ain't pretty, and it is not even complete for Wisconsin.

La Crosse Public co-hosts Gaming Event on May 1

On Saturday, May 1st, La Crosse Public Library, in cooperation with Gaming Generations and several other La Crosse area vendors, is hosting the largest gaming event ever in the 3 rivers area and maybe the largest ever in Wisconsin. There will be 17,000 square feet of game space with console tournaments, board tournaments, and much more. For details see http://www.gaminggenerations.com/store_news/. Contact David Goldfein, La Crosse Public Library, 608-789-7142 for more information or flyers to promote the event.

WAAL10: Rachel Singer Gordon - "Getting Unstuck"

Rachel Singer Gordon - Getting Unstuck

* The "Brisket" Story - great-granddaughter was still cutting off both sides of the brisket before cooking, because that's the way her mom did it - but it was originally only because the pan was too small.

* Why do we do things the way we do them?  Just because the person before us did it?  What's the purpose behind the action?  Did we cut back at one point and then forget to go back to full service?  Don't stop asking!

* Librarians can be agents of change for our constituencies

* If you don't promote yourself, you're doomed to defend yourself

* Your career is not your job - look at your job as a single piece of your career puzzle - where do you want to see yourself in 1, 5, 10 years?  Are your activities moving you towards those goals?  You may need to do things outside of your job.

* We talk a lot, and we complain a lot - if we do so without exploring solutions, we start to enable each other into a rut

* What do you cut off to fit in?  In hard economic times, we hunker down to not get noticed.  When new staff come on board, we say "that's not the way we do things here" - new staff need to pace themselves, or they'll get burned out by tilting at windmills.

* We put people into boxes, and say "this person is good at X, and that person is good at Y" and there they stay forever - what skills haven't been identified or expressed at work?

* "I can't..." - spiral of negativity - How could I learn how to do that thing I want to do?

* Where is your locus of control?  External (life is pushing me around  things happen TO me) or Internal (I am the master of my own fate)?

* Are there grants I could apply for?  Are there resources or services that are no longer priorities for our constituencies, and we could save money if we don't do?

* Rather than a pie-in-the-sky idea, propose a plan - who, what, where, when, why

* Resilience - what steps can I take to improve this situation for myself?  No white knight is going to ride up and fix all the problems.

* Are you just passively receiving information for your professional development?  A magazine isn't going to send you to a conference.  There are a lot of free online webinars.  You could volunteer in exchange for free registration fees - or be a speaker!

* Don't let 15-20 years go by where you only do the same things at your job - if you ever want a different job (or are forced to seek another job), you're going to need more than just that position on your resume.  Write articles, attend trainings, give presentations, show interest.

* Develop a picture in your mind of your goals - what are you doing this week to move yourself towards that?  Power of incremental change - 15 minutes + 15 minutes, etc. adds up, can grow to 30 minutes + 30 minutes, etc.. - develop habits.

* What drew you to this profession?  Try to re-capture that excitement.  How do you tell your own story - you can tell it from multiple perspectives.  Power of story.

* Rachel keeps up with what new librarians are up to.

* Why do you not have enough time?  Do you watch TV?  Cut out a show each week.  You may not have hours of free time in a block, so you need to learn how to work differently - multitasking, or 15 minutes here or there.

* Don't procrastinate because you think it needs to be perfect.  Life is perpetual beta.  Try things!  What parts worked to some extent?

* We can get into ruts - commute to work the same way each day, stop for coffee and lunch at the same times, see the same people, etc. - try changing one small thing each day - new conversation, new lunch partner.  Make new connections in other cities through professional social networking sites.

* Even those actions that helped you to be successful can be your downfall, if you get stuck in them - read outside the library literature and learn from others.

* Re-assess your goals, and change them as needed

* Nothing lasts forever - change is constant

WAAL10: Information Literacy in a Biology Lab

Information Literacy in an Animal Behavior Lab
Susan Heffron and Eric Thobaben, Carroll University

* Front-loaded into first two semesters of Biology

* 1st library session -

* Overview of applicable library resources

* Scholarly vs. popular, primary vs. secondary

* At end - ok, everyone feel 100% confident about these resources?  [they think they are]

* Lab -

* Observation of an organism (amphipod) in clear plastic cups of water, with leaves and twigs - model system

* What questions can you generate?  "Just be 10" - totally open to anything

* 2nd library session -

* We pair students and have them highlight words in printed article abstracts that relate to these organisms

* We compile a master list of keywords from students' reports back - keywords, and what they think the article was about

* "OK, now get started!"  [They realize they've forgotten everything from 1st library session.  We're comfortable with their discomfort.]  "Who would like a refresher - which databases?"

* Students start asking: "Is this okay, Dr. Thobaben?" - review of scholarly, primary research

* Recognition of scientific article vocabulary, pieces & parts (abstract, methods, etc.) - 2nd semester lab, we have them spend an entire period reading an article from start to finish

* What can they take from methods section that they can take back to the lab and use to experiment with their amphipods? - not repeating, but getting inspiration - how generate data?  how measure?  how control? - up until now, we've only given them the T-test (compare x to y)

* What will help them to answer the questions they generated through initial observation?  Do more observation and develop explicit questions you could test.  How would you measure behavior?

* Thinking like a biologist: Observation - generation questions - finding key words - selecting articles - knowledge application - experimental design

* Future labs - do more and more on their own, build on what they've learned; assignment: write a grant proposal, librarian assists with finding funding sources

* Juniors/seniors can work with faculty doing research - one of them actually does use amphipods to study the behavior of cannibalism

* Other assignments require multiple iterations of a report (proposal, draft, final) - which require 4, 6, 10 citations.

WAAL10: Preserving Intellectual Freedom in the Face of Googlization

The Google Books Settlement

Prof. Michael Zimmer, School of Information Studies, UW-Milwaukee

* http://michaelzimmer.org/

* "Spheres of mobility" - can be physical, intellectual, digital - freedom to improve ourselves

* Historically, we've had general freedom to move about in these spheres without people looking over our shoulders

* Much of our mobility has been redefined and converged through Google - Siva Vaidhyanathan: "The Googlization of Everything"

* Faustian bargain - may constrain/restrict our ability to move about in these spheres

* Data-vaillance - surveillance of personal data - built into Google's infrastructure

* Searching is not anonymous - cookies identify your computer, Google encourages creation of accounts - including Gmail, actions increasingly linkable, data is retained, their goals include selling advertising personalized to you

* Google Book Search - launched Google Print in 2004; they already had a digitization service in place

* UW-Madison and Wisconsin Historical Society Library joined the project

* Notable lawsuits: US Authors Guild, Assn of American Publisher - Settlement proposed - cash payment of a couple hundred million dollars; creation of a book rights registry - anytime someone paid for access, some money would funnel back to authors/publishers; allowed advertising (Amazon.com, etc.)

* Anti-trust +  international copyright concerns

* Revised settlement now back in front of a judge

* Deleterious to intellectual freedom and privacy - non-anonymous

* After pressure from European Union, cookie only lasts 2 years (except it renews each time you visit)

* At a library, I can pick a book up and read it without being identified or tracked; libraries delete patron records after various amounts of time

* Settlement requires authentication before buying a book

* In future, might need to log in just to search, or to read free books in Google Books

* Concerned that our gains will be overshadowed by our losses

* How do we build library/librarian values and norms into Google Books settlement?

* Libraries/librarians have attended related conferences, written letters, asked questions - mainly, Google is remaining silent - they say they need to build the product first and think about privacy next, but this is a flawed design

* "Media ecology" - systemic effects of these decisions

* Dept. of Justice and Federal Trade Commission indicated they'd block settlement - Google finally released some information about privacy (July 23, 2009)

* Can you trust Google?  Their people are nice, but...

* Other countries have laws that required Google to protect more privacy than they do in the U.S. - ex: Google Street View - faces blurred

* Libraries are facing more of these issues themselves; decisions need to be made - Patriot Act challenges, Facebook pages giving access to patron information, etc.

* There will always be a struggle with privacy and security

* Google actually refused an order to provide a month's worth of search data, from government agency trying to determine how easy it is to return child pornography from innocent searches - all other search engines complied

* Google uses encrypted login and doesn't allow advertising based on their Health Records service

* Google reports to Chilling Effects Clearinghouse when they've been requested to take something down from YouTube, etc.

* Electricity involvement has made them a de facto public utility - so far, they haven't been treated as such