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5 CONTENTS Reée Vaillacourt McGrath Feature Editor Kathlee M. Hughes Maagig Editor September/October 2003 Vol. 42, No Extra! Extra! Read All about It! Fudametals of a Good Library Press Release Jae Kessler ad Carol Ae Germai 303 The Fragile Future of Public Libraries Michael Sulliva 309 What Goes Aroud Telephoe Referece Rotary Wheels Sharo McQuee ad Douglas Zweizig 315 Bridgig the Value Gap Gettig Past Professioal Values Gary Deae IN EVERY ISSUE 274 Editor s Note Reée Vaillacourt McGrath 275 From the Presidet Luis Herrera 275 O the Ageda 282 Tales from the Frot Jeifer T. Ries-Taggart 284 Perspectives Na Blaie Hilyard 294 Iteret Spotlight Steve M. Cohe 296 Tech Talk Paula Wilso 320 News from PLA Kathlee Hughes 322 By the Book Jeifer Schatz 327 New Product News Vicki Nestig PLUS Readers Respod 278 Verso Cotet Maagemet ad Library Web Sites Edwi S. Clay III 280 Verso Deistitutioalizatio of People with Metal Illess: Challeges ad Solutios for Libraries Gwe Collier 288 IterViews Uderstadig ad Promotig Fair Use Carrie Russell 290 Book Talk Writig about the Peripheries: A Iterview with Chris Bohjalia Breda Dowlig 298 Opportuities, Awards, ad Hoors Rochelle Hartma 325 Idex to Advertisers The Public Library Associatio is a divisio of the America Library Associatio, 50 E. Huro St., Chicago, IL 60611; Cover desig by Jim Lage, Jim Lage Desig, Chicago Iterior desig by Diae M. Rooey, America Library Associatio, Chicago

6 EDITORIAL FEATURE EDITOR: Reée Vaillacourt McGrath MANAGING EDITOR: Kathlee M. Hughes CONTRIBUTING EDITORS: Hampto (Skip) Auld, Steve Cohe, Rochelle Hartma, Na Blaie Hilyard, Vicki Nestig, Jeifer Ries-Taggart, Paula Wilso, Natalie Ziarik EDITORIAL ASSISTANT: Breda Dowlig ADVISORY COMMITTEE Joi the Club I very much ejoyed Diae Nevill s article, A Passio for Cultural Uderstadig Makes Let s Talk Eglish a Success i the May/Jue issue. Research shows that merely learig the grammar ad vocabulary provided i our adult educatio ESOL classes is ot eough. Public libraries ca help by providig the sort of coversatioal cotext described i the article. I the last year, the Motgomery Couty Public Library has tripled the umber of braches offerig Eglish coversatio groups, ad I hope to see may of the rest follow suit i the comig year. I thik this article will help. Thaks! Peter Fekety, Seior Libraria, White Oak Library, Silver Sprig, Md. Public versus Academic Libraries As I read Reee Vaillacourt McGrath s Editor s Note i the May/Jue issue ( Our Frieds i Academia ), I heard myself thikig, Yes, yes, exactly. Whe I moved from a public library to a academic library I had may similar resposes the rich collectio icludig electroic databases, the deadeig effect of the imposed query. I remember i particular a studet who approached me lookig for the meaig of carpe diem. (This was i the mid-1980s, before the Iteret ad before the movie Dead Poet s Society, which popularized the term.) I took him to three sources that gave explaatios supplemetig each other. But that was ot what he wated. He wated the iformatio to be prebleded ad from oe source; a self-imposed query i which he had very little stock. This questio serves as a example of aother cotrast I oticed. The ext year, at about the same time, aother studet asked the same questio. Ad this was just oe of may of the same questios asked the ext year at the same time. I remember thikig that after a few years of predictable questios, a referece libraria would be paied to brig eergy to the same old questios comig up at the same old times. I fact, that revelatio prompted me to retur to public libraries i aother state. That memory leads me to yet aother observatio. Recetly, represetatives from my library met with a group cosistig of people from academic, public, ad special libraries. They were choosig a periodical database to share. The academics strogly recommeded oe database over aother. I overheard a coversatio of people who had atteded the meetig ad realized that they had bee led to believe that the academically supported database was somehow more itellectually satisfyig tha the other. But havig worked with both, I kew that the database preferred by the academics actually was the oe that was domiated by articles with sort of closed aswers, complete eough to satisfy a assigmet, brief eough to discourage further ivestigatio. The other database teded toward more varied sources ad articles. I was remided how itimidated by academics public library represetatives ca be. Ad I was further remided of how much more challegig public library referece is, with its prepoderace of questios comig from the patro s eed to kow. Imposed query research has a clear ed kowable or at least estimative from the begiig, while i the self-imposed query the ed is ot clear, ad, i fact, there is ofte ot a ed. cotiued o page 281 Public Libraries ecourages letters to the editor. Letters are used o a space-available basis ad may be excerpted. Preferece will be give to letters that address issues raised by the magazie. Acceptace is at the editor s discretio. Sed to Reée Vaillacourt McGrath, 248A N. Higgis Ave. #145, Missoula, MT 59802; publiclibraries@aol.com. Isabel Dale Silver, Chair, Champaig, IL; Marily Boria, Elmhurst, IL; Nacy Charee, New York, NY; Barbara Custo, Pasadea, CA; Na Blaie Hilyard, Zio, IL; Marcia Scheider, Sa Fracisco, CA; Lure E. Dickiso, Jackso, MI; Cidy Lombardo, Orrville, OH. EX OFFICIO: Jo A Pider, Gwiett Couty Public Library, 1001 Lawreceville Hwy., Lawreceville, GA ; jap@gwiettpl.org PLA PRESIDENT: Luis Herrera, Pasadea Public Library, 285 E. Walut St., Pasadea, CA ; lherrera@ci.pasadea.ca.us PUBLIC LIBRARIES (ISSN ) is published bimothly at 50 E. Huro St., Chicago, IL It is the official publicatio of the Public Library Associatio, a divisio of the America Library Associatio. Subscriptio price: to members of PLA, $25 a year, icluded i membership dues; to omembers: U.S. $50; Caada $60; all other coutries $60. Sigle copies, $10. Periodicals postage paid at Chicago, IL, ad at additioal mailig offices. POST- MASTER: sed address chages to Public Libraries, 50 E. Huro St., Chicago, IL SUBSCRIPTIONS Nomember subscriptios, orders, chages of address, ad iquiries should be set to Public Libraries, Subscriptio Departmet, America Library Associatio, 50 E. Huro St., Chicago, IL 60611; , press 5; fax: (312) ; subscriptios@ ala.org. ADVERTISING William N. Coffee, c/o Beso, Coffee & Associates, 1411 Peterso Ave., Park Ridge, IL 60068; (847) ; fax (847) PRODUCTION ALA PRODUCTION SERVICES: Troy D. Liker, Kevi Heubusch; Ellie Barta-Mora, Agela Hashaw, Kriste McKulski, ad Kare Sheets. MANUSCRIPTS Uless otherwise oted, all submissios should be set to the feature editor, Reée Vaillacourt McGrath, 248A N. Higgis Ave. #145, Missoula, MT 59802; publiclibraries@ aol.com. See the Jauary/February issue or for submissio istructios. INDEXING/ABSTRACTING Public Libraries is idexed i Library Literature ad Curret Idex to Jourals i Educatio (CIJE), i additio to a umber of olie services. Cotets are abstracted i Library ad Iformatio Sciece Abstracts. MICROFILM COPIES Microfilm copies are available from Uiversity Microfilms, 300 N. Zeeb Rd., A Arbor, MI The paper used i this publicatio meets the miimum requiremets of America Natioal Stadard for Iformatio Scieces Permaece of Paper for Prited Library Materials, ANSI Z by the America Library Associatio All materials i this joural are subject to copyright by the America Library Associatio ad may be photocopied for the ocommercial purpose of scietific or educatioal advacemet grated by Sectios 107 ad 108 of the Copyright Revisio Act of For other repritig, photocopyig, or traslatig, address requests to the ALA Office of Rights ad Permissios, 50 E. Huro St., Chicago, IL

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8 EDITOR S NOTE Several years ago I worked at a library that was i the process of costructig a ew buildig. As a departmet coordiator, a lot of my time was spet i plaig meetigs ad i discussios with architects ad other desigers. Although I left that library before the ew buildig opeed, I ofte dream that I m goig back to work i the ew buildig. I these dreams, I usually do t kow my way aroud, ad I m ot etirely sure what my positio is, but I do t wat to ask ayoe for fear of soudig foolish. Sometimes I m back at the library for a job iterview, ad sometimes I m waderig through the childre s ad youg-adult departmets (where I used to work) ad observig what has goe o sice I ve left. I also frequetly dream about the Bosto Public Library, eve though I oly worked there for six moths. I these dreams, I m usually workig part-time at the library ad part-time at CVS (a pharmacy that I worked at as a high school studet), ad I always have trouble rememberig whe I m scheduled to work at which job. Sometimes I realize that I ve missed several shifts i a week ad have t eve called i to tell my supervisor. Whe I do make it to work at the library, it s a dark ad spooky (but magificetly elegat) place i a bad part of tow. My shifts always seem to start at dusk, ad I walk quickly through the streets, beig careful to avoid eye cotact with the public. Iside, I m usually scheduled to work the referece desk, ad I always feel flustered that I wo t be able to fid aythig, sice I work there so ifrequetly. Stragely, I rarely dream about realistic situatios i the actual library jobs that have made up the bulk of my career. Or perhaps this is t so strage, after all. I February 2002 I coducted a iformal survey o the PUBLIB electroic discussio list about library dreams. I received forty resposes, recoutig fifty-eight differet dream scearios. Amazigly, fourtee of those resposes were early idetical, idicatig that 35 percet of the librarias who respoded to my query had had the same dream (for may of them, it was a recurrig dream). More o that later... While they recouted may varied situatios, very few librarias dreamed about ormal work duties uder realistic circumstaces. Those who did were geerally ivolved i itese, repetitive work at the library, such as Susa T. Byra of the East Mississippi Regioal Library i Quitma: Whe [our library] got automated for the first time two years ago, we set aside six weeks of itesive bar-codig to get as much doe at each brach as possible. By week four, I was dreamig about bar-codig every ight. Thak goodess that oly lasted as log as we were barcodig... Kate Wolicki of the Niles Public Library District i Illiois recouts a similar experiece of dreamig of ordiary work situatios uder stressful coditios: The Career of Our Dreams Reée Vaillacourt McGrath Feature Editor Every oce i a while, I dream that I have t yet ordered a book that i wakig life I have. Like, five people are stadig at the desk demadig the ew (shudder) Pat Buchaa book that I ordered right away whe it came out ad aother libraria is sayig to me, Did you order this? Ad I did, but the catalog says I did t. I would classify that as a I-Feel-Like-I m-not-doig- My-Job dream, ad it s bee frequet lately, because, with icreased desk traffic, I m defiitely gettig less doe. May librarias reported dreamig about doig their job uder uusually stressful circumstaces, however. I fact, the vast majority of the dreams shared reflected strog emotios, such as fear (7 percet), ager or coflict (7 percet), ad axiety (55 percet)! Twety-two percet of the dreams could oly be characterized as bizarre, ofte combiig elemets of life outside of the library with workrelated themes. (The remaiig 9 percet were t easily categorized.) The bizarre dreams are ofte some of the fuiest, with o recurrig threads that I could discer: Whe I was i charge of the New York State Library s CONSER Project i the 1980s we discovered that there was a commo cataloger s ightmare we all had o occasio. I this dream, the dreamer fids oeself taggig everythig i their dream. The ightmare part is ot beig able to remember the right MARC tag for a everyday object, like a chair, ad of course, arguig with usee others i the library about what it should be tagged. (Barbara Nichols Radall, Guilderlad [N.Y.] Public Library) Not a recurrig dream, but I recetly had oe i which I was at a party at someoe s house, ad a buch of other librarias were there. I the host s refrigerator there were packages of luch meat ad other food which were weeks or moths past their expiratio dates. Some of the librarias took these items out of the fridge ad stamped them OVERDUE. (Bria Smith, Waukega [Ill.] Public Library) I dream that the little library i my hometow is suddely a lot bigger tha it ever was bigger tha the oe I work at ow! Sometimes, idoor ad outdoor becomes blurred book stacks uder trees, jugles behid the referece desk. There is ice ad sow iside, too. There are strage books o the shelves o topics I ve ever heard of, ad DDC seems to have bee heavily revised. (Gerry Vogel, Dayto [Ohio] Metro Library) I thik oe of my best [dreams] was whe I worked i referece. Patros came i, sat dow at tables, had a meu. cotiued o page

9 FROM THE PRESIDENT I preparig for the year ahead, I was wared of the time-cosumig ad ever-importat resposibility of appoitig members to serve o PLA committees. Start early, cosider a broad ad diverse pool, ad brig i ew blood, I was advised. But how would I covice colleagues that joiig a plethora of committees would make a differece whe issues like budget cuts, job burout, ad associatio apathy came ito play? I had visios of bullyig frieds ito submissio ad redeemig you owe me chips that I had collected through years of etworkig ad relatioship buildig. How ofte have you wodered if ivolvemet makes a differece? Does it matter if we participate i the affairs of PLA? I seekig aswers to these questios, I developed a uscietific profile of the qualities ad characteristics of those who choose to joi ad participate i orgaizatios such as PLA. Here s what I discovered: We are iformatio seekers. Associatios are bodies of people who collectively have a tremedous wealth of experiece to draw upo i a commo field. Takig part i PLA affairs provides a coduit for sharig this expertise. We have a strog sese of obligatio. This value became apparet with the persoal coflict may of us experieced decidig whether or ot to atted ALA i Toroto i light of the SARS outbreak. While we were cocered about our persoal health ad that of our family ad frieds, we were draw by a sese of commitmet to meet our obligatios to the associatio. We believe we ca make a differece. The people I talked to geuiely believe that their cotributios to committees will have a impact o the future of public libraries. Their work o committees gives them a sese of professioal empowermet. There is a sicere wish to give back to the professio ad to improve the status of librariaship ad public libraries. We like our colleagues. It s ot about competitio, power, or compesatio. We ejoy oe aother s compay, we lear from each other, ad we have fu i the process. We believe i PLA. Members feel coected to the values of the associatio. We wat to do somethig to advace the missio, goals, ad future of PLA. There is power i participatio, ad i PLA it comes i a variety of ways. While much of the work of the associatio gets doe through committees, there is room for every member of PLA to get ivolved. Some choose to serve by actively participatig i the committee structure ad cotributig time ad talet. Others cotribute by simply belogig ad supportig PLA s advocacy through their membership dollars. Ad fially, others serve by supportig the may cotiuig educatio opportuities offered by PLA, either through aual coferece programs, the PLA atioal coferece, or the Chicago Sprig Makig a Differece Luis Herrera Symposium. PLA respects the variety of ways that members choose to cotribute to the vitality of the associatio. I the ed, the committee appoitmet task was easier tha aticipated. Those who voluteered to serve eagerly agreed to do so. Those who declied (ad these were few) had good reasos ad offered to help i other ways. I the ed, the umbers are impressive. Betwee the busiess ad special committees appoited by the presidet ad the Issues ad Cocers, Library Services, ad Library Developmet committees, appoited by the cluster chairs, PLA has a total of sixty-two committees. A total of 520 members said yes to appoitmets. How s that for ivolvemet ad iclusio! Nicole Wheatley, PLA s program coordiator, hadled this process superbly. As she leaves PLA to pursue other edeavors, a big ote of gratitude ad appreciatio goes to Nicole for her superb cotributio i hadlig the appoitmet process i a professioal ad polished maer. Participatio, ivolvemet, ad activism are otios that make PLA a more democratic ad vibrat orgaizatio. To paraphrase a lie from a popular sog i the hit musical Chicago, you put i, ad it puts out. I ecourage you to stay active, share your talet, ad help sustai PLA s eergy. The stregth of PLA is i the diversity of members who share varied perspectives ad viewpoits. I hope to hear how you ca make a differece. Thak you! Luis Herrera, Pasadea Public Library, 285 E. Walut St., Pasadea CA ; lherrera@ci.pasadea.ca.us 2004 Jauary 9 14 ALA Midwiter Meetig Sa Diego, Calif. February PLA 2004 Natioal Coferece Seattle Jue ALA Aual Coferece Orlado, Fl. 275

10 EDITOR S NOTE cotiued from page 274 We referece librarias (all wome, i my dream) were decked out i sort of 1950s waitress outfits, chewig gum, pecil behid our ears, etc. (I m surprised we were t o roller skates!) We took book orders from the patros, fetched the books, ad geerally waited tables (I do t thik I got ay tips). (Marla Wilckes, Great Falls [Mot.] Public Library) The large public library I was workig i had a domed readig room, similar to the oe i the old British Library, built i the mid- to late 1800s. The library was i the process of reovatig the dome, a project spaig several years. The two dreams I have about it are: the domed readig room opes to the public after the reovatios ad all the staff are arraged aroud the room i dioramas, complete with period costumes. The secod oe is the library decides to ope a fruit ad vegetable market i the dome, ad oe of the more gregarious staff is forced to wear a old-fashioed grocers outfit to serve ad etertai the customers. (Rachel Johso, State Library of Victoria, Australia) Recetly I had a dream that our referece desk was i WalMart. We were located betwee the sack bar ad the checkout couters, ad we stayed very busy. The worst part was dodgig shoppig carts to get to the referece books. (Darlee M. Smithwick, Roaoke [Va.] Couty Public Library) Before I started my first professioal positio, I dreamed that the library soo to be my employer did ot use Dewey, but classified all of their books as Odds or Eves, ad I had As I reach for the book o the shelf, it disappears i frot of my eyes. o idea which was which. It was quite terrifyig. I also discovered that half of their collectio was i Frech equally terrifyig. (Deb Messlig, formerly of the Easter Moroe Public Library, Stroudsburg, Pa.) I have this recurrig dream that my library is this great maze of a buildig ad I keep fidig strage rooms full of forgotte treasures. (Susa F. Thompso, Two Harbors [Mi.] Public Library) I dream I m the first libraria/rock star/astroaut! (Susa T. Byra, East Mississippi Regioal Library, Quitma) A few people reported dreamig about livig i the library: I have a recurrig dream (ightmare, really) that my library is also my livig space, ad try as I might, I ca t lock the doors at ight ad the public keeps comig i, waderig aroud, expectig assistace... [I ve also had] oe or two [dreams] about havig huge, sophisticated computers, like electro microscopes, but they wo t work right. Aother oe is that the circ desk is way too high to work at comfortably. (Gloria Goverma, Tow of Pelham [N.Y.] Public Library) [Oe of my favorite recurrig dreams is] the goe-to-themattresses dream, where all the library staff have moved ito the library to live ad our little cots are lied up eatly i the bookstacks. (Caroly Scheer, Sceic Regioal Library, Uio, Mo.) Several library dreams adapted commo dream themes to the library eviromet. For example, Laura Hibbets McCaffery of the Alle Couty Public Library i Fort Waye, Idiaa, recouted dreamig that she was tryig to use a rotary phoe to dial a umber to get out of the library because of some kid of emergecy ad the phoe wo t work properly. Wheever I try to dial, the phoe keeps misdialig or slips, ad I caot complete the umber. I have frequetly had this type of dream i a olibrary settig, as, I imagie, have may others. Julie Bauer of the Westo (Mass.) Public Library describes regularly havig dreams with some variat of the stuck-imolasses theme. I these dreams, I am tryig to help a patro with a simple request but ca t seem to do it. I get distracted or begi repeatig steps over ad over meawhile, other situatios are escalatig, from lies buildig up to the library catchig o fire! Other stuck-i-molasses dreams iclude: The crowd is here, but the speaker is t. I am tryig to get a poster ready, ad the letters keep rearragig themselves o the posterboard, etc. (Hillary Theyer, Torrace [Calif.] Public Library) [I am] leadig a patro to umerous books o a certai subject. As I reach for the book o the shelf, it disappears i frot of my eyes. Of course, this cotiues as I go dow the list of titles I m searchig for... (Allyso O Brie, the Sa Diego Couty Library Vista) I am workig i the telephoe referece ceter ad either the phoe keeps rigig ad I ca t make it stop or the questio keeps chagig before I ca eve aswer what I thought the questio was. (Joh Larso, St. Paul [Mi.] Public Library) Several librarias reported library versios of commo school dreams. As Susa B. Hagloch of the Tuscarawas Couty Public Library i Ohio reports, I dream that my high school belatedly discovers that I did t get eough credits to graduate, after all. Cosequetly, both my BA ad my MLS are ivalid ad oe of my years are credited towards retiremet! Whe Adrea Johso of the Cook Memorial Public Library i Libertyville, Illiois, was i library school ad for a couple of years afterwards, she would dream that she had a fial exam comig up ad realize that she had t ever bee to the class. Jeifer Wells of Cobb Couty (Ga.) Public Library has a programmig versio of this dream: I always have programmig dreams where I m stadig i frot of a large group of preschoolers ad I am completely uprepared. It s a awful feelig. Surprisigly, oly oe perso reported a aked dream, ad it was t eve her ow: A colleague told me about a recet dream i which she had forgotte to put o her skirt, ad so could ot come out 276

11 from behid the referece desk. I the dream, she had to keep makig excuses to patros ad other staff because she was too embarrassed to admit she was t dressed. (Julie Bauer, Westo [Mass.] Public Library) Several people dreamed about the library beig ope at ight: The library is ope, it is early eveig, ad I realize that I have ot tured o the lights (the buildig is lit by atural light durig the day). People are workig i the dark! I scurry to tur o the lights, which take several miutes to come up fully. (Bruce Brigell, Skokie [Ill.] Public Library) I usually dream our library is ope all ight, that it is close to midight, ad we are still packed. I got to my assiged desk, ad there is obody else able to help me, ad patros are lied up. I screwed up the schedule agai. The computer does t work, at least, ot the same way twice... the software keeps chagig ad doig strage thigs, ad typig is very difficult. The patros get aoyed. (Gerry Vogel, Dayto [Ohio] Metro Library) By far the most commo for me is a dream i which our basemet-level staff-oly area has bee coverted to a allight shelter. It is complete with glarig fluorescet lights, a loud TV mouted o a platform ear the ceilig, ad rows of hard molded plastic chairs i red ad orage. It resembles the bus statio waitig rooms I ve see. Always, there is a ma with a cap i his had sittig there, seemig to watch TV. The worst part of the dream is that my departmet (referece) has bee assiged the job of staffig ad moitorig the area all ight log, ad I seem to be the oly oe who really eds up workig there. (Beverly Mauel Pardue, Lawrece [Kas.] Public Library) A umber of librarias reported havig dreams about arguig with their director or supervisor. There did t seem to be ay direct correlatio betwee havig these types of dreams ad gettig alog with the supervisor i real life. Several people dreamed about problem patros: The irate patro who just swears that s/he retured that book several days ago, that the library s overdue records must be wrog, ad that icompetet librarias failed to check the book i. You callig me a liar??? The patro comes back a hour later ad isists upo takig you to the shelf where that book is sittig (bar code umber, accessio umber, etc., match). You see, I was right all alog ad you (ad your staff) are icompetet ad rude for questioig my word.... A library director ightmare ad a library ightmare that has sometimes come true is the chroically irate patro or hostile former staff member who becomes appoited or elected to your board of trustees with gettig eve at the top of his/her ageda. (James B. Casey, Oak Law [Ill.] Public Library) May libraries put those stubby little eraserless golf pecils everywhere for patros to use.... I dreamed that someoe was sittig at a PC, opeed a desk drawer uder the computer, ad bega grabbig hadful after hadful of golf pecils ad throwig them backwards, over their shoulders. This happeed whe I was workig i a public library where we were dealig with some major patro behavior problems, so it made perfect sese to me. (Deborah L. Bagg, Woodiville [Wash.] Library, Kig Couty Library System) Mostly, [my dreams] are about very badly misbehavig patros, oes I am swearig at ad physically shovig out of my sectio mostly kids throwig balls aroud. (Gerry Vogel, Dayto [Ohio] Metro Library) The most commo recurrig library dream also ivolves problem patros. More tha oe-third of respodets reported dreamig some variatio of what Deborah L. Bagg of the Woodiville Library i Washigto describes as follows: It s closig time... ad o matter how may closig aoucemets I make, people wo t leave. I some cases, people keep... the police are called, they arrive with a boom box, ad the the party starts to get really serious! comig i, eve though the library is closed. Judy Duer of the Temple Public Library i Texas dreams that she s herdig patros out the frot door ad they re streamig i the back (of course, we do t really have a back door). I Cidy Hayes s (Jefferso Couty [Mo.] Library System) versio of this dream, the police are called, they arrive with a boom box, ad the the party starts to get really serious! Ofte librarias are aloe i this sceario, ad frequetly the patros remai several hours after the library has closed, sometimes util the middle of the ight. Sometimes patros are belligeret, ad other times they re docile. Sometimes librarias resort to stadig o tables ad shoutig, but o matter what they do, the patros refuse to leave. I m sure that we ve all had experieces that are similar to this i real life. I ca t help but woder if our library dreams might be helpig us to work out tesios i the workplace. My favorite library dream was reported secodhad by Kathry Ames of Athes Regioal Library System i Georgia: Oe of my staff members regularly has dreams about grat applicatios. They are so vivid ad descriptive that she ow keeps a pad of paper ad a pe at the bedside so that she ca capture the images. Ad it works! We ve bee very successful i obtaiig grats. By the way, she is also a author ad does the same thig for the books she writes. So I m oly gettig a 50 percet retur o her dreamig! Thaks to all who shared their library dreams with me. I wish you all sweet dreams! Writte Jue Cotact the feature editor at 248A N. Higgis Ave. #145, Missoula, MT 59802; publiclibraries@aol.com. 277

12 Cotet Maagemet ad Library Web Sites Edwi S. Clay III CM is the process behid matchig what you have to what they wat, says iformatio professioal Bob Boiko of cotet maagemet (CM), a e-commerce buzzword that is ow popular amog library professioals as well. 1 Writig i the Bulleti of the America Society for Iformatio Sciece, Boiko, the CEO of a Seattle-based cosultig firm, defies cotet maagemet as a overall process for collectig, maagig, ad publishig cotet to ay outlet. 2 What library professioals eed to uderstad, though, is how the cotet we maage i our istitutios is uique. Because much of the cotet we maage is ot produced from withi our istitutios, it is utidy ad difficult to maage ad tame. Maagemet of iformatio cotet, kowledge, records, et cetera is ot eat. It is messy ad upredictable. It is ideed too fragmeted, but that is because we make it so. Applyig workable priciples of cotet maagemet ca make a differece. Maagig iformatio well is vital a activity essetial to the operatio of our istitutios, busiesses, ad the maiteace of our society. Ca iformatio professioals quatify the iformatio they maage? May outside the library professio will aswer yes. But, speakig for librarias, I have to say o. I am ot able to quatify the cotet I eed to maage. If I were, I would ot be doig a good job of ruig a public library. The breadth of cotet our users wat is ot ofte quatifiable. I am able to ivetory the umber of books, microfilms, microforms, cassettes, ad other materials our library system ows. I ca tell you the holdigs of each of our twety-oe braches. I report such umbers aually i my report to the Library of Virgiia. I also report them whe we file for our aual isurace reewal. But is this ivetory the same as cotet maagemet? No. My take is that the library itself is i essece a exercise i cotet maagemet. But its cotet differs from the fairly eat parameters that most iformatio professioals describe. Libraries are uique i the area of iformatio or cotet maagemet. Most of the iformatio we must maage is created outside of our orgaizatios. We secure it from idividuals, istitutios, ad other sources that have o coectio whatsoever with the library. We produce very little iformatio iterally, ad oly a small percetage of that iformatio requires maagemet. Most of the iformatio we must maage i public libraries is variable. It has a fiite life spa. Our e-books are curret for about sevetee miutes. The average life of a bibliographic item is usually five years. Niety percet of the books that circulate each year i most public libraries have bee published withi the past four years. Fially, iformatio i libraries comes i may formats. Each format presets iterestig issues ad challeges to its maagemet ad access provisio. Libraries used to ow just books. The libraries added audiovisual material. Next, we added kits, ad the we moved o to recorded books, books o CD, e-books. You ame it! It is through the selectio process that libraries orgaize cotet, subsequetly creatig systems to access what has bee selected. We arrage ad maage their physical cotet usually by employig oe of two primary classificatio systems: Dewey Decimal ad the Library of Cogress (LC). The former is based o the orgaizatio of kowledge ad the latter o the orgaizatio of a existig cotet or body of iformatio. The first is a ope system; the secod, a closed system. The ature ad purpose of a particular library determies the classificatio schema selected. (A caveat: there are ideed other orgaizatio systems i place i libraries, but geerally speakig, Dewey ad LC have become the idustry stadard for public ad academic libraries. Special libraries ofte have systems germae oly to the maer i which they are utilized. The specialized ature of the cotet requires a collectio-specific schema.) Earlier, I argued that the bulk of the cotet a library eeds to maage is produced exterally. That is true, but there are some exceptios. As a fuctio of our operatioal processes ad requiremets, we do produce cotet. For patro support, there are bibliographic records, bibliographies, user guides, et cetera. For staff support, there are borrower records, procedural ad admiistrative guidelies, policy mauals, ad more. CM i the Virtual Sphere However, the growth area i CM is i the virtual sphere the developmet, care, feedig, maiteace, ad updatig of Web resources. It is i this area that cotet maagemet is most required. Iformatio maagemet o the Web actually straddles two areas: taxoomy developmet the orgaizatio ad desig of a Web resource ad Web cotet maagemet. Web sites are becomig more ad more importat as the face of the library to hudreds of thousads, if ot millios, of real ad potetial users. They are vehicles that permit commuicatio with customers ad allow customers to parter with the library i maitaiig their ow accouts, as well as i may other iteractive tasks. The developmet of the taxoomic structure ad the subsequet developmet of cotet have become a major orgaizatioal fuctio. Web cotet quickly grows stale ad out-of-date. Maagemet requires users across the orgaizatio to easily add or modify cotet as required. A mechaism must be developed to traslate library evets, happeigs, policies, ad other activities to the library Web site. Policies have to be developed for likig to exteral sites what do you look for i choosig sites? Questios to ask might iclude: What is the source? Who is providig the iformatio? Is it commercial? Is it curret? 278

13 Is the purpose ad target audiece for the iformatio clearly idetified? Are there liks to other reputable sites? Do all the features ad liks to other sites work? There are ay umber of Web-based cotet maagemet systems. Accordig to Yuhfe Diaa Wu ad Megxiog Liu: Web cotet maagemet procedures eable the desig, authorig, review, approval, coversio, storage, testig, ad deploymet of all Web site cotet... [Cotet maagemet] has bee used i the e-commerce world, yet as libraries are beig digitized ad patro demad is growig, this cocept has bee adapted to the library world. 3 Wu ad Liu cotiue by explaiig that as more ad more libraries develop virtual referece services, cotet maagemet will provide the real-time iterface with patros. 4 So, what are the elemets of a successful cotet maagemet system? Agai, accordig to Liu ad Wu, critical parts of ay cotet maagemet system iclude: admiistratio tools that support a simple iterface ad permit both automatic ad maual cotet cotrol; authorig that allows simple coversio from differet platforms ad easy template creatio; publishig support, icludig a i-house server as well as others i multiple laguages ad other platforms; ecryptio that prevets uauthorized cotet chage or attacks by hackers; scalability that allows support for future expasio without major hardware or software demads; ad workflow that provides for various tasks, icludig evet aoucemets, log statistics, alarm/alert of upcomig evets, ew cotet, ad icomig s i a virtual referece eviromet. 5 Cotet maagemet requires librarias to act as itermediaries. The days of iformatio o our shelves speakig for itself are over if they ever existed, 6 said Hope Tillma, presidet of the Special Libraries Associatio, at the 2001 Iteret Libraria Coferece. As cotet maagers, we ca retai library fudametals such as commuicatio, catalogig, ad the evaluatio of cotet s quality, electroic ad otherwise but we eed to embrace systems that ackowledge the flexibility of the iformatio we maage. Edwi S. Clay III is Library Director of the Fairfax Couty (Va.) Public Library ad a faculty associate ad lecturer at the School of Library ad Iformatio Sciece at the Catholic Uiversity of America; eclay0@fairfaxcouty.gov. Patricia Bags, Staff Writer i the Fairfax Couty Public Library Public Iformatio Office, assisted i the preparatio of this article; patricia.bags@ fairfaxcouty.gov. This article was excerpted from a address made by Edwi S. Clay III at the pael discussio Sortig Out the Ms: What are CM, DM, IM, KM ad RM? sposored by the Norther Virgiia Chapter of the Associatio for Iformatio Maagemet Professioals, May Refereces 1. Bob Boiko, Uderstadig Cotet Maagemet, Bulleti of the America Society of Iformatio Sciece 28, o.1 (Oct./Nov. 2001): Ibid, Yuhfe Diaa Wu ad Megxiog Liu, Cotet Maagemet ad the Future of Academic Libraries, The Electroic Library 19, o. 6 (2001): Ibid, Ibid, Elizabeth Witer, New Laws, New Tools, New Needs: Makig Sese of Thigs at IL 2001, Computers i Libraries 22, o. 1 (Ja. 2002): 10. Filters A Checklist for Product Selectio Sara Weissma If you are cosiderig istallig filterig products i respose to the recet CIPA decisio, the questios i the followig checklist should help provide guidace. Because filters are both techological tools ad itellectual screes, selectio depeds o a variety of factors: Will you be istallig filters o a server or o idividual PCs? What are the terms of licesig? What is the availability for istallatio: Olie? CD-ROM? How easy is the product to istall ad update? Does the vedor publish a block list? How updated ad how ofte? Ca you adjust or amed the block list? Are there levels of blockig from which you ca select? Does the product track sites visited? Is ay log cosistet with your patro privacy policy? Does the vedor report to you the sites that your patros visited? Does the vedor sell that iformatio to third parties? How easy is the filter to tur o ad off? Does the filter work with ay security you ve already istalled o your machies (IKiosk, Deep Freeze, etc.)? Ask vedors for the ames of other libraries usig the product. Cotact the librarias ad ask about their experieces with the software. Check PubLib-L (plib2@susite.berkeley.edu) ad its archives ( to see what other libraries are doig, what works, ad what does t. Sara Weissma is a Referece Libraria at the Morris Couty (N.J.) Library ad a comoderator of the PUBLIB electroic discussio list. weissma@apollo.gti.et 279

14 Deistitutioalizatio of People with Metal Illess Challeges ad Solutios for Libraries Gwe Collier Are you challeged with providig services to patros who have metal disabilities? I work at a large public library whose cetral locatio is less tha two miles away from three shelters ad a hospital that provides outpatiet psychiatric care. Not all idividuals with metal illess are homeless or i commuity resideces, but some of them are, ad I thik that this is oe reaso that my library patros iclude those with metal disabilities. A estimated 22 percet of Americas ages eightee ad older about oe i five adults suffer from a diagosable metal disorder i a give year. 1 Durig the past thirty years, the tred i metal health care has shifted toward deistitutioalizatio, the chage i the locatio ad focus of care from a istitutioal to a commuity settig. 2 Idividuals with metal disorders are commo i my library because some eed heat, air coditioig, shelter, ad rest rooms, while others eed iformatio. Sometimes these patros frighte me, but I kow that they deserve the same level of customer service as all other patros. We should t assume that all idividuals with metal disorders are the same. Followig is practical iformatio for providig library service to patros with psychiatric illesses. First, I will discuss three metal illesses ad the I will offer solutios for servig these idividuals. Three Commo Metal Illesses As librarias we are t qualified to diagose metal illess, but we do eed to recogize the symptoms typical of such illesses. We offer accommodatios for people with physical disabilities; we eed the same level of awareess that will help us offer accommodatios to patros with psychiatric disabilities. Some patros i my library have demostrated symptoms cosistet with Tourette s sydrome, bipolar disorder, ad schizophreia. Tourette s sydrome is characterized by vocal ad motor tics. You ca recogize Tourette s by vocalizatios that are somewhat socially offesive, loud grutig or barkig oises, or shouted words. The words are sometimes obsceities. People with Tourette s are aware that they are producig the tic, but they ca t cotrol it. Motor tics ca iclude actios such as togue protrusios or oddig. 3 Bipolar disorder is a mood disorder characterized by maia aloe or i combiatio with depressio. People who are maic ca be recogized because they ted to talk excessively ad to maifest pressured speech. Thus, they aswer questios at great legth, cotiue to talk eve whe iterrupted, ad sometimes talk whe o oe is listeig. Idividuals who are maic typically exhibit iflated self-esteem ad gradiosity. Their mood is ofte cheerful, ethusiastic, ad expasive; however, whe the mood is irritable, these patros ca be difficult to maage. 4 Schizophreia is a disease characterized by a broad rage of metal symptoms. Characteristic symptoms iclude two or more of the followig, each preset for a sigificat portio of time: delusios, halluciatios, disorgaized speech, catatoic behavior, ad sigificat social or occupatioal dysfuctio. 5 Tips for Providig Service Whe patros exhibit ay of the previously metioed symptoms, here are some tips for providig service: 1. Do t take the patro s behavior persoally. Some patros with metal illesses begi the referece iterview with a level head ad clear focus, but they chage abruptly. For example, a patro who has Tourette s sydrome may blurt out obsceities, but these are ot directed at the libraria ad should ot be take persoally. 2. Do t assume idividuals with a metal illess are violet. Researchers at Columbia Uiversity ad Idiaa Uiversity have determied that although may Americas have a sophisticated uderstadig of metal illess ad its cause, a majority still believe that certai behavioral disorder will likely lead to violece. 6 Idividuals with metal disorders who are psychotic or substace abusers have a greater potetial for beig a threat to themselves or others, but overall less tha 10 percet of serious violece was attributable to psychosis Do t try to reaso whe a patro is belligeret. Follow the library policy for disruptive behavior. If a patro is belligeret at my library, I pick up the telephoe ad call for security. 4. Do t iterrupt a patro who is talkig to himself. A patro who is seeig thigs that are ot there (halluciatig) or is believig i thigs that are ot real (delusioal) may ot hear your voice. You may eed to repeat yourself or wait util the patro stops respodig to halluciatios. 5. If a patro looks stressed, askig them how they are doig is both courteous ad appropriate. But patros who are psychotic may also be i deial. Whe a patro becomes disorieted, protect yourself by maitaiig your persoal space ad time limitatios. 6. Do moitor your rest rooms. If there is reaso to suspect that the bathroom is beig used for iappropriate behavior, the moitor use by sedig a staff perso ito the rest rooms to check o a regular basis. 280

15 7. Do ask for help if you eed it. Providig good customer service to patros with metal disabilities is challegig for both vetera ad ovice librarias. If this is a ew populatio for you, ask for traiig at your library. 8. Do treat the patro with respect. Some patros with metal illesses have multiple challeges: homelessess, illiteracy, substace abuse, or eve all of the above. If it s difficult to respect the idividual, respect the patro relatioship: maitai eye cotact, use ojudgmetal body laguage, ad avoid talkig about patros with metal disabilities i public. 9. Do stay abreast of metal health issues. Visit the Natioal Istitute of Metal Health s Web site, Cotact local metal health associatios ad request free brochures ad hadouts for the staff. 10. Do maitai a sese of humor. Metal disabilities are ot fuy, but patros with metal illess ca share clever bits of iformatio about their world durig the referece iterview. If you ca t figure it all out, fid a way to lighte up after the iterview. Ask your coworker or supervisor if you ca take a five-miute break. The take it. Deistitutioalizatio meas that patros with metal disabilities who visit our libraries come from throughout the commuity. They live i shelters, commuity resideces, ad their ow homes; they may teach our childre, take care of our parets, ad ru our govermet. These patros have the same eed to use library services as ay other patro, so we should avoid beig discrimiatory i our level of customer service. Yet, patros with metal illesses ca be challeges for public libraries. Librarias should assess the skills they have for servig these patros ad request traiig o metal disabilities if eeded. Cosider cotactig metal health professioals to schedule i-services for all library staff. Gwe Collier is a Libraria i the Urba Services Divisio at Buffalo ad Erie Couty (N.Y.) Public Library; collielib@ yahoo.com. Refereces 1. D. A. Regier et al., The de Facto Metal ad Addictive Disorders Service System: Epidemiologic Catchmet Area Prospective Oe- Year Prevalece Rates of Disorders ad Services, Archives of Geeral Psychiatry 50, o. 2 (Feb. 1993): Mosby s Medical, Nursig, ad Allied Health Dictioary, 5th ed. (St. Louis, Mo.: Mosby, 1998): 269B. 3. Nacy C. Adreaso ad Doald Black, Itroductory Textbook of Psychiatry (Washigto, D.C.: America Psychiatric Publishig, 2001), Ibid., Ibid., Survey Shows That Public Liks Metal Illess, Violece, Metal Health Weekly (Sept. 6, 1999): Rise i Violece Is Not a Result i Metal Illess, GP (Sept. 9, 2002): 9. READERS RESPOND cotiued from page 272 Support is a big barrier to writig i the public library eviromet, ad maybe public libraries just do t kow how to give it. Uless the public library is research-orieted, it seems that the staff is ot expected to kow how, or are they give the tools, to coduct ad write the reports of research, or aythig else for that matter, if just a writte arrative report of ay library trip a staff member took. A big part of the problem is failure to ecourage frot-lie staff to read library literature ad care or kow about library issues. The Public Libraries veue is so importat, ad the award is a stroke of geius. Your suggestig parterig with academics is a good ivitatio to try. But I thik this will cotiue to be a problem util writig by staff is ecouraged ad urtured by public libraries themselves. Thaks for your colum. Keep it up. Elizabeth Daley, Referece Libraria, Arkasas State Library Collaboratio, Guidace, ad Trust i Childre s Services It was with great excitemet that I read Elizabeth Daley s article The Public Childre s Libraria as Educator i the March/April issue. I have bee studyig the work of the educators of Reggio Emilia (a costructivist school i Italy) for almost two years ad have trasformed my ow practice (ad life) to reflect my ogoig dialogue with the forty years of experiece reflected i this sociocostructivist approach. The elemets Daley speaks so strogly of i relatio to referece work collaboratio, guidace, ad trust have a equally strog impact o the childre s room eviromet ad i programmig for all ages. I March I was fortuate eough to be part of the U.S. delegatio to Reggio ad to study there with other America educators ad the teachers ad families of the muicipal workig with childre as a colearer ad collaborator ifat-toddler ad preschools. I additio, I am a cofacilitator of the Akro Reggio Study Group, a state- ad grat-fuded iitiative. Because the 100 Laguages Exhibit from Reggio has bee i Ohio for almost two years, I have also had the opportuity to speak widely i our area to both teachers ad librarias about the appropriateess of a costructivist approach. I have had a growig sese as I talk with librarias that it is this approach to workig with childre workig as colearer ad collaborator that they have bee searchig for but could ot articulate the eed for or fid, util ow. Barb White, Childre s Services Libraria ad Brach Maager, West Hill Brach Library, Akro-Summit Couty (Ohio) Public Library 281

16 Lewis ad Clark Expeditio Exhibit at the Library of Cogress Like so may other exploratio stories, the Lewis ad Clark jourey was shaped by the search for avigable rivers, ispired by the quest for Ede, ad drive by competitio for empire. Thomas Jefferso was motivated by these aspiratios whe he drafted istructios sedig the Corps of Discovery up the Missouri River i search of a passage to the Pacific. The Library of Cogress exhibitio Rivers, Edes, Empires: Lewis ad Clark ad the Revealig of America, which opeed i late July 2003, presets a cetury of exploratio that features the expeditio of the Corps of Discovery as the culmiatig momet i the quest to coect North America by meas of a waterway passage. The Library of Cogress is the home of William Clark s maps, icludig the 1803 aotated map that the Corps of Discovery took o their jourey. The library is also the repository for Thomas Jefferso s papers ad holds importat documetatio about his edurig iterest i explorig that portio of North America, icludig his istructios to Meriwether Lewis for the jourey, his secret message to Cogress requestig fudig for the expeditio, ad his speech to Idia chiefs o their historic visit to Washigto, D.C., i Jauary Not oly is the library rich i material related to Lewis ad Clark, it also holds impressive collectios from other importat expeditios, icludig those led by Zebulo Pike, Stephe Log, Charles Wilkes, ad Joh Frémot. Those expeditios ad others are explored i the exhibitio ad place the remarkable trek made by the Corps of Discovery i the broad cotext of a cetury of exploratio of the North America cotiet. Visit lewisadclark for more iformatio. Operatio Home Frot Operatio Home Frot foud a home at the Cumberlad Couty (N.C.) Public Library ad Iformatio Ceter. The commuitywide program offers a dedicated phoe lie to assist the families of deployed military members. Program voluteers staff the phoes, with back-up provided by the library s referece ad iformatio staff. Operatio Home Frot expresses the commuity s Tales from the Frot is a collectio of ews items ad iovative ideas from libraries atiowide. Sed submissios to the cotributig editor, Jeifer T. Ries-Taggart, Libraria, MCLS Office, Cetral Library of Rochester ad Moroe Couty, 115 South Ave., Rochester, NY 14604; jtaggart@ mcls.rochester.lib.y.us. support for deployed soldiers ad airme by haressig the commuity s carig ature. The program coects families of deployed military members who eed assistace with commuity members who ca help. Available services iclude auto repair, roof repair, law care, yard work, foster care for pets, ad babysittig services. Program participats iclude idividuals, military, oprofits, busiesses, public sector ad other etities that wish to help. The program is made possible through commuitywide, ikid cotributios. For more iformatio about the program, call (910) 323-CARE (2273) or visit Firstfid.ifo a Great Fid A groudbreakig project that demostrates how public libraries ad librarias ca close the digital divide for the diverse rage of users i their commuities was uveiled at the Quees Borough (N.Y.) Public Library s Cetral Library. The foudatio for this project is a virtual library of more tha 650 aotated Web sites accessible to the estimated 90 millio America adults with limited literacy skills. I 2001 the Westchester Library System, i partership with the Brookly Public Library, the New York Public Library, the Quees Borough Public Library, ad ALA s Office for Literacy ad Outreach Services, received a grat from the New York State Library to develop a Web product desiged for adults with low literacy skills. The result firstfid.ifo provides access to readable ad relevat iformatio that helps adults locate sources to assist them as parets, workers, ad citizes. These tools iclude: how to fid health isurace for your family, takig ad passig the GED, fidig a ESL class, how to become a U.S. citize, choosig the right home computer, ad much more. Respose has bee very positive, ad the Literacy Iformatio ad Commuicatio System of the Natioal Istitute for Literacy has recogized firstfid.ifo as a outstadig Web site. The project cofirms how iformatio techology ca reflect librarias professioal skill i idetifyig ad orgaizig resources that beefit users. For more iformatio, please cotact Robi Osbore at (914) or rosebore@wismail.org. New York Olie Performer Database Are you lookig for a preseter or performer for a program at your library? The you will wat to kow about a ew regioal olie performer database, available at performersadprograms.com. The database was created i collaboratio with the Mohawk Valley, Upper Hudso, ad Souther Adirodack library systems i New York as part of Families Read, a federally fuded Library Services ad Techology Act grat. The easy-to-use database is searchable by category icludig aimals, authors, clowig, crafts, dace, history, life skills, literature, magic, media, museums, music, puppetry, sciece, sports, storytellig, theater, ad more. Name ad keyword searchig are also available. Advaced searchig lets the viewer see all performers i a certai price rage, by audiece level, performace ame ad more. You ll fid performers have added (ad are cotiuig to add) a variety of programs. Each program descriptio details the audiece level, group size, program legth, previous 282

17 library appearaces (i case you wat to check how the program wet at aother library), space ad special requiremets, travel restrictios, program fee, mileage fee, special otes about the program, ad cotact iformatio. I may cases performers have provided addresses ad the URLs to their persoal Web sites. The performer database serves public libraries i the te couties of Albay, Fulto, Hamilto, Resselaer, Motgomery, Saratoga, Scheectady, Schoharie, Warre, ad Washigto. It is supported i part by Federal Library Services ad Techology Act fuds, awarded to the New York State Library by the Federal Istitute of Museum ad Library Services. Iteret Lik for Laptops Sewickley (Pa.) Public Library patros who wat to surf the Iteret have a BYOL optio brig your ow laptop. The library is the first i the regio to offer its patros free Iteret access for use with their ow computers. Both wired ad wireless coectios are offered because someoe might ot have the capability for wireless if their computer is more tha oe or two years old, says Caroly Toth, library director. The service, a collaboratio betwee the library ad the Quaker Valley School District, is paid for with fuds from the district s digital school district grat. The primary purpose is to provide a wireless Iteret coectio i the library for Quaker Valley studets, who were issued laptop computers as part of the grat. Library staff will track how may patros use the service ad how may use the library-owed desktop computers. Toth says the service might reduce the user load o library-owed desktops, otig that the library is ruig out of space for them. That certaily would take some burde off the library if someoe wated to brig his ow laptop, Toth otes. Visit ei/sewickley for more iformatio. Source: Library Admiistrator s Digest, November 2002 James Earl Joes Helps Library Uveil Iformatio Statio at Wal-Mart Actor James Earl Joes recetly helped the Lexigto (Ky.) Public Library uveil a ew Eglish- ad Spaish-laguage computer kiosk at the Northside Wal-Mart. The kiosk called the Iformatio Statio/ Estacio de Iformacio provides the public with access to biligual iformatio From left, Lexigto Public Library Director Roald P. Steeslad, Library Foudatio Executive Director Pey Reeves, ad James Earl Joes o commuity agecies, health topics, job searchig, ad library resources. The kiosk was fuded with a $50,000 grat from Verizo SuperPages. By itself, this machie is little more tha plastic, a keyboard, silico chips, ad a scree. But oce you click o, this machie comes to life, ad it brigs the world ad the World Wide Web, to be exact to your figertips. With the Iteret comes opportuity, ad that is excitig, Joes said. Joes helped the library uveil the kiosk i his role as spokesma for Verizo. The Iformatio Statio was desiged to bridge the iformatio gap for Fayette Couty residets who do ot have ready access to computers. It will reside i the Northside Wal-Mart, which draws about 40,000 shoppers per week, about 40 percet of whom are Hispaic. Today, most homes i Ketucky do ot have Iteret access, ad fully half of these homes do ot have computers, said James Lee, presidet of the Lexigto Public Library Board of Trustees. The Lexigto Public Library is workig to overcome the iformatio gap by providig computers for the public at all our locatios ad by offerig free computer classes. This kiosk project goes a step further by literally takig computers ad library iformatio to the people where they are. For more iformatio, cotact Doug Tattershall, Marketig Departmet, at (859) Library Voluteer Workshop The Associatio for Voluteer Admiistratio (AVA) ivites you to a oe-day workshop, Buildig Library Voluteer Resources: Successful Approaches for Excellet Service. The workshop will be held October 15, 2003, at the Public Library of Ciciati ad Hamilto Couty, Ciciati. The cost is $25, which icludes luch ad materials. Natioally recogized library voluteerism experts will share strategies ad techiques for highly effective library voluteer programs, usig real life examples ad models. Staff from all types of libraries will etwork, share isights, ad explore ways to build voluteer ivolvemet. The workshop is a precoferece sessio of the Iteratioal Coferece for Voluteer Admiistratio, hosted by AVA, i Ciciati, October 15 18, Cosider registerig for the full coferece, which provides excellet professioal voluteer maagemet traiig ad a opportuity to meet voluteer admiistrators from may fields. For iformatio cotact Mary Merrill at (614) , marymerrill@merrillassociates.et, or Georgea Johso Coffey at (260) , georgeajc@aol.com. 283

18 upgrades ca oly be postpoed so log. Staff beefits particularly health isurace ad pesios icrease as library workers get grayer. Olie resources are woderful ad expesive. Will reducig hours call patros to actio o our behalf, or will they just get agry? Here are three library directors perspectives o the 2003 fudig crisis. The Public Library Fudig Cruch A Deceial Evet? Na Blaie Hilyard America s libraries are i a state of fiacial crisis, bega the fact sheet from ALA s Public Iformatio Office: Severe budget cuts resultig from a sluggish ecoomy ad decreased public fudig have forced may libraries to shorte hours, freeze ew book acquisitios, lay off staff, ad cacel special services such as storyhours, bookmobiles, ad adult literacy classes. Some libraries have eve had to close. The cutbacks are the worst sice the Great Depressio, whe o libraries are kow to have closed their doors.... No type or size of library is immue. 1 Today s headlie? Look agai: the release date is sprig Durig those dark times, ALA s public relatios efforts brought icreased attetio ot oly to library fudig but also to library services. The ALA Speakers Bureau ad the Library Advocacy Now campaigs traied librarias to be spokespersos, able to stad up ad speak out for libraries. We leared I 2003 librarias are agai faced with difficult fiacial choices. Techology upgrades ca oly be postpoed so log. Olie resources are woderful ad expesive. pithy factoids such as there are more libraries i the U.S. tha there are McDoalds ad federal fudig for libraries over twety-five years is less tha the cost of oe aircraft carrier. We survived the early years of that decade. By the ed of the 90s there was a library buildig boom. The Iteret had trasformed the way librarias ad patros accessed iformatio. Demad for library services collectios, programs, ad special services was up all across the couty. What goes aroud comes aroud. I 2003 librarias are agai faced with difficult fiacial choices. Techology Plaig Eases the Pai Ket Oliver, Director Stark Couty District Library, Cato, Ohio; koliver@starklibrary.org Like other Ohio public libraries, the Stark Couty District Library (SCLD) wet ito the 2003 budget process certai it would see reveue reductios for the secod year i a row. Durig the golde years of the late 1990s ito 2000, Ohio libraries saw a steady icrease i their operatig budgets due to the statewide fudig system based o icome tax receipts, the Library ad Local Govermet Support Fud (LLGSF). SCDL s portio of LLGSF, its primary form of reveue, which is 95 percet of total operatig reveue, dropped from $9,185,305 i 2001 to $8,479,000 i 2002 to a aticipated $8,300,000 i The savig grace durig these reveue reductios was that through the good years, SCDL developed a strog capital ad reserve fud. I 2002 the library bega to use this reserve to supplemet the operatig fud. Withi the developmet of the 2003 budget a decisio was reached by the board of trustees to allocate this reserve proportioally over a three-year cycle. This has allowed the library to develop flat budgets i 2002 ad ito 2003 although the library was i a egative reveue situatio. Durig early 2002 library staff braistormed o methods of creatig a savigs i the operatig budget. Facilitated meetigs were coducted i order to idetify cost-savigs areas. A emphasis was placed o the efficiecy of purchasig library materials. As a example, the library adopted a cetralized supply purchasig procedure for the etire system that cosists of te locatios, four mobile uits, ad a satellite collectio service. Throughout 2002 library staff developed guidelies for cetralized selectio of materials that was implemeted i Jauary As we viewed the comig reductios for the 2003 budget, the library admiistratio asked the board of trustees to adopt a philosophy toward budget developmet that could accommodate severe reductios. The library s operatig budget was viewed i four geeral areas: persoel expeditures, icludig salaries ad beefits; materials expeditures for books, olie services, ad other materials such as audiovisual; geeral operatig expeses, icludig such items as geeral supplies, leases, maiteace, utilities, ad commuicatios; ad capital-related expeditures for furiture, equipmet, ad techology. Withi these broad areas, the library s staff suggested to the board s fiace committee that several specific areas be 284

19 viewed as the priorities ad opportuities for refocusig the budget: Persoel. Develop a persoel budget that would maitai the existig workforce ad avoid layoffs. Maitai a traiig budget. Cotiue the review of positio opeigs, ad freeze ope positios whe possible. Techology. Protect the maiteace ad developmet of the library s computer techology ifrastructure, icludig its Dyix system. Ogoig maiteace. Support the library s capital ivestmet i facilities through a adequate maiteace program. Materials. Ivest i library materials at a lower level with the realizatio that budget has flexibility. It is a area where savigs ad strategic reductios eed to occur. Key to the persoel issue was the idea that strategic freezig of ope positios would cotiue to occur as idividual opeigs arose. I sprig 2002 the library idetified that the comig budget problems were ot short-term. This reductio i work force through attritio resulted i slightly reduced service hours i fall 2002 but o brach closigs. The library s admiistratio ad board adopted the philosophical approach that the staff is the greatest asset to the library ad its services. Not oly did we wish to protect the staff from layoffs, but it simply made sese. Highly traied staff members are worth their weight i gold to library service, ad they are ot easily replaced. To cotiue to have a highly traied staff we wated to avoid severely cuttig the traiig budget. As capital expeditures were reviewed, it was recogized that our Dyix system must be maitaied without iterruptio to ecessary upgrades. I the log ru a highly fuctioal etwork ad olie system would be cheaper to maitai tha oe that was allowed to fall behid i developmet. Catch-up is expesive, especially i developig Web site access ad services. Our system icludes two other area libraries ad seemed essetial to library service developmet i the regio. Collectio ad materials developmet saw the most drastic chages i our approach to budgetig. We decided that this area could tolerate reductios better tha other programs. I 2001 SCDL spet more tha $2 millio o collectios, which was 20 percet of the total operatig budget. The budget i 2003 is approximately $1.3 millio of a $9.3 millio budget (14 percet). A practical determiatio was made that i the log ru the library could absorb cuts i materials rather tha cuts to staffig. Iterlibrary loa could support these cuts util reveues rebouded. Iterally the library has reviewed its approach to materials holds ad policy settigs o the Dyix system to maximize materials use betwee locatios. I 2002 SCDL commeced its first comprehesive strategic plaig. Plaig was idetified as a key compoet to library operatios if we were to do more with less. Oe sigificat weakess idetified durig the process was the diversificatio of the library s reveue base. With the library depedig solely o LLGSF, it has foud itself totally at the whim of the state s legislative process ad ecoomic cycles. I additio to LLGSF, the library is seekig to establish a local operatig levy to supplemet operatig reveues ad capital expeditures. Approximately 25 percet of Ohio s public libraries have a local levy i additio to the state fudig. Additioally, while SCDL had sought the occasioal grat, it had ever established a aggressive grat-writig iitiative tied to plaig or capital programs. Fortuately the library has staff available to make this a reality. Oe of the greatest challeges the library has yet to meet i 2003 is the opeig of two larger replacemet braches due to be completed i the fall. A capital bod levy was passed i I the log ru a highly fuctioal etwork ad olie system would be cheaper to maitai tha oe that was allowed to fall behid i developmet. Catch-up is expesive, especially i developig Web site access ad services without the support of a defeated operatig levy. These ew buildigs are the tail ed of five years of buildig projects that essetially represet a partially fuded madate. It will be iterestig to see how we approach the staffig ad operatio of these ew locatios. Aother hurdle as we move forward is explaiig to our public how we ca afford to ope ew, larger facilities whe we actually have less operatig moey ad why we ow eed local levy fudig to cotiue future operatios. But that, as they say, is aother story. Hard Times for These Times Joh Richmod, Director Alpha Park Public Library District, Bartoville, Ill.; jrichmod@alphapark.org The Alpha Park Public Library District (APPLD) faces four easily idetifiable challeges i FY 2004: (1) the loss of almost $40,000 i Illiois corporate persoal property replacemet tax sice FY 2002; (2) abysmal iterest rates o ivestmets; (3) the reassessed (traslate: lowered) tax valuatio of a major idustry i the district, alog with devalued farm lad; ad (4) risig health isurace costs. Allowig for the idiosycrasies of Illiois replacemet taxes, the problems probably are ot ulike those facig may libraries. We also are faced with a great ukow: Will the state s miimum wage go up to $6.50 sometime i 2004? It is either promised or threateed, depedig upo oe s viewpoit, by our ew goveror. The iroy, of course, is that most of the librarias I kow, icludig me, are sympathetic to the poor ad dowtrodde, ad would like to see the miimum wage go up. Far too may people rely o it for icome to just label it a wage for teeagers. But whe oe s ow budget is cocered... sigh. As difficult as the decisio has bee, we have begu our summer Suday schedule oe moth early ad will remai closed o Sudays for the foreseeable future. Our summer Saturday schedule (9 A.M. 1 P.M., istead of 9 5) may be exteded util the first of October. (I feel like G/god, beig able to create ad ame the seasos!) Sice we will be ope six days per week istead of seve, we will cut back our cotracted 285

20 cleaig service to five days, which will save approximately $4,400 i the maiteace fud. Relyig as we do upo cotracted computer maiteace services, we have arraged with our provider to claim a differet techicia as our primary techie; he kows our system, but his hourly rate is less tha that of the ma who s bee our regular for several years. That drops computer maiteace by about $6,000. With o residet maiteace perso, ad high ceiligs, we pay a electricia electricia s rates better tha librarias rates, o doubt to chage light fixtures, ballasts, et cetera. The office maager is followig up o several recommedatios for good but less pricey electricias tha the oe we curretly use. The materials lies of the budget will take hits. (Is ayoe surprised?) Because of our district status ad our levyig powers, we have may ad varied fuds, but it is the geeral fud, from which materials are purchased, that will feel the most itese pai. Curretly we sped betwee 14 ad 15 percet of the budget o materials; that will drop to less tha 11 percet. I dollar amouts, we ll pluge from $97,500 to about $75,000. Other tha all of the above, it s pare to the boe, ad require staff to pay 5 percet more toward their health isurace premiums. We re keepig staff isurace cotributios as modest as possible, sice the raises that we ca offer ext year will ot be stellar. O the reveue side, we are raisig certai fies ad fees, which may offed those who are philosophically opposed to charges for aythig i a public library. However, they do ot offed either the library board or me, ad our plas are ot dracoia. I have proposed to the board that we udertake a emergecy appeal, via direct mail, that could lead to a aual appeal. Some weeks ago I atteded a workshop preseted by Ae Johso, of the Library Commuity Foudatio ( the primary focus was o aual appeals of the sort that other oprofits udertake o a regular basis. I uderstad the fears that some folks have about libraries askig for moey. ( What if the taxpayers decide that we do t eed their moey, as levied, if we re out I uderstad the fears that some folks have about libraries askig for moey.... O the other had, we live i strage ad straiteed times, ad bake sales wo t cut it. there raisig fuds o our ow? ) O the other had, we live i strage ad straiteed times, ad bake sales wo t cut it. The board has expressed a willigess to explore fud-raisig opportuities, so we shall see what happes ext year. This defiitely is a ufiished chapter. Aother possibility lies i coectig with the local commuity foudatio (i Peoria, of which Bartoville is like uto a suburb) to see if there is ay way we ca beefit from a relatioship with the people there. As I write this, I realize that everythig I ve writte is, i a sese, prelimiary. With our attorey s advice, we believe that we ca be creative, while remaiig legal, i usig some of our levyig powers to icrease fuds besides the geeral fud ad, i tur, usig the ogeeral fuds for ecessary, eve crucial expeditures. With divie ad I m ot referrig to the late, ot-so-great vedor of periodicals itervetio, the corporate persoal property replacemet tax may stay exactly the same i FY 2004 istead of droppig aother 5 to 6 percet. Maa may fall from heave... but I doubt it. I thik we re i for a rough ride. APPLD, I was told by aother Peoria-area director, always seemed to him like a library that did thigs i a big way... for a smallish library, that is, ad may thigs beig relative. We will ot be big for some time. Comically eough, o our first Suday closed uder the emergecy dispesatio, a patro got it ito his or her head to call the police. There was a sig o the door that explaied why we were closed; the sig had bee there for quite some time, ad may people had commeted o it, expressed sympathy for our plight, ad so o. But whe the time itself came: emergecy! The police called a board member, who tried to call me however, I was out of tow, so the the board member telephoed aother staff member, ad... ad... ad I talked with the police chief a few days later, ad he did t eve kow about it. But he assured me that they call us for everythig. Everythig apparetly exteds to the library beig closed because of fiacial difficulties. I guess that a call to the police whe the library doors are locked meas we are importat. Now, if the folks who phoed law eforcemet would just sed us moey... The View from Masfield Jea Ruark Commuicatios Coordiator, Masfield/Richlad Couty Public Library, Masfield, Ohio; jruark@mrcpl.org Times are tough all over. Just how ofte have we heard that i the last couple of years? The sad part is that the cliché is true times are tough, for may, all over the atio. Libraries are ot exempt. May library admiistrators are usig every method possible to make their limited fuds stretch as far as they possibly ca to cotiue servig the commuities that rely o them. Ohio libraries have ejoyed the luxury of beig some of the best-fuded libraries i the Uited States. Lawmakers i Ohio had a log history of supportig state fudig for libraries, creatig a terrific situatio for Ohio residets: a statewide commitmet to providig equitable library service to all residets, regardless of the size or locatio of the surroudig commuity. Some commuities sought ad received additioal levies from the commuities they served, but 176 of Ohio s 250 libraries relied solely o state fuds for operatig expeses. Whe the basis for library fuds chaged from a percetage of a itagibles tax to a percetage of the ew state persoal icome tax, Ohio libraries were to receive 6.3 percet of that icome tax. Durig aother ecoomic crisis i 1991, that amout was reduced to 5.7 percet. While that was less tha library admiistrators ad boards were accustomed to, the surgig ecoomy helped mitigate the the-sizeable cut i fuds. The strog ecoomy of the late 1990s brought more reveue to libraries the way the formula was iteded to work. A strog ecoomy meat more moey for libraries. A weak ecoomy meas libraries feel the pich just like everyoe else. 286

21 Ohio libraries have bee feelig that pich i the last two years. Tough times i Ohio have led Ohio lawmakers to recosider their commitmet to state fudig for libraries. At oe poit i April, the Ohio House of Represetatives was cotemplatig elimiatig all state fuds for libraries. The resultig shock wave ad subsequet public outcry caused legislators to back dow, but their fial proposal for the state budget will leave Ohio s libraries i a precarious positio. The proposal holds the fudig for libraries at the same reduced level we ve had for the last year 12 percet less tha Ohio libraries received i At first glace, that does t seem so horrible, especially i light of the fact that libraries would still be receivig state fuds. The trouble lies i the rest of the wordig of the bill. Fuds would be froze at this level for the foreseeable future. If the ecoomy rebouds, as it is showig may sigs of doig, libraries would ot be able to reboud with it. Fuds would remai at this reduced level, regardless of how much the state would be collectig i persoal icome tax. Whe libraries all over the state are already cuttig back o service hours, materials budgets, ad staff, the prospect of comig up with more ways to make the limited fuds go farther is dautig. It seems especially so whe as library folks well kow library use is icreasig because of the tough ecoomic times. What are we doig at Masfield/Richlad Couty Public Library? Havig lost 12 percet of our reveue sice 2001, we made the first cuts behid the scees, like the resposible admiistrators we are. Equipmet purchases became a matter of oly the absolute ecessities; the materials budget was closely scrutiized, the subsequetly trimmed; a hirig freeze was implemeted; ad overdue fies ad fees were raised. May small measures added up to cuts of $605,000 this year. We did such a good job that our commuity was t really aware of the effect eve though we ve bee tellig them about the cuts all alog. Our customers have kept usig ad supportig our library. Whe we leared about the proposal to totally elimiate state fuds for libraries, our commuity respoded with phoe calls, s, ad letters to their represetatives. We kow our lawmakers heard the outcry, because they chaged the budget proposal. Ufortuately, we will have to cotiue trimmig our budget to brig the reveues ad expeses i lie. The major areas we have left to trim are service hours ad staff. Uless somethig miraculous happes, service hours at all locatios will be reduced. Our mai library i dowtow Masfield will close o Sudays, ad all eight braches will cut back service by seve hours a week for all but the smallest brach, which will see a cutback of four hours 25 percet of the 16 hours it is curretly ope each week. Staff will be laid off, too. The umber of staff to be laid off may be chagig because attritio has take care of a few positios already. Sice the budget is still i the proposal stage right ow (early May), we hope that umber will cotiue to get smaller. Depedig upo what our Ohio seators ed up recommedig, this may just be our first roud of layoffs. Director Joseph Palmer has bee istrumetal i leadig the charge at the state level. Palmer, chair of the Ohio Library Coucil s Govermet Relatios Committee, has experiece i fightig for library fuds. Durig his teure at two differet library systems i Pesylvaia, lobbyig for fudig was a big part of his resposibilities. I Pesylvaia, lobbyig for fudig was a give. We had to work at it, at all levels, local ad state. Here i Ohio, that has t up to ow bee the issue. Ufortuately, it looks as though lobbyig legislators will be a part of every budget cycle from ow o, states Palmer. Our story is t ew. It has happeed to may other libraries, i other states at other times. That makes it o less difficult for our commuities ad our staff to deal with. Ohio May small measures added up to cuts of $605,000 this year. We did such a good job that our commuity was t really aware of the effect eve though we ve bee tellig them about the cuts all alog. residets are used to easy access, a wealth of resources, ad great customer service. Our library will cotiue to provide those thigs, to the best of our ability, as log as we are able. It is part of our commitmet to our commuity ad what we thik libraries are meat to do. It is also what every library i similar circumstaces has doe kept o providig the best they ca i spite of reduced circumstaces. Coclusio Libraries will get you through times of o moey better tha moey will get you through times of o libraries, wrote Ae Herbert i the Last Whole Earth Catalog, published i Her maxim meas as much ow as it did thirty-oe years ago. Are we destied to have a fudig crisis every te years? If so, we eed to pla wisely, sped carefully, ad cultivate advocates durig the good times so we ca weather the bad. The purpose of this colum is to offer varied perspectives o subjects of iterest to the public library professio. All correspodece should be directed to the cotributig editors. Hampto (Skip) Auld is Assistat Director, Chesterfield Couty Public Library, 9501 Lori Rd., Chesterfield, VA , (804) ; auldh@chesterfield.gov. Na Blaie Hilyard is Director, Zio-Beto Public Library, 2400 Gabriel Ave., Zio, IL 60099; bhilyard@zblibrary.org. Referece 1. America Library Associatio, Public Iformatio Office, Library Fudig i the 90s (fact sheet),

22 IterViews is a occasioal colum highlightig uique perspectives, idividuals, ad istitutios i the library world. Uderstadig ad Protectig Fair Use Carrie Russell The threat of digital piracy peer-to-peer file sharig ad the uauthorized dowloadig of motio pictures are the most publicized threats has led the recordig ad motio picture idustry to propose that techological cotrol mechaisms be employed to cotrol uauthorized copyig. Piracy ca be cotrolled to a certai extet by techology everythig from password protectio to hardware solutios built ito electroic equipmet ca limit uauthorized copyig. The trouble is that this same techology ca also elimiate the ability of users to exercise copyright exemptios, such as fair use, i the digital eviromet. So some say fair use is dead. I disagree. Fair use exists, but ow more tha ever the public eeds to exercise fair-use rights to demostrate their value. It is true use it or lose it. Fair use is a essetial elemet of the copyright law, ad without it may of the activities library users egage i ad have ejoyed i the aalog world could become crimial acts. Librarias represet the public iterest, so we must kow ad value copyright exemptios like fair use. Souds like the perfect time for a fair-use refresher! Fair use (Sectio 107 of Title 17, the Copyright Law of the Uited States) allows a user to exercise a copyright without the prior permissio of the copyright holder. It says that uder certai coditios, copyig, distributig, or exercisig ay exclusive right of copyright is ot a ifrigemet. Oe does ot have to ask permissio to photocopy a article from a periodical i the library, for example. Oe does ot have to sig a licese or pay a fee to quote from a work. Fair use is importat because if copyright is too broad ad restrictive, the goal of copyright to ehace learig through the broad dissemiatio of creative works caot be achieved. Fair use is determied by cosiderig four factors outlied i Sectio 107 of the copyright law: 1. the purpose ad character of the use, icludig whether such use is of a commercial ature or is for oprofit educatioal purposes; 2. the ature of the copyrighted work; 3. the amout ad substatiality of the portio used i relatio to the copyrighted work as a whole; ad 4. the effect of the use upo the potetial market for or value of the copyrighted work. Fair use ad the four factors were developed i commo law, or the iterpretatio of law that develops over time through court decisios. Whe ifrigemet cases were brought to trial, judges ruled that some of these ifrigemets seemed justified or fair because of specific characteristics particular to the case. These characteristics evetually were categorized as the four factors of fair use. Each factor is cosidered by the court, ad i some istaces, courts have placed more emphasis o oe factor tha the others. May argue that the fourth factor the effect o the market is the most importat. If copyright provides a moetary icetive to create, the oly the copyright holder should collect moetary rewards. I fact, for the period of time that copyright lasts, oly the copyright holder ca sell the copyrighted work. Because the sellig of itellectual property has become a importat growth idustry, oe might argue that the fourth factor is more importat tha ever. However, the copyright law does ot suggest this. Fair Use i Actio Cosider a typical public library activity story time. Story time is a ifrigemet of copyright without fair use. The libraria is publicly performig a copyrighted work without the prior permissio of the copyright holder. A public performace to perform or display [the work] at a place ope to the public or at ay place where a substatial umber of persos outside of a ormal circle of frieds ad its social acquaitaces is gathered is a exclusive right of the copyright holder. Librarias do ot seek prior permissio from the copyright holder because, with the story time situatio, the uauthorized use is justified. Usig the Four Factors The purpose of story time is ot for profit. The law distiguishes libraries that serve educatioal istitutios from public libraries, so we caot argue that story time is educatioal (uless it is part of a established school curriculum). Childre are etertaied at story time, but we also kow that childre lear about books ad develop readig skills. I terms of the first factor, the purpose of the use clearly leas toward fair use. The ature of the publicatio beig used for story time is most likely a childre s book, a published, fictioal work perhaps with pictures or illustratios. The law cosiders works with a high level of creativity (poems, ovels, art, graphics, videos, story books) as havig more protectio tha works that are ofictioal i ature (icludig joural articles, research publicatios, documetaries). Aother cosideratio regardig ature of the publicatio, is the fact that the childre s book is published. Published works are protected by copyright, but upublished works are cosidered more protectable the idea beig that the copyright holder should have the right to determie whe a work will first be made available to the public. To a certai extet, the fact that the work is published leas (but ot very far) towards a fair-use readig. By ow you ca clearly see that the secod factor of fair use, the ature of the publicatio, is ot clear cut. This is part of the ambiguity of fair use that for may is frustratig. 288

23 The amout of the publicatio used durig story time is, i geeral, the etire story. The etire publicatio is used. That leas agaist fair use. However, ca a story be told i ay other way if ot from begiig to ed? Agai, ot a clear-cut use. Fially, by readig the story to childre, are librarias cheatig the copyright holder out of profits? No; i fact, the library has purchased the book ad may purchase aother copy if the book is extremely popular with childre. Because their childre s iterest has bee peaked, parets may buy more childre s books for their home. Whe we examie all of the factors together, I would argue that story time is a lawful, although uauthorized, activity. (Woe is the day whe librarias would have to ask permissio or pay a fee to read a storybook to childre!) Hopefully, this example illustrates the kids of cosideratios oe must take whe makig a fair-use decisio. Oe should also ote that fair use is ot a strict formula. The decisio is based, to a extet, o oe s ow judgmet, ad reasoable people will disagree about the same fair-use situatio. Of course, we rarely have the time to cosider the four factors whe a copyright issue comes up. Luckily, may library activities story time ad story boards, book displays, a reasoable degree of photocopyig have become ormalized. I other words, the activities are so broadly practiced that they have become lawful activities, though whe examied closely, all ivolve usig a copyright without authorizatio. Our behavior iflueces the law ad its iterpretatio. If everyoe started to request permissio to make a book display, evetually that activity would become a ifrigemet. (Lesso: Do ot ask for permissio uless you have to.) Copyright Guidelies May libraries use copyright guidelies to make decisios about fair use. These guidelies, developed by represetatives from various stakeholder groups, such as motio picture compaies, publishers, authors, ad librarias, attempt to quatify fair-use activities. Stakeholders have writte umerous documets of this kid, icludig guidelies for photocopyig, music, multimedia, iterlibrary loa, ad library reserves. The guidelies, while hady cues, are problematic for various reasos. First of all, they are ot icluded i the copyright law. Fair use is icluded i the law, so whe a ifrigemet case comes before a judge, that judge will cosider the fair-use factors, ot the guidelies. Some guidelies were developed at the urgig of Cogress, so they have some legal value, but case law idicates that judges rely o fair use whe they evaluate ifrigemet cases. Secod, the guidelies were desiged to represet the miimum amout cosidered fair. Ufortuately, libraries have implemeted the guidelies as if they were maximums, resultig i librarias refusig to photocopy more tha 10 percet of a book regardless of the situatio. Third, librarias have bee led to believe that the guidelies will provide a safe harbor from copyright litigatio. The truth is that a copyright holder may choose to sue a library for ifrigemet for ay reaso. (Do t fret. It is highly ulikely that a library would be sued, but they could be whether you use guidelies or ot.) Fially, by choosig guidelies over fair use, librarias are establishig a ew orm that suggests, we do ot eed fair use, the guidelies are sufficiet. Evetually, fair use would lose its meaig ad worth, ad guidelies would be cosidered law, perhaps eve fidig their way ito the statute. It is ot i the best iterest of the public to forfeit fair use, especially whe we have o idea how ecessary fair use may be i this time of rapid techological chage. Fair Use i the Digital Eviromet Fair use applies to digital materials i the same way as aalog materials; that is, if the work i questio is acquired through a sale. Nearly all digital works are reted ad ot owed by the library. We licese materials with cotract law (state law), ad the copyright statute does ot apply. Digital resources acquired through licese agreemets ca be used oly i ways that the cotract stipulates. Oe caot guaratee fair use exists uless a savvy cotract egotiator is able to get fair-use laguage i the cotract, such as reasoable copyig. Bottom lie: the cotract describes what the library ad its users ca do with a digital work, ad that cotract may ot iclude fair use. Fortuately, the vedors who licese material to libraries are familiar with our eeds libraries are sometimes their sole customers. We pay a premium for each database, ofte based o the size of the commuity or o the umber of computers that the library ows. Thus far, our library users, if authorized, do ot face techological measures that block access to works that the library has licesed. This is ot the case with materials marketed directly to cosumers i particular, recordigs ad motio pictures i digital formats. CDs ow come with copyprotectio techology that prevets oe from listeig to the CD o some electroics equipmet, such as persoal computers ruig operatig systems other tha Microsoft. Will fair use of library resources follow the aticopyig tred of CDs? The aswer depeds o us. We must cotiue to value ad use fair use. We must iclude fair-use exemptios i our licesig cotracts, ad, if ecessary, refuse to agree to overly restrictive cotract terms. We must promote the eed for fair use to legislators ad other decisio makers. We represet the public ad their right to iformatio. Uderstadig copyright law ad fair use is oe way to represet the public. This should be a goal of all librarias. My hope is to help you better uderstad copyright ad how it ca affect the free flow of iformatio that is so importat (but ofte take for grated) to society i future articles i Public Libraries. If you have suggestios for future copyright topics, let me kow by cotactig me via at crussell@alawash.org. Type public libraries ad copyright i the subject lie of your message. I caot respod to idividual questios, but your cocers will poit me i the right directio for future topics i Public Libraries. Carrie Russell is the Copyright Specialist i the America Library Associatio s Office for Iformatio Techology Policy, Washigto D.C.; crussell@alawash.org. Carrie Russell s articles o copyright will appear periodically i Public Libraries. Readers ca recommed topics by writig to her at crussell@alawash.org. Please place public libraries ad copyright i the subject lie of your message. Carrie is ot a attorey ad caot provide readers with legal advice, but she will provide professioal opiio based o her expertise as a iformatio policy specialist ad libraria. 289

24 Book Talk provides authors perspectives o libraries, books, techology, ad iformatio. Writig about the Peripheries A Iterview with Chris Bohjalia Breda Dowlig Chris Bohjalia is the author of eight ovels, icludig The Buffalo Soldier, Tra-Sister Radio, The Law of Similars, ad Midwives, which was amed a Oprah Book Club selectio ad a Publishers Weekly Best Book of His writig has appeared i may publicatios, icludig Reader s Digest, The Bosto Suday Globe Magazie, ad Burligto Free Press, for which he has writte a colum sice Bohjalia is also the recipiet of the New Eglad Book Award as well as a New Eglad Booksellers Associatio Discovery title. He spoke at the author lucheo at PLA s Sprig Symposium i Chicago o March 7, where Breda Dowlig iterviewed him for Public Libraries. Public Libraries: So may of your books focus o a subculture that is differet from your ow backgroud. What draws you to these characters? Chris Bohjalia: Why does a baldig, middle-aged white guy i wig tips write about the trasgedered or midwifery? I love writig about the margis of our culture. I love writig about the peripheries. The reaso I like writig about people o the edge the trasgedered, home birth, kids who are i dager of fallig through our safety ets is because there s great coflict there. Right ow the margis are pressig agaist the maistream, ad there s coflict there ad chage ad the opportuity for huma trasformatio. That is what fictio eeds. You ve got to have coflict, ad you ve got to have trasformatio. Ad the reality is, I do t write mystery ovels. I m ever goig to write a ovel where the mystery is who pulled the trigger. Not that I do t like those kids of books, because I do. I do t write ovels about serial killers, although I will tell you I loved The Devil i the White City by Erik Larso. So that meas I have to fid my coflict i other places. Ad that is why I write about these experieces that are so far removed from my ow life. That poit ot withstadig, I thik I write about subjects far from my experiece because as a reader, I love books that teach me somethig ew, that tell me about a culture I kow othig about. I remember lovig every word of Adrea Barrett s The Voyage of the Narwhal a few years ago because I kew othig about ieteeth-cetury Arctic exploratio ad I leared massive amouts from it. I loved Geraldie Brooks s Year of Woders, ot simply because it s a rippig good yar about a seveteeth-cetury Eglish village, but because I leared a lot of what it must have bee like to live i the seveteeth cetury. Adrea Barrett ad Geraldie Brooks have doe their homework, so I leared a good deal from readig their books. Ad so that s why I m draw to subjects that are goig to teach me somethig, because as a reader I m draw to those kids of books ad as a ovelist I love researchig them myself. I kew othig about midwifery whe I bega Midwives, I kew othig about the trasgedered whe I bega Tras-Sister Radio. PL: How do you pick your topics? CB: I do t pick my topics as much as my topics pick me. I ve ever, for example, skimmed the ewspaper ad tried to fid somethig that struck me as somethig so far from my frame of referece that I wated to dive ito it. Usually those subjects have appeared i my life, ad I m really grateful for that. I grew iterested i the trasgedered whe a good fried of my wife s ad mie, a woma from New York City, was comig to visit us i Vermot to savor that fall foliage that we take for grated but you do t have i New York City. She was comig Columbus Day weeked, ad she was goig to be brigig her ew boyfried, a ma we had ot met. She arrived Friday afteroo at our house, three o clock as plaed, ad she was agry, she was hurt, ad she was aloe. Ad she the dropped the bombshell o us that her boyfried had dropped o her the ight before. It turs out that he was o female hormoes ad plaed to have a sex chage soo after Christmas, but he kew that because they loved each other so madly ad deeply ad profoudly that it would have o effect o their relatioship. Of course it was goig to she was devastated ad furious. But, without watig to reduce their love affair to Jerry Spriger s Trassexuals ad the Wome Who Love Them Too Much, she did love him ad she ivited him to move ito her Mahatta apartmet with her, coviced that oce they lived uder the same roof, he would give up what she cosidered this ridiculous otio of havig a sex chage ad they would ride off ito the suset together, Sow White ad her price. The experimet lasted about a week. The trassexual wet west, had her sexual reassigmet, ad ow she s teachig out west. Here s what made me wat to write the book: about six moths later, i March or April, this fried was visitig us oce more. Ad after oe of those coversatios well ito the ight that we ve all had, she proceeded to tell us i a voice that was tragic, wistful, ad resiged that she kew that there was obody o this plaet that she loved more tha this trassexual, but because of all the baggage that she brought to geder ad sexual orietatio she was ever goig to pick up the phoe ad call this other woma ad say, I m sorry that I hurt you. Wat to have a drik? Wat to talk? Ad she told this story with so much sadess i her voice that it made me thik, I wat to write a book about a woma 290

25 who falls i love with a ma who s about to have a sex chage to see just how broad love s shoulders really are. But before my fried told me that story, Columbus Day weeked, I had t thought about the trasgedered as a subject for a ovel. I had t thought about writig about foster care i The Buffalo Soldier util my daughter came home with her kidergarte class picture. There were sixtee adorable childre i it, ad they were all white. Ad it suddely dawed o me, I d always grow up i multiracial commuities, i Miami or i the suburbs of New York City, ad all of a sudde I m raisig my daughter i this homogeeous white state. There are Chris Bohjalia may thigs I love about Vermot, but its racial homogeeity is ot amog them. So I decided to write a book about a little boy, a Africa-America foster child, who s suddely parachuted ito, for example, my daughter s the all-white elemetary school, just to see where the story would go. PL: What sort of research does that require? CB: I begi most of my research o two simultaeous plaes. O oe plae, I m doig secodary research, readig other books about the subject. For example, whe I bega Midwives, the first thig I did was read Ia May Gaski s Spiritual Midwifery, I read Heart ad Hads: A Midwife s Guide to Pregacy ad Birth by Elizabeth Davis, ad eve The Home Birth Cao. At the same time, I begi a primary level of research, iterviewig people. I the case of a book like The Buffalo Soldier, the very first phoe call I made was to the the head of huma services i Social ad Rehabilitatio Services i the state of Vermot, a woderful ma amed Bill Youg who I had ever met before. I itroduced myself ad said I wat to have luch with you just to start uderstadig foster care ad how it works. Through him I started meetig the social workers ad the caseworkers, ad after that I was very specific about this I wated to meet multiracial foster families i Vermot. Vermot s a small state. You could probably do this i Chicago, but it s particularly easy i Vermot. The agecy would call these families ad say there s a ovelist ad he was hopig he could meet you ad they were woderful. I met a umber of families that way. I m sure there were a umber of families who would say, No, our privacy matters to us but I will ever kow who they are because I ever met them. Ad I would sped time with these families, with the childre ad the parets. Ad that is just icredible for my work i terms of addig a layer of reality. That s where you get some astoishig aecdotes, some of which I used i The Buffalo Soldier. Oe of the most hautig aecdotes was whe I was havig breakfast with a white mother who had two childre: a black so ad a white daughter. Ad she said, It s the little thigs that get you i Vermot. It took me weeks to fid a barber who could cut my so s hair. I took him to three barbers ad they all said they did t kow aythig about how to cut my so s hair, because they d ever cut a Africa-America child s hair before. Now what message am I sedig to my so that his sister, who s white, ca get her hair cut at ay of the hair salos i Burligto. But my so I have to drive thirty-five miles ad eve the, the barber s a really ice guy, but he s doig it out of his kitche o the third floor of a walk-up apartmet. Now what sigal is that sedig my so that he ca t get his hair cut where his frieds get their hair cut. That s a really ufortuate message. Ad I was hauted by it, ad as a writer I used it i the book. PL: Sice you do so much primary research, do you feel ay sort of resposibility to the people you meet? What has their reactio to your ovels bee? CB: Wheever a story somebody tells me wids up i oe of my books, however camouflaged, they re aware of it well before the book is published because I wat to make sure they re comfortable with it ad they re ot goig to be surprised. Sometimes it s really quite awkward. I Tras-Sister Radio there were some momets that were very awkward whe I d call up a trassexual I d met i Boulder, i Sa Fracisco, or Chicago ad say I wat to sed you a chapter of the book because I do t wat you to be waderig ito a bookstore or a library someday ad take the book off the shelf ad read it ad say, Egads, I did t mea it that way or feel i ay way that I d somehow take advatage of our coversatio. PL: Have they ever give you ay feedback that s made you chage or revisit what you ve writte? CB: No, ad that would be a iterestig thig. If I had a scee I loved ad they did t love it or were t comfortable with it, I do t kow what I d do; that s ever happeed. What usually happes is the reverse: they ve added to it, they ve told me somethig more that they had t thought of i our first iterview that was eve more wrechig, or eve more surprisig, or eve more uusual, ad it s fleshed out the scee for me eve more. Ad part of the time, they re ot eve aware that it s them. Why did you wat me to read this? Thak you, I m flattered! they say. PL: The Buffalo Soldier details how a youg Vermot couple, Terry ad Laura Shelto, become foster parets to a Africa- America child, Alfred Beoit, after the death of their twi daughters. There seem to be so may topics i The Buffalo Soldier that would require extesive research. What was your process like for this book? CB: I had differet threads of research. Most of my books have oe very precise thread: home birth, sexual reassigmet, homeopathy. I this case, there was a historical thread where I 291

26 was researchig the ith ad teth cavalries ad what it was like to have bee a Buffalo Soldier i the 1870s i the Southwest. Ad the I was researchig foster care, ad what works ad what does t work i our foster care system. Ad eve that had two separate paths. O the oe had there were the systemic issues how does foster care work? If you re Terry ad Laura Shelto, how do you become a foster paret? What s ivolved? Ad the, for me, there was the more iterestig I was always the kid with his figers pressed agaist the glass woderig why he was t ivited to the sleepover party. Ad I called o a lot of that material emotioally whe I was creatig Alfred. part, the aecdotal stories: my coversatio with foster parets ad foster childre about their lives ad what their lives were like. The thig about my research is how little of it actually wids up i the book for all that you see. I do a to of research, ad a lot of it is just backgroud white oise so that I uderstad what a midwife s life is like, or what a state highway patrolma s life is like. But it is irrelevat to the book, ad so it ever figures ito it. But i much the same way a actor might do a lot of preparatio that will ever be maifested i a literal lie of dialogue that we ll see o the scree or o the stage, a lot of the research I do matters i the costructio of the character, but you wo t see it literally o the page whe you re readig the book. PL: So how did the whole theme of the Buffalo Soldiers, Africa-America cavalry forces i the wester frotier i the late ieteeth cetury, come ito this story about foster care? CB: The book became The Buffalo Soldier whe Paul Hebert [a eighbor of the Sheltos who befrieds Alfred] decided he wated to get a horse. At this poit I had t aticipated havig a book i which Buffalo Soldiers would be i ay way metaphoric or a part of Alfred s life. I was aware of Buffalo Soldiers because I thought that they were a very iterestig ad wodrous piece of our history, but I had t viewed them as somethig that would be i this book. I had thought that someday I was goig to write a book about Hery Woodward Jr., the first Africa-America graduate of West Poit, really a fasciatig story, ad that book would have bee called The Buffalo Soldier. But the Paul Hebert surprised me whe I was writig that scee that takes place o Thaksgivig whe he decided he wated a horse. Ad I did t kow what was goig to happe with the horse, but I liked the idea of him gettig a horse. Because Paul is the oly oe i the first two-thirds of the book who really tries to coect with Alfred as just a peer, as a huma beig. Laura s a basket case the first half of the book, ad Terry s got such distace from his wife ad his so at this poit that he s certaily ot coectig with Alfred. So Paul decides he s goig to get a horse, ad that just struck me as aother way for him to coect with Alfred. Ad I already kew he was a retired America studies professor, so before I kew it, he s brought Alfred back a hat, ad a book about the Buffalo Soldiers. Ad that s whe the Buffalo Soldiers etered the book. Ad the I started doig more serious research about what the life of a Buffalo Soldier would have bee like, what my fictioal Sergeat George Roe s life would have bee like. I oe book I came across a referece to the reality that very ofte a Native America woma woud up as the laudress for these troops i the Great Plais. Ad the whe I was iterviewig, ad I do t remember which professor it was, but I was iterviewig a guy who had writte a umber of books o the Buffalo Soldiers. Ad he told me a story he did t kow whether it was true or ot but he d heard a story about a sergeat i oe of the Buffalo Soldier cavalry divisios who d falle i love with ad married the laudress. Ad this was a real scadal. His fellow troopers thought this was just certifiable, because this was the eemy! Ad his white officers thought it was certifiable. But i the lore that this older getlema was tellig me, everythig had bee fie. They married ad moved east whe he was discharged ad just disappeared ito St. Louis somewhere. Ad that of course became importat i the book. I just took that oe aecdote ad thought, This would be a great ieteeth-cetury parallel to the strage ad woderful way that a family ca be costructed. PL: You ve metioed i previous iterviews that Sibyl Daforth from Midwives is the first character that you ever developed a crush o. Have ay characters i your subsequet books had such a effect o you? CB: Sibyl Daforth remais the character o whom I ve had the deepest crush. That was somethig my wife poited out to me. At oe poit we were talkig about why Stephe Hastigs, her defese attorey, seems to have a crush o her, because there s o reaso why he has to i the book, it s ot a thread that matters i the arrative. But I will tell you that a character who I feel a eormous closeess to also is Alfred Beoit, the foster child i The Buffalo Soldier. Ad I feel that both as a paret, because I m very protective of him, but also because he is, i a lot of uexpected ways, the most autobiographical character I ve ever created. I was ever a foster child; I had woderful, woderful biological parets. But we moved a lot. I ve couted it up for my daughter, ad I wet to eight schools. At oe poit I wet to four differet schools i four years. I was always the ew kid o the block. I was always the kid with his figers pressed agaist the glass woderig why he was t ivited to the sleepover party. Ad I called o a lot of that material emotioally whe I was creatig Alfred. I fact there are a couple of scees i the book that are completely autobiographical. For example whe Terry, Laura, ad Alfred are goig to Terry s mother s house for Thaksgivig, they see some kids playig soccer or football, I ca t remember which. I reality, it was football, but I thik I might have made it soccer i the book. Ad Laura ad Terry are clearly woderig i their ow mids why did t ayoe thik to ivite Alfred, ad worse, Alfred is feelig like this icredible loser. Why did o oe ivite me, ad what do these two grow-ups i the frot seat thik about o oe ivitig me to be out there to be with them. It was my first Thaksgivig i Florida whe that particular momet occurred. So I feel a great closeess to Alfred i that regard, he s sort of a surrogate kid. 292

27 PL: May of your books focus o families i the midst of some dramatic crisis. Does that ever take ay toll o you persoally? CB: My books are ideed ofte about families i crisis. I fact, the book I just fiished is all about a multigeeratioal family i a huge crisis. But it does t take ay toll o my persoal life. I will tell you that whe I was writig The Buffalo Soldier, a book that begis with two little girls drowig, I could ot wait for my daughter s school bus to pull up to the bus stop so I could be there for her. Especially whe I was writig some scees i which Laura or Terry are thikig about their daughters, I just squeezed my ow daughter. But I write from 5 A.M. to 10 A.M. i the morig, ad the from 10 A.M. to oo I do whatever owritig work the work of a ovelist demads, ad the I get o with my day. PL: What s ext for you? CB: I love the book I m writig ow, I just love it. I ll tell you the title, but the title could chage because I just fiished it a week ago yesterday. I did ot wat to go o this book tour if I could possibly avoid it without a very rough first draft doe, because the of course I m ot goig to work o it for two moths while I m o this tour ad I did t wat to lose all of the plot lies that were movig through it. The workig title is Huters ad Gatherers. It s a big sprawlig multigeeratioal story about three geeratios of wome ad the dysfuctioal me i their lives. Ad what ties these three geeratios of wome together is the me that this middle geeratio have married, the brothers-i-law. Oe of them is a New York City based aimal rights activist, a vega. Ad the other is a Vermot-based public defeder who s a avid outdoorsma, sportsma, ad deer huter. The truce that these brothers-ilaw have uravels rather suddely oe July eveig whe all of the families are gathered together ad the eleve-year-old daughter of the New York City aimal rights activist takes a hold of her ucle s Remigto ad iadvertetly blows off her father s right arm. I m just havig massive amouts of fu with this book. I love the wome i it. I love the little girls; oe s ie, ad oe s eleve. I love their two moms. I love the gradmother, the matriarch of this big family. I ve just had the best time with it. Despite the fact that it begis with a guy gettig his arm blow off o page oe, it s actually a getly comic ovel about food, ad how we eat, ad the politics of food, ad the politics of family, ad how these wome are beig drive crazy by the feud that the brothers i law are havig right ow. PL: How did this book come about? CB: All of my books have oe ucoscious tie to the previous book. Ad it s ucoscious whe I start, ad the it becomes apparet to me as I start writig it. Ad I thik this oe bega because I wated to write a book about two little girls who are really alive ad really together ad have t drowed. Ad it s almost as if here are the two little girls, although I made oe a little older, who did t drow i the flood i The Buffalo Soldier. Hilary ad Mega Shelto are reicarated as Willow Seto ad Evely McCullough, these two cousis. I thik that s how it started. The opeig scee of the book is these two little girls stayig with their gradmother i orther New Eglad for two weeks for what they cosider to be Gradmother s Boot Camp, which ivolves ature hikes ad swim lessos, havig a great time talkig about woodpeckers ad crows. PL: Ad whe will it come out? CB: Probably There s a chace because there s a presidetial electio i 2004 that I might recommed that we do t publish it util But I ted to do oe hardcover a year ad the a paperback the followig year. I ll come back from this book tour i mid-april, ad I will sped the ext four moths rewritig ad rewritig. That does t soud like a log time, ad I may decide after four moths that it still is t ready. I that case it defiitely wo t be util PL: What s your revisio process like? CB: I ve got two great readers. My lovely bride ad my editor are both terrific readers. Ad oe of the great beefits of fiishig a first draft of this book before begiig this book tour is that the two of them ca read it while I m goe. Ad I ll get a sese from them of what they thik works ad what they thik does t work. I, of course, am the fial arbiter. I ca igore them ad they uderstad that, but they usually have some pretty iterestig thigs to say. Ad I ll go back to page oe ad I ll start rewritig, with sort of a macrovisio of what s workig ad what s ot workig. Is there eough of the ie-year-old girl? Is there eough of the gradmother? Have I spet too much time o the politics of food, have I spet too much time o how gus work? I am a meticulous researcher, ad this book is obviously about lots ad lots of details. There s tos of iformatio about how a bolt-actio deer rifle works. There s some litigatio i it. So the I ll take it through the draft of Do I have too much litigatio i the All of my books have oe ucoscious tie to the previous book. Ad it s ucoscious whe I start, ad the it becomes apparet to me as I start writig it. book? Ad the I will begi the more diliget setece-bysetece rewritig. Is the rhythm of this setece appropriate with the rhythm of the setece that preceded it. Is the dialogue i this scee too cluky? Would Catherie really say that? Would Heather really say that? Ad that s a log process, where some days I ll sped all morig o two paragraphs, ad some morigs I ll go through forty pages ad ot chage a word. PL: What has bee your relatioship with libraries? CB: I ve thought about that a lot lately, ad I m goig to talk a little about it today. I ve always loved writig, ad I ve always loved readig, but it really clicked for me i the autum of 1974 whe I was thirtee at the Miami Lakes Public Library i Miami Lakes, Florida. We had just moved from a suburb of New York City to Miami. We arrived there the Suday of the Labor Day weeked ad I started school there that Tuesday. cotiued o page

28 Iteret Spotlight explores Iteret ad Web topics relevat to librarias i the public library sector. Your iput is welcome. Library Web Page ad Olie Catalog Directories Steve M. Cohe Irecetly received a from a acquaitace who remarked about a iterestig flyer that was delivered to his mailbox. It was a advertisemet for a high-speed Iteret service that touted the speed of performig research olie. Do it faster from home was displayed over a picture of a studet who was takig a book off the library bookshelves. The descriptio read somethig like Now there s o reaso to sped hours i a library doig research or lookig for a particular book. With [compay, product], you ca do it all olie wheever it s coveiet for you, from the comfort of your ow home. After readig his , I had the typical libraria reactio. Ubelievable, I thought, while quickly sedig off the e- mail to some of my colleagues. How ca a compay place such blatat lies i a advertisemet? Sure, while some iformatio ca be foud quicker usig the Web, it is ot a all-ecompassig product that should be cosidered the paacea for the world s iformatio questios. Ad yes, havig access from a home computer with fast access though broadbad is easier tha havig to drive to the local library, but at what poit does ease fall victim to efficiecy, usefuless, ad a breadth of resources? After rereadig the advertisemet, I realized that it is possible to access particular library books from a home computer (or at least the holdigs of a particular library), but defiitely ot the vast amouts of iformatio available at the physical buildig. I felt better kowig that, ideed, the advertisemet was half right. The problem is that ot eough library users (or potetial library users) kow that their local library holdigs are available olie. Also, the book that they are lookig for may be available somewhere else i the coutry, or the world for that matter. Sice the OCLC databases are ot readily available to patros from home, the ext best thig is the offerig of library catalogs. Fidig the Web sites of local public libraries may be as simple as pluggig the ame of the library ito a search egie. However, there are at least seve resources that have bee specifically created to collect ad catalog both library Web pages ad liks to their olie catalogs. By usig these resources, users ca fid ot oly the library Web site, but also locate libraries withi their same viciity as well as a direct lik to the olie catalog, a task that search egies (yes, eve Google) have problems with. Created by Peter Scott, Libdex ( is oe of the most popular directories. Not oly are library Web pages ad olie catalogs idexed, but so are Frieds of the Library pages. Users ca browse the site by coutry or OPAC vedor, or use the search optio. Oce a library is foud, some factual iformatio is provided, such as the city, provice or state, coutry, library type (Libdex collects more tha just public library sites), ad a lik to the library home page ad olie catalog. I was oce lookig for a law library i a certai city i Illiois ad was able to fid oe usig the search optio. The oe issue that I have with the search mechaism o Libdex is that it oly accepts oe keyword or phrase ad does ot allow for Boolea operators. That is where a search egie like Google ca come i hady. Google has idexed every etry from Libdex, so oe ca use all of the search mechaisms available to ru a search i Libdex. For example, if I were lookig for a uiversity library i Lexigto, Ketucky, I would perform this search i Google: site:libdex.com Lexigto Uiversity. The search would retur a lik to the Libdex file for the Uiversity of Ketucky Library as well as a lik to the Trasylvaia Uiversity Library i that same city. Lib-Web-Cats ( is aother resource for locatig library Web sites ad olie catalogs, but the set-up is quite differet tha that of Libdex. Oe ca browse the database by geographic locatio, but the real stregth i this site is i the search mechaism. A quick search allows for oe keyword (the same as Libdex), but the sectio labeled Other search optios allows the searcher to choose the type of library, eter a city, state, ad coutry. There is also a advaced search feature ( lwc-search-advaced.pl) i which the users ca eter ay umber of parameters to suit their eeds. Oce a record is located, the site provides extesive iformatio about the library, icludig the postal address, the library type, a lik to the home page ad olie catalog, the library automatio system, ay affiliatios, ad a cosortium ame (if the library belogs to oe). Lib-Web-Cats is a very useful tool ad is worthy of a bookmark for ready referece use. Publiclibraries.com ( is a directory of Uited States public libraries by geographic locatio. Oce a state is chose, the list of public libraries is further broke dow by city ame with a lik to the library Web site. There is o search mechaism, but this resource ca be useful if the user kows the ame of the city i which a particular library resides. The site also provides a geographic directory of uiversity ad college libraries ( uiversity_library.htm), a listig of presidetial libraries ( with liks to the Web site of each oe, ad aother list of atioal libraries from aroud the world ( world.htm). The umber of libraries foud i this directory is ot as extesive as those discussed previously, but librarias ca help build the database by addig their ow library iformatio if it does t exist i the directory. 294

29 School Libraries o the Web ( focuses o school media ceter libraries o a iteratioal level. The first page lists coutries of origi, which ca the be broke dow by states or provices withi that coutry. Withi each state, the iformatio is broke dow yet agai ito school library pages, district library pages, state library pages, ad resource sharig etworks (for example, see listigs for New York at #top). There are also geeral directories that list all school district libraries ( ad all state departmets of libraries related to media ceters (www. sldirectory.com/libsf/stlibs.html). Libweb ( is aother iteratioal library Web page directory, which has collected more tha six thousad resources. The mai page is arraged by coutry, with the Uited States divided ito type of library. Each sectio lists library ame (with a lik to the home page) ad the city or tow where the library is located. A powerful search mechaism ( allows for Boolea searches (the AND Boolea is the default, so there is o eed to use it). The user ca also defie fields withi a search. For example, i order to search by locatio, use the parameter locatio= (e.g., to search for uiversity libraries i Michiga, eter locatio=michiga ad type=academic. Search results provide iformatio o the libraries, which is ot the case if oe fids a library whe browsig. Oce a page is foud via searchig, a lik amed ifo will appear. Clickig the lik pulls up iformatio about the site, such as whe it was last checked by LibWeb, whe it was last added to the database, ad whe the iformatio was last modified. While this extra iformatio about the site may ot be that importat to the user, it is still available if eeded. Like the other sites metioed here, LibWeb also has a submissio form ( for sites ot curretly i the database. This directory is also worth bookmarkig. The Library of Cogress (the subject of two recet Iteret Spotlight colums) has also put together a list of academic library Web sites with respective vedors i parethesis ( The liks lead to a search mechaism where the library catalog of that uiversity ca be searched directly. There is o eed to locate the particular library via the Web, the search for the catalog, ad the search the actual catalog for the material. There are three issues with this resource that eed to be addressed. First, the list is ot that extesive. Would t it be amazig to be able to search the catalogs of every public ad academic library usig a list like this? OCLC aside (as that is fee-based), a free resource that is more iclusive would be very helpful. Secod, the search ca take a log time to complete ad may time out. Third, the searches may ru slower tha a search o the olie catalog of the actual library site. While this has t bee a major problem for me, those with dial-up access to the Web may experiece log delays. That said, this is a woderful resource that may save time for the libraria or patro who searches other library catalogs. Searchig for ad locatig library Web pages ad olie catalogs should ot be a chore to the ed user. The holdigs of a public, academic, or special library are resources that users sometimes have difficulty fidig olie, ad these collectios eed to be brought to the user i as simple ad easy a fashio as possible. By usig these directories, patros ca easily fid Lib-Web-Cats libraries ad catalogs i their area, which, whe used, ca lead to more users at the library. Steve M. Cohe is Assistat Libraria at the law firm of Rivki Radler, LLP. He ca be reached at Steve.Cohe@Rivki.com. Resources Libdex Library of Cogress Academic Gateway Libweb Search template Submissio form Lib-Web-Cats Advaced Search Page Publiclibraries.com Uiversity ad college libraries Presidetial libraries Natioal libraries from aroud the world School Libraries o the Web School district libraries State departmets of libraries related to media ceters 295

30 Tech Talk explores issues that public librarias face whe they offer electroic services ad etwork cotet. It aims to create a bridge betwee the practical ad theoretical issues related to techology. Multimedia o the Web Paula Wilso Multimedia is a geeric term used to describe the differet types of media that ca be processed by a computer, icludig soud, graphics, video images, aimatios, ad text. 1 Libraries are effectively usig multimedia files o their Web pages to educate ad etertai visitors. But just because you ca add multimedia files to your site does t mea you should. Uderstadig whe multimedia is a appropriate way to preset iformatio is just as importat as learig the specialized software used to create such files. Whe is it appropriate to use multimedia files? Mostly, whe their use is relevat to the cotet ad the message you are tryig to covey. Ask yourself if there is aother, more effective way to preset the iformatio before decidig to publish it i multimedia format. Examples of cotet that justifies multimedia iclude audio files that support publicatio of a oral history project ad iteractive tours that offer users a glimpse ito the physical library buildig. Several factors cotribute to the ease with which users ca access multimedia files. Web desigers should take ito cosideratio dowload speeds, Net cogestio, file size, ad the speed at which users coect to the Iteret. There is iformatio you ca offer visitors so they ca decide whether or ot to access the file. First, describe the file; users wat to kow the cotet of the file so they ca determie its relevacy to their eeds. Secod, let users kow what plug-i software is ecessary to view the file. Third, create a lik to the Web site where users ca access the ecessary software. It is importat that the plug-i ecessary to view the files is commo. Whe visitors do ot have a plug-i, they must ivest the time to dowload it. For example, it takes twety-five miutes to dowload Macromedia Authorware Web Player o a 56k modem, accordig to the Macromedia Web site ( Users are more iclied to dowload software if they feel it will be required to view files o other Web sites as well. I some cases, the user s browser may be able to determie whether the ecessary software has already bee istalled. As a rule of thumb, if the average user coects at speeds of 56 kbps, files larger tha 50 KB eed a size warig. 2 Users will most likely be suspect of your site if it does ot iclude the iformatio ecessary for them to decide whether to click or ot to click. These are basic Web desig covetios that your visitors are accustomed to seeig o other sites; the library s site should be o differet. Desigers should also cosider alterative access to the cotet for accessibility ad usability cocers. For example, Examples of Effective Use of Multimedia Files Public Library of Charlotte ad Meckleburg Couty (N.C.) Bookhive: Ziger Tales Storytellers capture the attetio of childre i these Web pages. Real Audio video files are offered for visitors with 56k modem or T1/cable modem access. Heepi Couty (Mi.) Library Evets ad Classes: Iteractive Tutorials Iteractive tutorials are created i Macromedia Authorware ad iclude topics such as black history, baed books, busiess iformatio, mousig tutorial, ad iformatio literacy. Iteret Public Library Music History A guide to Wester composers that icludes recordigs represetig more tha thirty composers. Recordigs were created usig RealAudio. Las Vegas-Clark Couty (Nev.) Library District Jea Ford Collectio for Citize Actio ad Commuity Buildig: Iterviews ad Narratives Audio files of iterviews available i Real Audio ad Quick Time. I additio, a trascript of the audio file is available for readig or pritig. North Suburba (Ill.) Library System A collaboratio of member libraries to digitize fiftee separate collectios of historical documets, icludig a variety of media formats. Skokie (Ill.) Public Library has digitized a collectio of audio ad video collectio depictig the eo-nazis attempt to hold rallies i Skokie i 1977 ad Warre Newport (Ill.) Public Library Tee Poetry Café Several poems are available i audio format usig Real Audio player. 296

31 Authorig Software Macromedia Authorware player: Macromedia Web Player Macromedia, Ic Creates visual iteractive tutorials ad applicatios for educatio Macromedia Flash player: Macromedia Flash Player Macromedia, Ic Creates iteractive aimated files Real Audio player: Real Player RealNetworks, Ic Video ad audio authorig software QuickTime Pro player: QuickTime Player Apple (408) Video ad audio authorig software For more software listigs, see or offerig trascripts i text alogside audio files allows scree readers to access this iformatio ad users to read the trascripts before ivestig the time ecessary to access the audio file. I some cases, offerig differet files based o the type of coectio (for example, 56k modem dial-up or cable modem) helps users access files more efficietly. Cosider the additio of thumbail images set alogside the multimedia file offerig a preview of the image visitors are goig to access. Preparig Files Glossary Plug-i: Software that ca be added to a browser i order to view or execute Web cotet that it is curretly ot able to access. Streamig techology: Techology that trasfers media to a browser ad plays them i real time, ot after the whole file has bee received by the browser. Compressio: The process of reducig the size of a file before sedig it over a trasmissio lie. Lossy compressio schemes are used i applicatios where some small loss of data ca be tolerated; for example, whe the file that is compressed cotais graphical images that, whe decompressed, are ot disceribly differet from the origial, ucompressed image. Lossy compressio creates images with smaller file sizes ad faster loadig times by removig colors ad details from the image that are barely recogized by the huma eye. Sources: Darrel Ice, A Dictioary of the Iteret (Oxford Uiv. Pr., 2001); Oxford Referece Olie (Oxford Uiv. Pr., accessed May 8, 2003). Multimedia takes lots of badwidth. That said, compressig the files with a limited amout of degradatio is key. The challege i publishig multimedia to the Web lies i preparig files that are small eough to be accessible to the broadest possible audiece yet are of sufficiet quality to be worth the effort. 3 Files should be miimized as much as possible without compromisig quality. Additioally, the average Web surfer has a short attetio spa, ad viewig legthy video clips is ofte couter to the clickig, skimmig, ad browsig most users have become accustomed to. For this reaso, most audio ad video clips should be kept to less tha oe miute i legth. 4 Libraries ca choose from a wide variety of authorig ad playig software. Their purchase depeds o a variety of factors, icludig budgets, hardware requiremets, compatibility with curret systems, available memory, price of software upgrades, ad staff traiig. A tremedous amout of effort ad time is ormally expeded whe gatherig or creatig cotet, preparig files, ad presetig them olie. However, oce the files have bee published, they may be ejoyed by a ulimited umber of viewers, ad cotet ca be made accessible where it oce did ot exist or existed oly i a limited fashio. The Web provides us with a forum to provide iformatio i ew formats ad create ew iformatioal experieces. Paula Wilso is the Virtual Library Maager at the Las Vegas Clark Couty Library District, Nevada; wilsop@lvccld.org. The metio of systems ad vedors i this colum does ot costitute a evaluatio or a edorsemet of the products or services by the Public Library Associatio or the editors of this magazie. The cotributig editor of this colum welcomes ay commets or questios at the above. Refereces 1. Darrel Ice, A Dictioary of the Iteret (Oxford Uiv. Pr., 2001); Oxford Referece Olie (Oxford Uiv. Pr.), accessed Apr. 20, 2003, 2. Jakob Nielse, Desigig Web Usability (Idiaapolis, Id.: New Riders, 2000), Patrick J. Lych ad Sarah Horto, Web Style Guide, 2d ed. (New Have, Co.: Yale Uiv. Pr., 2001). 4. Jakob Nielse, Desigig Web Usability (Idiaapolis, Id.: New Riders, 2000),

32 Opportuities, Awards, ad Hoors is a occasioal colum featurig library ad libraria achievemets, grats, bequests, ad other fudig aoucemets. How to Google a Grat Rochelle Hartma Those who do t have a dedicated developmet staff or a abudat budget but do have loads of persistece ad patiece ca locate grat ad award opportuities with a wellcrafted Google search ( or by usig the search egie of their choice. I ve bee usig the basic search optio, but advaced is fie, too. The essetial elemet of your search is the exact phrase public library (or libraries). Beyod that, there are umerous keywords that ca arrow your search. I always add i the fiscal year for which I wat the grat, because you ll fid hudreds of old pages with outdated opportuities. Addig the year wo t guaratee elimiatig false hits, but should keep out a good chuk of them. Thik about the type of grat you re lookig for ad iclude appropriate keywords, such as literacy, programmig, collectio developmet, staff developmet, ad arts. Make sure you put phrases i quotes to arrow the search further, ad also play with the words to capture alterate phrasig (for example, public programs, programmig, adult programmig). Other terms that will arrow your search might iclude assistace, deadlie, applicatio, grat, award, foudatio, partership(s), ad aoucemet. These are words commoly used i grat aoucemets. Cosider addig your state ame as well, because may fudig opportuities are limited by state or geographic regio. You might get slightly differet results ad fid ew ideas by doig the same search i Google News ( Most search results there will be award aoucemets, but those ca be a great source of ispiratio. Googlig a grat is ot the most elegat or efficiet meas of searchig for fudig, but it is certaily worth a afteroo of experimetatio for someoe who does t have access to a reliable, curret source of iformatio about fudig opportuities. Grat Fuds ad Awards Available ALA ad PLA Opportuities November ad December hold may deadlies for ALA awards ad grats for librarias, libraries, ad library supporters. Deadlies, criteria, ad omiatig forms ca be foud by clickig o the Awards ad Scholarships lik o the ALA mai page ( PLA has a December 1 deadlie for its seve awards, icludig the New Leaders Travel Grat, which awards a plaque ad up to $1,500 for attedace at major professioal developmet activities. For more iformatio, follow the Awards lik from the PLA home page, Hoors McKezie Award Support Staff Hoor Joe McKezie, director of the Salia (Ka.) Public Library, was selected as the 2003 wier of Library Mosaics s Outstadig Supporter of Support Staff award. McKezie, omiated by his staff, was praised for ecouragig them to form a staff group ad to egotiate with the library board for healthcare beefits ad other compesatio. I additio, McKezie was lauded for his ecouragemet of ad belief i members of the support staff ad esurig budget moies for cotiuig educatio. The award was aouced i the May/Jue issue of Library Mosaics, which featured McKezie. McKezie was also recogized at the aual baquet of the Coucil o Library/Media Techicias (COLT) i Jue The award is cosposored by COLT. More iformatio about the award is available at Lexigto Public Library Give History Award The Ketucky Historical Society has awarded a Ketucky History Award of Merit to the Lexigto (Ky.) Public Library for the library s Local History Idex. The idex is a ogoig project of the referece departmet ad covers key people, places, ad evets i the library s collectio of local ewspapers. The Historical Cofederatio of Ketucky ad the Ketucky Historical Society sposor the Ketucky History Awards. This year s awards were preseted o March 1, 2003, at the Ketucky History Ceter i Frakfort. The database is available at Motgomery Couty (Tex.) Libraria Wis PEN First Amedmet Award PEN America Ceter amed Jerily Adams Williams of the Motgomery Couty Memorial Library System i Coroe, Texas, as the recipiet of this year s prestigious PEN/Newma s Ow First Amedmet Award. Williams received the $25,000 prize, alog with a limited-editio artwork, at PEN s aual gala o April 22, 2003, i New York City. Williams was recogized for battlig a attempt to remove childre s sex educatio books from the couty library shelves. The books i questio It s Perfectly Normal: Chagig Bodies, Growig Up, Sex ad Sexual Health, ad It s So Amazig were removed by a couty judge who bypassed the library s established process for reviewig challeged materials. Williams persuaded the judge to allow a citize committee to give the books 298

33 a proper hearig. After three moths of advocacy ad commuity educatio, the books were retured to the library s shelves. Librarias like Jerily Williams are o the frot lies of cesorship battles every day. Their commitmet to itellectual freedom is ofte the oly thig stadig betwee us ad the book-burers, said award judge Pat Schroeder, presidet ad CEO of the Associatio of America Publishers. PEN is a associatio of promiet literary writers ad editors who defed freedom of expressio wherever it may be threateed ad promote ad ecourage the recogitio ad readig of cotemporary literature. More iformatio about the associatio ad the award ca be foud at Grats Awarded ad Bequests Received Two Thompsos Resposible for $500K Gifts to Libraries A uexpected gift to the Ames (Iowa) Public Library was aouced i February Vera Jae Thompso, who worked as a secretary at the Ames Laboratory for twety-two years, left half of her estate, a gift worth $500,000, to the library. Thomso s gift came i the midst of the library s oe hudreth aiversary celebratio, A Cetury of Stories. Thompso was bor i 1915 i Brookly, New York, ad eared her udergraduate ad graduate degrees i botay at Iowa State Uiversity. She died at the age of eighty-seve i Jauary Her gift is oe of three major bequests totalig $829,000 received by the library i the past te years. For more iformatio, visit Also receivig $500,000, to be used for expasio costs, is the Moss Poit City (Miss.) Library of the Jackso-George Regioal Library System. The library will be reamed the Ia Thompso Moss Poit Library, i hoor of Ia Thompso, whose estate formed a foudatio at the time of her death more tha thirty years ago. This grat, believed to be the largest foudatio gift for a Mississippi city library, marks the closig of the foudatio. The total cost of reovatig ad expadig a local bak buildig to create the library will be $1.4 millio, also fuded i part by a LSTA grat ad local sources. Thompso was a Moss Poit busiess woma who ra a clothig store. For more iformatio, visit braches/mosspoit.html. The iformatio provided i this colum is obtaied from press releases from libraries, award ad fudig agecies, i additio to electroic lists ad blogs. Sed aoucemets to the cotributig editor, Rochelle Hartma, 905 N. Madiso, Bloomigto, IL 61701; rochellesala@ yahoo.com. BOOK TALK cotiued from page 293 Tuesday afteroo I wet to see my ew orthodotist, the Marquis de Sade of orthodotics. I say that because he gave me this piece of headgear that looked like the busiess ed of a backhoe. Ad I had to wear this baby four hours a day. I could t talk while I was wearig this, so I sure as heck was t goig to wear it to school. So that meat I would come home ad put o my headgear. I certaily was t goig to go out ad meet kids wearig this thig. But we did t live far from the library. So, I wet to the library, ad through September, October, ad November I just read. Ad I read all of the stuff that ay twelve- or thirtee-year-old boy is goig to read, pre Stephe Kig. I read William Peter Blatty s The Exorcist, I read Thomas Tryo s Harvest Home, I read Jaws. But I also read a couple of books, two first-perso ovels, that just stuck with me. Joyce Carol Oates s Expesive People, which has that hautig first setece, I was a child murderer. Ad the the first three pages uravel that setece. Does it mea I was a child who committed a murder, or a adult who murdered childre? Ad Harper Lee s To Kill a Mockigbird. I could ot, as a twelve- or thirtee-year-old, have spoke with ay itelligece about why a ovelist chooses the first or third perso, but it did click with me that there s a real differece betwee these ovels ad a third-perso ovel. This first-perso arrator is a character, too. Ad I started writig short stories i the first perso. Hideous, abomiable. I had writte short stories before this. I fact, my father still has some thigs that I wrote whe I was seve years old that are equally hideous for a seve-year-old as these were for a youg teeager. Breda Dowlig iterviewed Chris Bohjalia at the PLA Sprig Symposium i Chicago o March 7, If you have ay suggestios of authors you would like to see featured i By the Book, or if you are iterested i voluteerig to be a author-iterviewer, cotact the cotributig editors: Kathlee Hughes is Maagig Editor of Public Libraries, ad Breda Dowlig is the Editorial Assistat. Both ca be reached at the Public Library Associatio, 50 E. Huro St., Chicago, IL 60611; khughes@ala.org, bdowlig@ala.org. Author s Note: Ufortuately, our iterview had to coclude at this poit. However, durig his talk at PLA s Sprig Symposium Author Lucheo, Bohjalia touched upo how public libraries fostered his love of readig ad writig, both as a child ad as a adult. His colums for the Burligto Free Press ca be read at ewsidex.htm. 299

34 FEATURE Extra! Extra! Extra! Read All about It! Fudametals of Good Press Releases Jae Kessler ad Carol Ae Germai Press releases provide a free veue for gettig iformatio about library ews ad evets to the public. Regularly published releases put your library at the forefrot of patros mids. Good press releases ca also eergize members of the commuity to support library activities with time, moey, ad other resources. By developig positive parterships with editors ad reporters, ad followig simple guidelies i the preparatio of press releases, librarias have better luck gettig pertiet ews published. Tired of writig press releases that ever make it to black ad white? Do you feel your local ews editor has somethig agaist the articles you submit? Do you really wat the local public to read about what s goig o i your library? Maybe the problem is your press releases. A let s get published strategy for all media outlets icludes writig a good press release, makig a coectio with the ews source, ad followig publicatio guidelies. evets. This file will serve as a hady referece whe a upcomig story arises, makig the writer s job easier. Do t make it a oe-way coectio. Ask for their media packet, which usually outlies criteria for press release submissios ad a profile of the publicatio. Read the publicatio. This will give you a better feel for press releases that are accepted. Also, this practice will help you choose the sectio or feature i which you d like your release published. I additio, get to kow reporters ad editors persoally. Sed holiday greetigs, good wishes, ad thak-you otes. Fid out about their iterests. Sice you re a libraria, you may be able to help them with their research. Remember the old sayig oe had washes the other. Ask for feedback ad solicit suggestios ad the follow them! To maitai a quality workig relatioship, follow the ews source s guidelies. These iclude deadlies (which may be differet for weekeds, holidays, etc.), submissio preferece ( , fax, postal service), ad article criteria (legth, audiece, style, spacig). Address press releases to the proper cotact editor. If Joh Smith is the commuity page editor, sed the release directly to Joh Smith, i care of the publicatio. Your release has a better chace of ot beig discarded if it gets ito the right hads quickly. Be depedable. If you regularly submit iterestig ews pieces, the press will cotact you for stories! Most importatly, write a good press release. Gettig Coected Get your press release published by establishig ad maitaiig a good rapport with reporters ad editors. The existece of a persoal relatioship betwee the jouralist ad the public relatios practitioer is likely to provide a high level of placemet, ote Walters, Walters, ad Starr. 1 Start a positive workig relatioship by itroducig yourself ad your library to the ews cotact. Sice you wat this to be a log-term relatioship, go out of your way to meet face-to-face. This could be as simple as extedig a ivitatio to share a coffee break or go out to luch. I this exchage, you will wat to provide iformatio about your library ad fid out importat facts about your cotact s publicatio. Develop a iformatioal folder for the ews agecy s referece files. It should cotai cotact iformatio (icludig fax, , phoe umbers, ad a eveig cotact), library backgroud data ad statistics, ad details about regularly sposored Jae Kessler is a Referece Libraria ad Carol Ae Germai is the Networked Resources Educatio Libraria at the Uiversity Libraries, Uiversity at Albay, N.Y.; jkessler@uamail. albay.edu, cgermai@uamail.albay.edu. Shapig Your Press Release The key to writig a effective press release, oe that editors publish ad readers read, is to use the iverted pyramid style. The iverted pyramid style puts the most importat iformatio i the leadig paragraphs ad less sigificat details i succeedig paragraphs. Sice editors cut from the bottom, usig this style esures that vital details are ot deleted. I additio, people ted to skim articles, so covey the essetial iformatio at the start to be certai your message is read. Usig this format greatly simplifies the process of writig press releases. I the first paragraphs of a press release, address the five Ws: Who? What? Whe? Where? Why? Provide 300

35 aswers to How? ad So What? if space allows. Place library phoe umbers i the iitial paragraphs to guaratee readers will have a cotact for additioal iformatio. All iformatio should be complete ad accurate. I the latter paragraphs, provide descriptios ad backgroud about the evet or ews item. For example, if your library has received a grat to preset a childre s program o reptiles, provide descriptios of reptiles, facts about the hadlers, ad do t forget to metio the sake-shaped cookies. Highlight hads-o compoets of the evet to ecourage attedace. Additioal paragraphs may cotai a direct quote from key persos. Do t use quotes if they are baal ad isipid. For example, quotes such as It ll be a fu day for the childre do t ormally work. Of course it will be a fu day! Istead, a statemet from the reptile hadler might work better. A example may be Surprisigly, girls are ot squeamish whe touchig the sakes ad lizards. Helpful Tips Submit the release early (preferably a week). Get it i the editor s hads midweek (they re overloaded o Modays). Idetify PRESS RELEASE clearly. Label photo back with release title. Sed electroic attachmets oly with permissio. Editors ad reporters are busy do t pester them. If a release is ot published, follow-up with a quick call or ad solicit ideas for improvemet. Make sure cited Web pages are still available. Kow the material you re promotig ad a appropriate cotact for follow-up iformatio. Develop a media list (with pertiet iformatio). Fid out about istitutio ad campus press-release policies. Be available for iterviews (positive or egative ews). Make sure essetial people read the release before it is set out. Do t sed duplicate press releases. Better o quotes tha bad quotes. Double-check facts. Have colleagues proof oce, twice, three times. Do t expect all ews to be published for free; buy advertisemet space whe ecessary. Cotet Write simply; make it readable. Newspaper seteces average twetytwo words, ad the average word legth is oe-ad-a-half syllables. 2 Do t drow readers with big words ad complicated ideas. Avoid abbreviatios, jargo, ad acroyms. You wat readers to uderstad the cotet of your release. Do t be a passive writer. Use a active voice. Whe writig with a active voice, the subject of the setece performs the actio; with passive voice, the subject receives the actio. For example: Active: The editor accepted the press release. Passive: The press release was accepted by the editor. Jouralists write sevety-oe active voice seteces to every oe passive voice setece. Readers with a eleveth-grade educatio ca read ad uderstad their copy. However, umerous studies reported that readers must be juiors i college to read ad uderstad most press releases. 3 For a list of active verbs, see averbs.html. Should Your Headlies Scream? There is some disagreemet i the literature about the use of iterestig or catchy headlies i press releases. Some writers argue for a just the facts approach to press release writig. Duca states, Obviously, their (sic) should be a headlie, but do t get i a flap about this ad start gibberig about it havig to be catchy ad puchy. It eed be othig of the sort: what it must do is give a clear idicatio as to what the story is about. Leave the pus ad witticisms to the sub-editors. 4 Cotrary to this poit of view is Sutto s perspective o the eed for arrestig headlies: Good headlies that are both iformative ad captivatig are as rare as he s teeth. Make yours the exceptio to the rule that seems to say that headlies should be dull ad ureadable. 5 The headlie should grab the reader s attetio so that the release is read. To write a effective headlie, make it short, use power words ad active verbs, ad summarize the press release. Make this the last step i writig the press release. For the above example, Get Wrapped Up i Sakes! would draw a audiece. Copy Preparatio After writig a great release, do t have it passed over for publicatio because of icorrect formattig. Editors are more likely to prit a properly prepared press release, so always use stadard press release format. The key compoets of stadard press release format are: 8 ½" x 11" plai white paper miimum oe-ich margis letterhead iformatio at top of paper labeled as a press release date submitted release date cotact iformatio headlie cetered ad i bold type [city, state] followed by the body of the release double spaced ### or END at ed of release avoid bold, italics or CAPS limit the press release to oe page If it s impossible to limit the release to oe page, type MORE at the bottom of the first page. O the secod page, retype the title ad the date. Number the pages 1 of 2, 2 of 2, etc. Commo Mistakes With practice you ll lear what your target publicatio wats i a press release ad you ll be successful. The authors surveyed twety-five differet ews publicatios, large ad small, atiowide, to determie pet peeves ad mistakes ofte 301

36 importat details such as evet costs, dates, locatios, ad times ad icorrect facts. This latter difficulty is ot oly time-cosumig for writers ad editors, sice they have to double-check material, but embarrassig if mistakes are published because the publicatio receives the blame. Where to Publish? Weiss Ratigs bw islad 302 What you wish to publicize iflueces where you publish. Should you submit the release to a publicatio with a small, medium, or large circulatio? To get a audiece for a evet, you ll wat a local veue, so use the area ewspaper. Do t stray too far from your commuity uless your evet is big: other commuities will publish their ews first. For bigger stories, such as grats ad buildig projects, submit the release to a state or atioal publicatio, such as America Libraries or Public Libraries. News i atioal ad state publicatios ca be re-reported ad highlighted i local ewspapers. Gale Directory of Publicatios ad Broadcast Media provides lists of ews publicatios by state, subject, ad media type. Cotact iformatio ad circulatio figures are icluded. Gettig your press release published is ot a matter of luck. By developig a relatioship with ews sources, writig a good press release, ad avoidig commo mistakes, you ll get your release released! made i press releases. Editors idetified the most commo error as legth. They oted legthy releases ofte wid up i the wastebasket ad stated that if the editor tires of the text, certaily their readers will, too. Poorly writte articles are also a regular problem; may releases cotai poor setece structure, misspelligs, ad grammatical errors. The editors also discouraged opiioative pieces, late etries, ad hadwritte articles. Overuse of superlatives i a release is aoyig, sice the editor already kows that your story is superexcellet. Other problems icluded little or o cotact iformatio, omittig Refereces 1. Timothy N. Walters, Lye Masel Walters, ad Douglas P. Starr, After the Highwayma: Sytax ad Successful Placemet of Press Releases i Newspapers, Public Relatios Review 20, o. 4 (witer 1994): Lida K. Morto, Producig Publishable Press Releases: A Research Perspective, Public Relatios Quarterly 37 (witer 1992): Ibid. 4. M. Duca, Totally Uique!!! How Not to Write a Press Release, Maagig Iformatio 1 (Sept. 1994): Toy Sutto, Remember the Reader! Quill 83 (May 1995): 34. For additioal resources, see www. albay.edu/~cg219/bib.html. 302

37 FEATURE The Fragile Future of Public Libraries Michael Sulliva We should all be aware of the forces that threate the existece of may public libraries i the ear future. This article looks at the threats posed by the Iteret, the rise of bookstores, ad the libraria shortage ad suggests approaches to eutralize those dagers. May people both iside the library world ad those lookig i are quick to assure us that the public library will always be there, while others are just as quick to soud its death kell. Those who see the gloomy future poit to a umber of fatal factors, as if the public library s future could be played out as a grad-scale game of Clue. What will do i the library? Will it be the Iteret i cyberspace? Bookstores i the retail world? Or the libraria shortage i, well, the library? Each threat eeds to be examied more closely to see if it offers clues to stregtheig the public library, rather tha just a reaso for despair. More importatly, we eed to look iterally, at what we do ad how we do it, to see if the real threat to our existece comes from withi. Closig Public Libraries I her 1992 book Savig Your Library, Sally Reed wrote that we watch each year as the use of our libraries icreases ad we kow that i all likelihood, libraries will ever disappear. 1 Is that assumptio valid? Librarias claim that libraries will ever go away; techological futurists claim that libraries are doomed to go the way of the buggy whip. It seems to me that Reed has take a somewhat coditioal approach, ad if her formula holds ad library use declies, the the public library as a istitutio may be i dager. We are all aware of setbacks, of budget cuts, shorteed hours, services slashed, but surely ot the actual closure of public libraries? Actually, we eed to face the worst. Public libraries ca close. They have bee closig, ad everyoe who loves their ow public library must be aware of the possibility that their library may ot have a future. Promiet thikers i the library world are talkig about a future without public libraries. Accordig to the Natioal Ceter for Educatio Statistics, the umber of public library locatios (braches ad cetral libraries combied) fell i 1993, just a year after Sally Reed predicted that libraries would ever go away. The umber of cetral libraries aloe fell i Those are losses i excess of ew library opeigs. The Corig Area Public Library i New York closed its doors i November of 1999 after a proposed tax hike was voted dow. 3 Jefferso Parish, Louisiaa, closed oe brach i 1997, ad aother was oly kept ope whe a bookkeepig error placed more tha a $100,000 surplus i a coucilma s discretioary fud. 4 Whe we Michael Sulliva is the Director of the Weeks Public Library, Greelad, New Hampshire; talestoldtall@yahoo.com. This article is adapted from a address preseted to the New Hampshire Library Trustees Associatio May 29, 2002, i Cocord, New Hampshire. talk about brach closigs, remember that the closig of a brach ofte meas the ed of direct library service i a eighborhood, a commuity, or eve a tow. I 2001 the Eoch Pratt Library i Baltimore closed five of its twety-six braches due to budget cuts. 5 This occurred just four years after the library closed two other eighborhood braches. 6 There were eight brach closures i Multomah Couty, Orego, i 1997, which accouted for more tha half of the braches i the largest public library system i Orego. 7 Six braches i Orage Couty, Califoria, closed i 1995; five of eight braches i the Woodbridge Public Library System i New Jersey closed i 1994; ad fortythree out of eighty-seve braches i the Couty of Los Ageles closed i The list goes o. I give you a smatterig from a quick check of library headlies over the past te years. More omious is the umber of reports that libraries are plaig to close, that a last-ditch effort is beig made to save them, ad the silece. I may cases it is difficult or impossible to fid ay curret referece to the threateed library. It would make a iterestig, if somewhat gruesome, study for someoe to track dow each occurrece ad see how may of these libraries did ot survive. I December 2001 Washigto goveror Gary Locke proposed closig the Washigto State Library as part of his budget revisios. The state library, he reasoed, is ot cetral to the missio of govermet. 9 Flat Circulatio How ca public libraries be closig i the face of risig library use? The truth is that public library use, atioally, is ot risig. We see headlies occasioally toutig icreased circulatio, but look at the umbers. A Library Joural survey showed that circulatio... dipped i 1999 ad barely rose i 2000, [it] has leapt a robust 2.9 percet i If circulatio is fallig oe year, stayig eve the ext, ad risig the ext, ad all chages are less tha 3 percet, we are talkig about flat circulatio. The Uiversity of Illiois Library Research Ceter survey of public library circulatio ad fudig has bee collectig data from a represetative sample of 303

38 public libraries sice I the year 2000 the media circulatio had falle for four of the previous seve years. Circulatio, accordig to this study, has remaied relatively flat over much of the last decade. Flat circulatio traslates ito fallig impact. Remember, there are more people i this coutry every year. Circulatio may be early costat, but circulatio per capita is ot. The Uiversity of Illiois study showed that per-capita circulatio i 2000 was lower tha for ay of the previous five years. 11 Whe did this declie begi? I 1992 per-capita circulatio atioally was 6.8 items. That was the peak of a more or less steady rise over twelve years. It would ot be that high agai. After some up ad dow years, percapita circulatio i 2000 was just 5.4 items, a drop of more tha 20 percet i eight years. 12 If that rate cotiues, we will be sittig here i 2008 facig a percapita circulatio of 4.3 items. Actually, if that is the case, a lot of us will ot be sittig here i My home state of New Hampshire is farig ot much better. I 1993 statewide per-capita circulatio was 8.0, i 1995 it was 7.6, i 1998 it was 7.4, ad i 1999 it was 7.2. That is a 10 percet drop i six years. 13 Challeges to Public Libraries Circulatio fallig, libraries closig, fudig cuts this is frighteig stuff. But these are symptoms, sigs of uderlyig distress. If we ca idetify the root causes, we ca address them ad roll back the effects as well. So with ope mids, ad a eye to a better future, let us look at three of the challeges that threate the public library i today s world. The Iteret Whe people talk about the challeges to the public library today, the oe thig that domiates the coversatio is the Iteret. The argumet goes that people ca, or at least thik they ca, log o ay time of day or ight ad get access to more iformatio tha ca be stored i all the libraries i the world combied. They get the iformatio quickly by lettig a machie idex everythig ad show them exactly what they eed. The Iteret is thus the death kell of the public library. Books are too slow ad libraries are ot ope eough. Why is the Iteret such a threat to libraries? There is a old sayig amog debaters that he who defies the scope of a argumet always wis. Whe a reporter asked Clevelad s library director why Clevelad was spedig $90 millio o a ew library complex whe everyoe would soo get all their iformatio electroically, he replied with two words: equity ad access. 14 The reporter defied libraries as exclusively iformatio providers, ad the libraria let himself be boxed i by that defiitio. There are two problems with such a view: libraries are ot predomiatly iformatio ceters, ad, if we are, the the Iteret truly is a threat. Whe people go to the Iteret for basic iformatio, the library world shakes i fear. A survey by Search Egie Watch showed that the seve top search egies o the Web field about 300 millio requests for iformatio a day, roughly the same umber of requests for iformatio that all public ad uiversity referece librarias field i a etire year. You ca argue quality versus quatity, skewed statistics, or differig defiitios of what a referece questio is, but those umbers mea people are goig to the Web for iformatio more tha they are goig to the library. A NPD New Media survey i 2000 showed that of the 33,000 respodets, 81 percet said they fid what they are lookig for usig search egies all of the time or most of the time. 15 More ad more people opt for olie iformatio ad are satisfied by what they fid. Give the assumptio that libraries are predomiatly iformatio ceters, that meas libraries are forced to make a argumet that the Iteret really is t the best source for iformatio. I effect, the library world tells more ad more of our potetial customers they are wrog. That is ulikely to edear us to the public. Libraries claim that the iformatio o the Net is ot authoritative ad is overwhelmigly commercial; the real good research is hard to fid. The public eeds librarias to fid the real iformatio, ad libraries eed their well-built referece collectio to do it. Meawhile the public is tellig us, by their actios, that by ad large the iformatio they get o the Iteret is authoritative eough, ad easy eough to fid. Where is the discoect? I part, libraries greatly misjudge what the public wats i iformatio service. The majority of people who look to libraries for iformatio wat very simple thigs; the Iteret is just makig this brutally clear. Whe you are lookig for the list price of a car, the start time for your favorite movie, or directios to the mall, iformatio readily available o the Iteret is exactly what you wat. The curret debate reduces the public library role to othig more tha a iformatio ceter, the public library as the People s Uiversity, a place where iquirig mids go to research topics that ispire them where mill girls go to lear Frech history, where the sos of coal miers go o Suday afteroos off to lear all they eed to kow to someday become presidet of the Uited States, ad where the cable car coductor reads law ad becomes a judge at last. Do those examples seem a little out of date? So is the idea behid them. Our world has become more complex, ad rather tha ehacig the library s role as the educator of the commo ma, it has made the library ill prepared for the role. We have twelve years of madatory educatio, ad except for a few bizarre ad extra-legal cases we do ot have ueducated te-year-olds workig i the mies. Our lawyers come from law schools ow, ad mill girls who wat to lear Frech history go to commuity college. Public libraries place iordiate importace o referece, ad they cosequetly ivest more resources tha they should i this oe area. Thik about the moey that goes ito the referece collectio, where idividual titles ca cost thousads of dollars. Thik about where the referece collectio is housed, ofte with the most comfortable seatig, i the highest traffic area i the library, ad with the most accessible shelvig. I larger libraries the referece sectio comes with its ow public service desk ad its ow librarias, ad referece librarias are more likely to eed a master s degree, makig them more expesive. Public libraries see referece as a huge part of what they do. No woder librarias get ervous about the Iteret. The problem is that the public does ot agree. Most of our customers do ot come i for research. They wat a book to read, or they are brigig i their twoyear-olds for story hour. Michael Gorma ad Walt Crawford talk about addig referece trasactios ad program attedace to circulatio i order to get a true picture of library service ad highlight the importace of referece i relatio to circulatio. But their umbers show users of robust public libraries check out te books ad ask oly two referece questios per perso per year. 304

39 They coclude the truth is that libraries have ever bee the sole, or eve the primary, source of iformatio for the majority of people. 16 The Iteret is ot goig to ru us out of busiess; our ow urealistic view of how much iformatio service, ad what kids of iformatio service, our customers wat is much more likely to be our dowfall. So why this isistece o referece over ad above public demad? Icreasigly, librarias are beig required to have the MLS degree. That meas gettig our traiig i a uiversity, where referece is paramout; that s what uiversity libraries do. It is oly atural that this traiig produces librarias who are devoted to iformatio service. Referece is also a challegig ad difficult role, ad librarias ted to ejoy it more tha other types of work. Because it is so challegig, may librarias feel that it is our referece services that will gai the public s respect. That respect traslates ito the iteral library world as well. May librarias see referece as the surest path to advacemet i the field. Put traied referece librarias i ifluetial roles, ad they will aturally see referece as beig a top priority, ad as a cosequece, so will everybody else... except the public. We put too may resources ito buildig a referece collectio ad givig referece service that is ot a high priority for most of our customers. I doig so, we are forced to deigrate the Iteret as a competitor we must defeat. We the lose the opportuities that the Iteret presets to move our libraries forward. If the Iteret serves may people s eeds, the it should free up our time, space, ad materials budget to do the thigs our customers really wat us to do. Too ofte, eve the libraries that accept ad embrace the Iteret caot get out of the midset that we exist to do research. They set up Iteret computers ad sped huge amouts of time ad eergy makig ad promotig gateways to the best iformatio o the Web, usually research sites. By ad large, people do ot wat to use a olie aalysis of the Dead Sea Scrolls, they wat to lear how to get to a search egie. It is ot the iformatio they wat from us, it is the service. That should hearte us; service is what we should do best. Bookstores Public libraries may be experiecig flat circulatio ad fallig impact o a percapita basis, but bookstores are boomig. A quick check of headlies from Publishers Weekly shows a ear giddiess. Remember that Library Joural reported a robust leap of 2.9 percet i public library circulatio i Publishers Weekly touts mothly sales icreases of 20 to 30 percet through much of Bares ad Noble posted $1.82 billio i sales i the three moths edig Jauary of 2002, up from $1.61 billio i the same quarter a year before. Whe asked for a explaatio of the jump, a spokesma for the compay was quoted as sayig that he attributed the profits growth to a resurgece i the popularity of books. 17 Books? If it is just the popularity of books the why do their umbers look so differet from ours? The big chais are drivig the success of bookstores. Accordig to Rose Norma, Bookstore chais ow sell over fifty percet of all retail books i the Uited States, ad the umber of idepedet bookstores is dow from aroud 5,400 i the early 1990s to aroud 3,200 i Claims that the library has a special place i the commuity, makig it immue to such crass commercial threats as the Iteret or bookstores, soud hautigly like past claims by desperate idepedet bookstore owers that the idy would ever succumb to the soulless chais. Bookstores have bee quick to chage their roles, adoptig may of ours. Look iside some chais ad you will fid story hours, book clubs, reserve lists, reader s advisory services, ad more. They pour their resources ito gettig people through the door so that people will buy a book. Of course they will have the books people wat sittig right there, otherwise their programmig ad outreach efforts would be wasted. Meawhile, may libraries reject the idea of caterig to popular demads. They go through a log ad orderly process of choosig the books ad other items that will go o their shelves. They read reviews ad have committee meetigs, build diverse collectios, balace ofictio ad fictio, popular readig materials with quality readig. They make sure that the library has materials from all sides of importat issues, ad they make sure that the library will have all the importat books to store away for future geeratios. These cocepts come from very stadard statemets i collectio developmet policies, but what are the costs? Does your library have eough moey i the book budget to buy what you wat? If ot, cosider the resources that wet ito choosig what books you buy. Thik of the staff time ad the cost of the selectios tools. Thik of the time used to come to decisios, the selectio committee meetigs ad circulatio of lists. The process ofte meas that the books you do order are ot o your shelves whe they are already i bookstore widow displays. Whe someoe asks for the book the whole coutry is readig, does your library make him or her wait two moths? Do you have too few copies because you had to buy a book some reviewer said ever really got the recogitio it deserved? Is this why library use is stagat or fallig ad the bookstore busiess is boomig? If so, we ca take heart, because we have a model for how to tur thigs aroud. The Libraria Shortage A study based o the 1990 cesus showed that more tha 80 percet of librarias with master s degrees would be 65 or older ad presumably retired or retirig by the year 2020; some 60 percet would reach that magic age betwee 2005 ad Assumig that a libraria s career has a potetial of forty years (from ages 25 to 65), if 60 percet of librarias are grouped i oe fiftee-year age spa, the those librarias are grouped 2.5 times more thickly tha the librarias i the other age groups. Whe they retire, there is goig to be a problem. That problem begis with the baby boom. I 2005, whe the first of that group retires, those bor at the start of the boom i 1945 will be 60 years old; i 2020 whe the last retires, those bor i 1955 will be 65 years old. The baby boom librarias will retire e mass, ad a huge wake is followig the boom a baby bust. But why are there so few librarias steppig up to take the place of the boomers? Betwee 1978 ad 1993, fiftee library ad iformatio sciece schools i America closed their doors; oe quarter of the schools that existed i 1978 closed their doors durig this fifteeyear period. 20 Why? I 1978 those 1955, last-of-the-boomer babies were twetythree-years-old ad largely out of graduate school. The boom dried up, leavig fewer studets, ad library schools wet belly up. Now some say that library schools are o the reboud. They are larger, ad they are pumpig out more 305

40 I 2000 i New Hampshire: graduates. But i the wake of all those closigs, library educators discovered that their programs were too small to survive i the moder uiversity. Small schools i large uiversities lack clout ad recogitio ad are comparatively expesive to ru. So library schools made themselves bigger by mergig with other departmets ad expadig their focus beyod the library to iformatio maagemet ad computer etwork admiistratio. 21 This made the schools stroger, broadeed the experiece of library school studets, ad gave future librarias a stable place to study, but it did ot icrease the umber of available librarias. Library schools are awardig more degrees these days, but the graduates are beig traied for other jobs, ad may are goig ito other fields. Will Maly laid out the problem this way: Would you wat to sped thousads of dollars to sed your highly itelliget so or daughter to library graduate school? Be hoest. You kow you d be just as well off ivestig your moey i Ero or Kmart. For studets iterested i iformatio sciece, computer egieerig is the way to go. 23 Low salaries discourage people from gettig ito the field, which icreases demad, which evetually will raise salaries. Ufortuately, salaries will grow beyod libraries ability to pay How Bad Are Library Salaries? Computer software egieers made $35,000 more tha librarias. Electrical egieers out-eared librarias by 90 percet. Physicia assistats made more tha $30,000 more. Computer hardware egieers salaries were 75 percet higher. Computer system aalysts, 70 percet. Database admiistrators eared more tha 40 percet more tha librarias. So did techical writers ad detal hygieists. Computer programmers salaries were 30 percet higher. So were telecommuicatio equipmet istallers. Power lie repairers made 20 percet more. Isurace agets, loa officers, ad brick masos made 10 percet more. School teachers, school coucilors, clergy members, dieticias, paralegals, ad earth drillers all out-eared librarias. So did plumbers, postal clerks, home appliace repairme, embalmers, ad door-to-door salesme. Source: 2000 New Hampshire Occupatioal Employmet ad Wages, Based o Fourth Quarter 2000 Surveys by the Occupatioal Employmet Statistics Program (Cocord, N.H.: New Hampshire Employmet Security, Ja. 2002): log before they will rival the pay of other fields that require the same kid of educatio ad expertise, uless we ca chage the views of those people who pay libraria s salaries the public. If we fail to address the gap betwee what the public wats ad what libraries thik they should provide, we will ever get the fudig to address the libraria shortage. Fortuately, we have some history to fall back o. Fidig New Roles Whe discussios of these challeges occur, the questio ofte asked is whether we eed to reexamie the role of the public library as if chagig roles were a ew ad dramatic course of actio. Before beig iformatio ceters, we were the people s uiversity, filler for the huge fissure betwee the limits of the educatioal system ad the eeds of the public, assimilators of huge immigrat populatios. Earlier still, the public library was a upliftig charity, a burde of privilege bor by well-heeled ladies of the upper class for the beefit of the workig poor who had just bee dislodged from the soil ad pressed ito idustrial service. Vestiges of these roles remai, but it is folly to freeze the library s role at some arbitrary poit i time. The idea of childre beig welcomed ito the library would have bee offesive to the pristie society dames who first opeed public libraries as classical readig rooms for the edificatio of the workigma. Paperback ovels? For childre, o less? It would have seemed the ed of public libraries for sure i Whe libraries became the people s uiversity, it was what the public of that day eeded. Whe libraries were moral bedrock i a society of shiftig populatio, it was a ew respose to a etirely ew situatio. Whe the public library became the defeder of liberalism ad access, it was at a time whe ew ideas faced a shortage of coduits for commuicatio. Callig these roles traditioal is ahistorical; followig them may make us history. It is time to serve the eeds of our people, today, whatever they are. A Model for the Future If people so easily trasfer their iformatio eeds to a computer ad their eeds for readig material ad readig-related activities to a bookstore chai, the what are they losig i the bargai? The aswer is commuity, a sese of place or belogig. I a good public library, people s readig helps to build a collectio because their demads power book-buyig decisios, ad the circulatio they produce is used to determie what stays o the shelves ad what goes. People come to programs ad rub elbows with those who live i the same commuity; they carry the experieces with them back ito the commuity. Oe experiece feeds aother. Like a comfortable chair, a good public library molds itself aroud a commuity, takig from the commuity its shape ad form ad givig to the commuity the support it eeds where the commuity eeds it. No bookstore, especially a chai, ca do that. Why would ayoe pay their taxes to support a public library ad the go to a bookstore ad pay agai for the same services? Will the people themselves see the icosistecy ad make a decisio betwee the two expeses ad decide that it is the library that is dispesable? Libraries do ot have to limp alog with steadily decreasig impact, buffeted by bookstores ad the Iteret, ad starved for talet. There are alteratives, other methods ad approaches. The oe thig these optios have i commo is a redefiitio of the role of pub- 306

41 lic libraries, ot i terms of specific tasks or traditioal methods, but i terms of service. Do ot see the Iteret as the eemy or the savior of your referece program. The Iteret is a resource your customers wat, so make it available ad assist i its use. Do ot assume that people will wat it for research ad pour your ow scat resources ito usig it that way; most people just wat to check their . Referece is ot primarily what people wat from us. Whe they do wat referece help, it is usually guidace, ot i-depth research that they are seekig. Put your resources where they are eeded, ot where traditio tells you they belog. Do ot igore the bookstores. They are farig better these days because they are becomig more resposive. We are tellig people what they should read, ad bookstores are askig people what they wat to read. They have te copies of a book o the shelf whe someoe asks for it; we have te people waitig for oe book. We ca ever beat their availability, but we ca close the gap ad hope people will make a price-poit decisio, sice o bookstore ca hope to match our prices. How do you better the availability of wated items? Ask your customers what they wat, early ad ofte, ad actually give it to them. Publicize titles moths before they are published ad ask people to choose what they wat to read. Resist the urge to buy books based o a reviewer s recommedatio; they are just idividual people, ad they probably do ot use your library ayway. If you take oe perso s word, make it someoe who checks out books ad pays taxes i your commuity. Keep reserve lists short by orderig extra copies of popular books as soo as it is clear they will be popular. You ca pay for it by spedig less o referece books ad services ad by ot spedig huge amouts of staff time choosig books. Where do you shelve all those extra copies? You do ot have to; that is the poit. Buy the books that people wat to read ad they will store them for you o their bed stads. Develop staff from withi. Libraries ted to put their lowest-level people i the positios of greatest customer cotact. If you are developig a more customer-cetered library, those people kow what the customers wat. Give them more resposibility for decidig what books to buy, how to maage Iteret resources, what programmig you will offer, ad aythig else that is importat to your library s future. Ecourage them to go to library school ad help defray the cost. You may fid it is cheaper tha competig for talet i a time of shortage. Still, do ot get too hug up o library degrees. Remember, the object is ot to have the degree, it is to serve people s eeds. Mortgagig the rest of your system just to get someoe with the degree does ot make sese. If that perso is the best perso to serve your customers, use them, degree or o. The libraria shortage threates libraries, but it does ot have to threate yours. People have may choices these days whe it comes to gettig iformatio ad readig materials. If we are suppliers of these thigs, the Iteret ad bookstores will bury us i less tha a geeratio. 307

42 Icecom bw 1/3 308 People ca get their readig materials at a bookstore ad their iformatio from a computer, ad both ca be delivered to their homes. What they eed from us is to get their iformatio ad their readig i some sort of shared cotext. Everyoe chips i, ot just thirty tax dollars, but their readig lists, their iterests, ad their questios as well. They filter this through a staff of people whose experiece costitutes a gatherig place for the eeds of may. Ad what do you call people who live together ad read together? A commuity. Coclusio It seems to me that the greatest dager to the public library is ot the proliferatio of the Iteret, the libraria shortage, the growth of bookstores, or for that matter Iteret filterig laws, latchkey childre, or ay of the thousad other specters that loom i the ight. The greatest challege at the daw of the twety-first cetury is oe that comes from withi, oe that barely aybody seems to realize exists. The challege is our ow iertia, our ow iability to chage rapidly. Call it fudametalist librariaship. Fudametalism occurs whe a fluid, orgaic system of beliefs, the result of log evolutio, usually i the oral traditio, is suddely froze i time, ad that sapshot of history is give imprimatur as the oe, true versio. Such a view is atihistorical, oprogressive, ad usually discrimiatory. For libraries, fudametalism is the belief i a sigle, uified visio of libraries, a substatial core, ot just of values, but of priorities ad methods, that apply to all libraries regardless of their type, regardless of time. It is this dogged holdig o that puts us i the teuous positio i which we fid ourselves today. We ca chage our fate by seekig ew roles i respose to the people s eeds. Will Maly recetly wrote that if libraries are to serve ay purpose i the comig decades ad otice the if they will be gatherig places for people who eed people. 23 Ame. Refereces 1. Sally Garder Reed, Savig Your Library: A Guide to Gettig, Usig, ad Keepig the Power You Need (Jefferso, N.C.: McFarlad, 1992), Deise Glover Westat, Public Library Treds Aalysis, Fiscal Years (Washigto, D.C.: Natioal Ceter For Educatio Statistics, 2001), Adrea Glick, Oe Library Door Closes, Aother Opes, School Library Joural 45, o. 12 (Dec. 1999): Politicia Bails Out Brach, America Libraries 28, o. 9 (Oct. 1997): Amy Jorda, Pratt Library Aouces Which Braches Will Close, America Libraries 32, o. 8 (Sept. 2001): George M. Eberhart, Eoch Pratt Pla Calls for Closig Braches, America Libraries 32, o. 5 (May 2001): Late Bulletis, Library Joural 122, Issue 2 (Feb. 1, 1997): Eva St. Lifer ad Michael Rogers, Orage Couty to Close Six Libraries, Library Joural 120, o. 9 (May 15, 1995): 13; Eva St. Lifer ad Michael Rogers, Woodbridge PL to Close Five Braches, Library Joural 119, o. 21 (Dec. 1994): Washigto Goveror Proposes Closig State Library, America Libraries 33, o. 2 (Feb. 2002): Barbara Hoffert, Book Report 2002: The Amazo Effect, Library Joural 127, o. 3 (Feb. 15, 2002): Lisa A. Wright, Public Library Circulatio ad Spedig Icrease, America Libraries 32, o. 10 (Nov. 2001): Lida A. Hamilto, Public Library Circ Levels Off, While Spedig Tops Iflatio, America Libraries 24, o. 8 (Sept. 1993): New Hampshire Public Libraries ad State Summary Fidigs (Washigto, D.C.: U.S. Dept. of Educatio, Office of Educatioal Research ad Improvemet, 2001), F Marily Gell Maso, The Future Revisited, Library Joural 121, o. 12 (July 1, 1996): Abe Ahag, ad Steve Coffma, The Great Referece Debate, America Libraries 33, o. 3 (Mar. 2002): Walt Crawford ad Michael Gorma, Future Libraries: Dreams, Madess, ad Reality (Chicago: ALA, 1995), 116, Bares ad Noble Reports Strog Rise i New Icome, The Times, Mar. 22, 2002, Rose Norma, Shrikig Shelves, Wome s Review of Books 19, o. 3 (Dec. 2001): Mary Jo Lych, Reachig 65: Lots of Librarias Will Be There Soo, America Libraries 33, o. 3 (Mar. 2002): Barbara B. Mora, Practitioers vs. LIS Educators: Time to Recoect, Library Joural 26, o. 18 (Nov. 1, 2001): Ibid. 22. Will Maley, Ad The There Were Nus, America Libraries 33, o. 5 (May 2002): Will Maley, Telework, or Watchig Televisio? America Libraries 33, o. 4 (Apr. 2002):

43 FEATURE What Goes Aroud Telephoe Referece Rotary Wheels Sharo McQuee ad Douglas L. Zweizig Whether they are referred to as rotary wheels, iformatio carousels, or lazy susas, mechaical referece book devices are believed to be extraordiarily useful i may public library telephoe referece settigs. The rotary wheel has bee thought to provide both speed i the retrieval of referece sources ad efficiecy i the reshelvig process, yet o empirical research previously existed to explore these beliefs eve though these devices have bee i cotiual use for almost forty years. I this digital age, why do libraries cotiue to use rotary wheels, ad should telephoe referece maagemet eve cosider a rotary wheel istallatio? This study of two cases explored those questios. Rotary wheels or iformatio carousels are used to house ad make readily available library materials much i the way that a lazy susa fuctios i the ceter of a diig room table. Materials housed ca iclude library referece sources, merchadise catalogs, pamphlets, ad other materials itesively used by multiple staff members. These materials revolve o a horizotal plae, o a uit with multiple shelves. The shelves, or tiers, may revolve idepedetly of each other ad may be spu maually or electrically. These devices are believed to be extraordiarily useful i may library telephoe referece settigs. Both practitioers ad observers report that the rotary wheel possesses both speed i the retrieval of referece sources ad efficiecy i the reshelvig process. 1 However, these reports were foud i discussios of telephoe referece service ad were ot based o systematic ivestigatio. I order to test these reports empirically, McQuee bega i 1998 to ivestigate the use of telephoe referece rotary wheels i public library settigs. The sparse literature o the subject focused o the rotary wheel of the Eoch Pratt Free Library (EPFL) of Baltimore that had bee istalled i Staff members there kew of o earlier istallatios ad believed it possible that their wheel was the first i the Uited States. While they were aware of wheels i other libraries that had bee modeled o theirs, they were aware of oly a few that were ot descedets of their ow. Sharo McQuee is a lecturer ad doctoral cadidate at the School of Library ad Iformatio Studies, Uiversity of Wiscosi Madiso; smcquee@studets.wisc.edu. Douglas L. Zweizig is Professor Emeritus at the School of Library ad Iformatio Studies, Uiversity of Wiscosi Madiso; dougzweizig@hotmail.com. McQuee, however, kew of the existece of a rotary wheel at the Milwaukee Public Library (MPL) where she had worked. Staff members there told her that the wheel had bee istalled i 1965 ad had bee i use sice the. The staff believed that their device was uique, ad they were ot aware of the existece of ay others. This mutual lack of awareess poits to a iterestig gap i commuicatio amog providers of referece services. MPL was the first but believed they were the oly, while EPFL kew they were ot the oly but thought they were the first. Literature Review A library ad iformatio sciece literature review tured up scat iformatio o rotary wheels. Several electroic searches were coducted, begiig with Library Literature ad Library ad Iformatio Sciece Abstracts. Electroic versios of these databases were supplemeted by cosultig the prited volumes, goig back to A DIA- LOG search was also coducted, makig use of INFOSCI as a OeSearch category. I additio to usig cotrolled vocabulary, such as Telephoe based iformatio services, the followig were tried: wheel, rotary, rotary wheel, carousel, ad the variat spellig, carrousel. Oly oe article was located. The article, from North Carolia Libraries, cotaied three seteces of text ad a list of the volumes foud o the rotary wheel at the Public Library of Charlotte ad Meckleburg Couty. 2 The search was subsequetly broadeed to iclude articles o telephoe referece service. Two articles were foud that cotaied metio of rotary wheels, oe from 1981 published i RQ ad oe from 1995 published i Referece Services Review. 3 Both articles describe the rotary wheel i use at the Eoch Pratt Free Library of Baltimore. Neither article cotaied evaluative research o rotary wheels, though the RQ article referred to the rotary wheel as a extremely useful device. There has bee some (though surprisigly little) systematic compariso of modalities for aswerig referece questios, such as choice of iformatio format, optimal ways of orgaizig a 309

44 Figure 1. Sadra Byres is pictured with the two-tier telephoe referece rotary wheel at the Milwaukee (Wisc.) Public Library. The wheel is operated electrically with idepedetly revolvig shelves. referece collectio, relative efficiecy of differet staffig patters, ad desigs for physical space. The scat literature that surfaces, related to this ivestigatio, deals with iformatio format; i particular, ivestigators have coducted tests of questio-aswerig usig prit ad electroic resources. Two studies were foud that compared the efficiecy ad accuracy of prit versus electroic commercial databases. I 1990 Haveer published the results of a study i which sixty-oe librarias, all workig i doctorate-gratig academic istitutios, searched for aswers to the same set of twelve social sciece referece questios. 4 I 1995 Horer ad Michaud- Oystryk published the results of a study modeled o the Haveer study. 5 Agai, a set of twelve social sciece referece questios was completed by thirty-seve academic librarias. Though the secod study did ot etirely replicate the first, the methods were similar eough that the results may be reported together. I both cases, bibliographic questios were more efficietly aswered olie. As the complexity of the questios icreased, the differetial became more marked. Also i both cases, factual questios were aswered with more efficiecy usig prit sources. Neither study foud a sigificat differece i accuracy. I 1999 Jaes ad McClure published the results of a exploratory study i which twety participats searched for the aswers to twelve factual referece questios. 6 The participats icluded both librarias ad library studets. The study focused o the use of the Web as a referece tool: the success of the Web searches was compared with that of all other refereces sources. These o-web sources icluded ay resources other tha those freely available o the Web (icludig prit, CD-ROM, etc.). The study failed to fid a sigificat differece i either efficiecy or accuracy, otig however that Web ad o-web resources may each have advatages for differet types of questios. Whe all three studies are cosidered, some suggestive patters emerge. However, the performace of the formats was ot sufficietly differet ad therefore caot support clear recommedatios for the use of oe source type over aother. The studies comparig prit ad olie modes seem to evisio referece librarias as workig i oe of two differet eviromets, oe group sittig at termials while the other is accessig iformatio from a covetioally shelved referece collectio. However, i real library settigs staff members work i a combiatio of modes, makig use of both electroic ad prit as eeded. I additio, i a umber of public libraries aother eviromet is foud, oe i which a carefully selected prit referece collectio is made accessible, o rotatig shelves, to multiple staff members simultaeously. Abset from ivestigatios of referece services has bee ay cosideratio of a referece device used i well over a doze public libraries across the Uited States: the referece wheel or carousel. (See appedix for a listig of North America public libraries usig rotary wheels idetified durig the course of this research.) Method Figure 2. Joa Wolk is pictured with the fivetier telephoe referece rotary wheel at the Eoch Pratt Free Library State Library Resource Ceter i Baltimore, Marylad. The wheel is operated maually with idepedetly revolvig shelves. The study reported here ivolved case studies of two libraries ad employed staff surveys ad key iformat iterviews. Two sets of questioaires were desiged ad distributed at two sites: MPL ad EPFL, the two libraries kow by McQuee i 1998 to employ rotary wheels. Departmet-head questioaires gathered data specific to the departmet ad to the wheel itself. Staff questioaires were distributed to library staff members who worked the rotary wheel regularly (MPL, = 14; EPFL, = 13). 310

45 The staff survey cotaied two multiple choice, four yes or o, ad three short-aswer questios with space for ope-eded commets. If the departmet head worked the wheel, she was also asked to complete the staff survey. I 2001 follow-up iterviews were coducted with the curret departmet heads by ad by telephoe. Fidigs Departmet Head Survey Departmet heads were give a separate survey to obtai factual iformatio about the wheel. Followig is iformatio o physical descriptio, istallatio, staffig, ad operatio. Physical descriptio: The MPL rotary wheel is 26.5" high (from couter to top), 84" i diameter, with two tiers holdig approximately 200 volumes. The wheel is surrouded by four workstatios, each with Iteret-access computers. The EPFL rotary wheel is 74" high, 86" i diameter, with five tiers holdig approximately 700 volumes. The wheel has six workstatios, two of which have Iteret-access computers. Both libraries have extesive acillary materials i the viciity of the wheel, such as clippig files, locally geerated files, bulleti boards, otebooks, ad less immediately eeded referece books. Istallatio: Both wheels were desiged by staff librarias (Peter McCormick, MPL; Emily Reed, EPFL) but appear, coicidetally, to have bee costructed by the same maufacturer. The MPL wheel was built by Acme Visible i 1965 ad the EPFL wheel was costructed by Acme Visible Records i Sice their iitial istallatios, the devices have each weathered two locatio moves without icidet. Staffig: There were approximately 60 librarias o staff at MPL, 44 of whom were traied to work the wheel (though ot all did so regularly). MPL staffed the wheel with 3 librarias o average. There were 72 librarias o staff at EPFL, 15 of whom were traied to work the wheel. EPFL staffed their wheel with 3 to 5 librarias at ay give time. Both libraries made use of professioal staff with master s degrees from ALAaccredited programs as well as paraprofessioals or library service assistats. Operatio: I geeral, MPL s hours of telephoe referece service operatio matched those of its geeral library hours, with service edig five miutes before library closig. EPFL s telephoe referece service was idetical to their geeral library hours of operatio. Neither library had a maximum umber of questios that may be asked, though both libraries attempt to limit the time spet o each call to five miutes. Staff Survey The 1998 staff survey obtaied a 74% respose rate from the MPL staff ad a 87% respose rate from the EPFL staff. Respodets appeared to have experiece sufficiet to evaluate the fuctioig of the wheel: overall, the staff respodets had a average of 12 years of experiece workig at the wheel (10 years, MPL; 14, EPFL). 7 The two libraries differed somewhat i maagemet practice for assigmet to the wheel. At MPL, staff members averaged 3 days per week, 2.5 hours per day. At EPFL, staff members averaged 5 days per week, 3.5 hours per day. Both libraries had policies limitig time spet o each call; five miutes was the stadard at both locatios, although some discretio was allowed. Threequarters (76%) of the respodets estimated average aswer time per questio to be three to five miutes. I practice, it appears that staff did ot work idepedetly of each other; 74% of respodets reported requestig assistace from aother staff perso i referece at least occasioally. I additio to questios o direct experiece with the rotary wheel, respodets also aswered four yes/o questios, with space for commets, to gai a sese of their evaluatio of the wheel. The questios ad resposes are reported i tur below, icludig selected staff commets. I relatio to other departmets you work or have worked, do you ejoy workig at the wheel? Yes: 96% (100%, MPL; 92%, EPFL) Commets: The wheel is a marvel of egieerig solid, does t squeak, has bee moved ad re-setup three times, works effortlessly, ad holds 900 or so referece volumes I love the work. My first few moths at the wheel was a pretty scary experiece. The books are ot arraged i shelf list order but rather, are grouped by subject; each of the five tiers is color-coded ad houses several subjects. Tryig to memorize the whereabouts of 700 +/- items was (ad still is) a challege. Ours is put together by subjects, ad oce you lear what s there it works very well. Whe I first started i this departmet I made a alphabetical idex to the wheel which I still use occasioally. Do you feel the wheel is a efficiet (time ad eergy-savig) device? Yes: 96% (100% MPL; 92% EPFL) Commets: We would ever be able to do what we do so quickly without the rotary. It solves the eed to get up ad walk for the most frequetly used books. As for space, havig a place for 4 8 librarias to sit ad use the books, rather tha bumpig ito each other o searchig the shelves, is a much better idea. [A] miimum of up ad dow time. Most frequetly used sources (i.e., World Book Ecyclopedia ad City Crisscross Directories) are easily accessible to 2, 3, 4, or 5 people at the same time. This is a very efficiet way to aswer may questios quickly ad easily. Do you feel other libraries would beefit from a telephoe referece wheel istallatio? Yes: 96% (93%, MPL; 100%, EPFL) Commets: [I] feel this service is oe of the most visible services of our library ad probably the best publicity aget the library has. 9 So it would be a good service for ay library ad a traiig vehicle for librarias as well. This service is ivaluable to [the] commuity. We get calls atioally from people who remember us [from] before they left the city. We ca offer phoe # searches the telephoe compay does ot do. May ready referece users have said that they, for the most part, ever like payig taxes but they ever mid payig taxes for the library ad ready referece! 311

46 This service frees up i-perso staff from the quick aswer to give more of a how-to-do research service to patros. Could the wheel be better desiged or cofigured? No: 78% (71%, MPL; 85%, EPFL) Commets: The oly drawback is that shorter people (uder 5'4") have to reach higher for the books o the upper tier. I ve already cotracted teis elbow from repetitive motio of reachig for ad reshelvig heavy books o the rotary while i a sittig positio. I ve had to cosciously lear to avoid such ijury i the future by proper arm movemets. I would prefer to have desks istead; sice we have added so may books... the wheel has become iadequate. The oly problem is addig ew materials to the wheel. Because of the dividers we have o each tier, there are real space limitatios. It s a problem whe a ew editio is 5 volumes rather tha 3. You ca t just shift like you do o straight bookshelves. [two such commets] Our wheel ad its attached desks are 30 years old. It was ot desiged with desks large eough to have computers ad is ot easily retrofitted. We eed ew desks to be attached to the wheel where we ca ergoomically use both computers ad books. Our double rotary wheel (two levels) is sometimes started up by oe perso while a secod perso is reshelvig a item o the wheel. A off switch that would override ay other statio s o butto, which switch must be maually released whe doe shelvig, would be good. 10 It s really just about perfect. [six such commets] Clearly, staff have strog, positive evaluatios. They report that the wheel is a pleasure to use, works well physically, supports efficiet service, ad could be useful i libraries other tha their ow. I additio, the wheel is a useful publicity aget for library services. Follow-up Departmet Head Iterviews I early 2001 we commuicated with the curret departmet heads to gai a more curret assessmet ad to pursue followup questios. (Oe departmet head was the same as i 1998.) The departmet heads were remided of the staff assessmet resposes of the rotary wheel give i 1998 ad asked how likely it would be that their staff would give the same resposes today. Cythia Beder of EPFL said, Very likely. Catherie Markwiese of MPL said, I would guess the results would be similar. Their verbatim resposes follow. What do you thik your staff would say are the three most importat disadvatages of the wheel? MPL: Havig to share the item at the same time Limited umber of titles o the wheel (I ca t thik of a third oe!) EPFL: Addig materials Whe materials chage i format/size, it is hard to readjust. Whe brad ew titles are added ad old oes are take off [it] takes a log time for me to decide o desig. I almost have to redo that subject area. [EPFL had permaet dividers placed o the tiers. Cythia Beder took out all that she could; some still remai, roughly every 2 3 feet.] Staff resistace to old titles beig removed from the wheel. That s ot specific to a wheel ecessarily, but the physical locatio matters more to [the] staff of the wheel. Waitig your tur both tryig to use the same level at the same time though it s ot really a big deal. [It] does t hold you up that log. Some sets we do t have room [for] ad oly have the idex. Thomas Registers are too big. Curret Biography used to be o our wheel, but it s gotte too big. Some thigs with a lot of use just do t fit o the wheel. It does ot make sese to exclude other materials for oe large set. What is your estimated aual acquisitios budget for materials o the wheel? MPL: Roughly $16,000 total o wheel materials aually, [though some] sources used heavily by MPL wheel staff (such as city directories ad the Rad McNally Atlas) are ot actually o the wheel. EPFL: Total budget: $52,000 (etire telephoe referece departmet). A guess o the wheel oly? About $38,000 to $40,000 per year. How may calls are take per year? MPL: 1999: 70, : 55,932 [a 21% declie] EPFL: 1999: 123, : 111,912 [a 10% declie] Oe of the departmet heads speculated that this declie is due to home use of the Iteret. The average cost for materials per call was similar i the two locatios. Dividig the budget for materials for the rotary wheel by the umber of calls take i 2000: MPL: $.29 EPFL: $.35 While these materials costs per trasactio ca oly be crude estimates, ad they oly iclude the costs for prit materials (both survey locatios make use of electroic sources alogside prit sources), they are i marked cotrast to the cost per CD-ROM search figures reported by Meyer i 1993, where it appears that source costs per trasactio for electroic sources were at least te times greater ($3.85) tha for these rotary wheel prit referece collectios. 11 Approximately how much has maiteace of the wheel cost (o average) per year? MPL: I m sorry, I do t have ay maiteace records. I do t thik it s out of order too ofte; oly oce that I ca remember i my fiftee years. The cotacts o [the] buttos have wor out ad have eeded replacemet. [The MPL wheel spis electrically; the buttos cotrol the spiig of the wheel.] I ve bee here sice July, ad othig s goe out but the telephoe aswerig device. EPFL: We have had o maiteace costs o the wheel. I checked with my departmet head, who was here whe the wheel was built, ad she verifies this [ respose]. Nothig kock o wood. We will be movig the wheel agai, ad it s come through like a real champ. I hope it comes through agai. Will be the 4th [sic] move! No lubricatio. No oilig. 312

47 We dust it occasioally. Ours has othig electroic that could give out. We spi it maually [phoe respose to a probe]. People are likely to say, Everythig is goig electroic/digital. Why should we eve cosider a rotary wheel for telephoe referece? What do you thik about that? How would you aswer? MPL: Well, you ca t replace the basics as quickly with a computer termial. It is ifiitely faster to spi the wheel ad use a dictioary tha to click through a series of meu optios. Eve World Book, which we have olie ad i paper, ca be used so much more quickly whe all you wat is the capital of a state or the term dates of a presidet. Ad it offers optios. Whe a Web site is slow or uavailable, we have a alterative. Or we have aother place to check as we re waitig for a request to be processed. EPFL: Because a lot of thigs are still faster to look up i prit. Electroic ca take a awful log time gettig to your aswers. Also, a lot of times our etwork goes dow, ad without our prit we re dead i the water we ca t get to some olie databases ad the Iteret. Some of the Iteret sources are ot as reliable as prit sources reliability. A good, basic referece collectio, whe you kow your sources, ca be very efficiet to use ca be a lot faster. Havig a core collectio is very importat. We use both [prit ad electroic]. We re comfortable with both. [A]s to whether oe would still eed the wheel if oe were startig a telephoe referece service today... we are t fidig that the Iteret is replacig books so much whe we are aswerig questios, but istead it is allowig us to aswer questios we would ever have bee able to [aswer] i the past with just our basic ready referece collectio. [ addedum set after further reflectio] Coclusio This study itroduced the topic of the usefuless of the rotary wheel i today s telephoe referece settig. No study of this type had existed, or was there much otice at all i the professioal literature. I fact, whe queried, may library staff appear uaware of the existece of rotary wheels. If these devices are ideed efficiet, savig time ad eergy, it would seem that more library admiistrators should be aware of them, ad more ivestigatios should examie their effectiveess ad efficiecy relative to alterative modalities. The issue of cost for services is of perpetual importace for library admiistrators. Jaes ad McClure ackowledge that we do ot kow the cost for a correct aswer i the etworked eviromet versus the prit eviromet. 12 Yet, the issue of the cost for a correct aswer seems a cetral cocer. What this iitial ivestigatio has foud is that the cost of this carousel techology is amazigly low i additio to its beig effective. The maagers who supervise rotary wheels report virtually o equipmet maiteace or upgrade costs for this iformatio delivery system (for more tha thirty years!), beyod iitial purchase ad istallatio. I practice, the rotary wheel works i tadem with electroic iformatio delivery systems, ad we are ot advocatig oe system over aother. However, library maagers are accustomed to makig choices for the optimal bledig of alterative modes for deliverig iformatio services, such as: the mix of prit ad electroic sources; self check-out versus staff check-out; relative expeditures for differet iformatio formats; ad bookmobile versus brach. Whe a maager cosiders the start-up costs of purchase ad istallatio of computers, software, etworks, ad staff traiig ad repeated upgrades of each of those compoets, rotary wheels may appear to be both a fiscally resposible ad viable compoet i the complex of the library s iformatio delivery systems. The curret expectatio is that iovatios i iformatio services will be electroic. Those who first lear of rotary wheels ted to dismiss them as artifacts of the past ad assume that the librarias who are still usig them are resistat to chage. However, the fastpaced ad high-demad service beig delivered by these telephoe referece librarias requires that they be the staff most kowledgeable about the icreasig variety of iformatio sources available as well as beig the staff members who kow how to make choices amog those sources. Far from beig techophobes, these librarias cosider the rotary wheel as oe of their optios, a optio that is a effective tool with qualities that are ot matched i electroic modes. Therefore, library practitioers may be well-advised to lear more about rotary wheels as a choice i the full rage of iformatio service optios. Refereces ad Notes 1. See for example Bria Qui, Improvig the Quality of Telephoe Referece Service, Referece Services Review 23 (witer 1995): What Was o That Telephoe Referece Carrousel at PLCM? North Carolia Libraries 47 (witer 1989): Kathlee M. Neuma ad Gerald D. Weeks, Referece Materials i a Telephoe Referece Service: A Model for Telereferece, RQ 20 (summer 1981): ; Bria Qui, Improvig the Quality of Telephoe Referece Service, Referece Services Review 23 (witer 1995): Michael W. Haveer, Aswerig Ready Referece Questios: Prit Versus The authors wish to ackowledge the librarias ad staff of the Eoch Pratt Free Library of Baltimore ad the Milwaukee Public Library for their participatio i this study ad their permissio to use their resposes for publicatio. A earlier versio of this article was preseted as a juried paper, Telephoe Referece Rotary Wheels: Fiscal Viability ad Practicality, at Library Research Semiar II (LRSII), Uiversity of Marylad, November The authors are idebted to the followig for their assistace: Cythia Beder ad the staff of the Eoch Pratt Free Library State Library Resource Ceter i Baltimore, Marylad; Catherie Markwiese, Mary Milikovich, Kathlee Husto, ad the staff of the Milwaukee Public Library Ready Referece; Gareth Steves, David Press, ad the staff of Gareth Steves Publishig telephoe marketig departmet; Charles A. Buge, Louise Robbis, Ethelee Whitmire, Kristi Eschefelder, ad Cecily Lehma of the School of Library ad Iformatio Studies, UW Madiso; Elizabeth Buchaa ad Thomas D. Walker of the School of Iformatio Studies, UW Milwaukee. 313

48 Olie, Olie 14, o. 1 (1990): Ja Horer, ad Nicole Michaud- Oystryk, The Efficiecy ad Success Rates of Prit Ready Referece vs. Olie Ready Referece Searches i Caadia Uiversity Libraries, Joural of Academic Librariaship 21, o. 2 (1995): Joseph Jaes ad Charles R. McClure, The Web as a Referece Tool, Public Libraries (Ja./Feb. 1999): With a media of 5, the MPL data were positively skewed. EPFL had a symmetric distributio, with a media of The combied data of MPL ad EPFL had a mea of 12 ad a media of 9. The combied data were positively skewed. I other words, there was a greater umber of staff with less tha 12 years of experiece tha there were staff with more tha 12 years of experiece. 8. At the time the departmet heads were surveyed, the rotary wheels of both locatios had bee moved twice ad therefore had bee i a total of three differet locatios. 9. These staff member reports of positive publicity are supported by actual examples, may of which we have obtaied. Recetly, the Eoch Pratt Free Library s telephoe referece service was amed by Baltimore Magazie as a Best of Baltimore 2001 for Free Service for the Lazy but Iquisitive. 10. Regardig this staff commet, MPL s Catherie Markwiese provided the followig: We do have a butto that ca prevet aother user from movig the wheel util the first user releases it; it s just that staff seldom use it, except by mistake. 11. Richard W. Meyer, Selectig Electroic Alteratives, Iformatio Techology ad Libraries (Jue 1993): (Computed from table 1; this was the oly relevat cost per trasactio article located.) 12. Jaes ad McClure, The Web As a Referece Tool. Appedix A Libraries Employig Telephoe Referece Rotary Wheels As a acillary activity to this research, the followig libraries were idetified as employig rotary wheels i their telephoe referece services. They were located through various sources, icludig metios i the literature, queries posted o library discussio lists, leads supplied by Cythia Beder of Eoch Pratt Free Library of Baltimore, ad questios added to a atioal survey coducted by the telephoe marketig departmet of Gareth Steves Publishig. The iformatio o these sources may be obtaied from Sharo McQuee:smcquee@wisc.edu.This iitial list could serve as a resource for libraries cosiderig optios i providig library referece services. It could also form the basis for itercoectio ad commuicatio amog those departmets with telephoe referece rotary wheels ad could lead to the formatio of the most aptly amed roud table of them all! Alletow Public Library 1210 Hamilto St. Alletow, PA Atlata-Fulto Public Library System Oe Margaret Mitchell Square Atlata, GA Baldwisville Public Library 33 E. Geesee St. Baldwisville, NY Dayto ad Motgomery Couty Public Library 215 E. Third St. Dayto, Ohio Eoch Pratt Free Library The Public Library of the City of Baltimore State Library Resource Ceter 400 Cathedral St. Baltimore, MD Kig Couty Library System Aswer Lie 960 Newport Way NW Issaquah, WA Memphis/Shelby Couty Public Library ad Iformatio Ceter Cetral Library 3030 Poplar Ave. Memphis, TN Milwaukee Public Library 814 W. Wiscosi Ave. Milwaukee, WI Motgomery Couty Public Libraries 99 Marylad Ave. Rockville, MD Multomah Couty Library 801 S.W. 10th Ave. Portlad, OR Phoeix Public Library Burto Barr Cetral Library 1221 N. Cetral Ave. Phoeix, AZ Public Library of Charlotte ad Meckleburg Couty 310 N. Tryo St. Charlotte, NC Quogue Free Library 90 Quogue St. Quogue, NY Sa Fracisco Public Library 100 Larki St. Sa Fracisco, CA Seattle Public Library 800 Pike St. Seattle, WA (temporary quarters) Texarkaa Public Library 600 West 3rd St. Texarkaa, AR, TX Toledo-Lucas Couty Public Library 325 Michiga St. Toledo, OH Toroto Public Library Aswerlie 789 Yoge St. Toroto, ON M4W 2G8 Caada Tucso-Pima Public Library, Ifolie P.O. Box Tucso, AZ

49 FEATURE Bridgig the Value Gap Gettig Past Professioal Values to Customer Value i the Public Library Gary Deae There is a wideig gap i the library commuity betwee those who see themselves primarily as custodias ad guardias of traditioal library values ad those who believe librarias should create ad deliver tagible, immeditate value for customers. The latter goal requires developig ew library value propositios ad buildig value-chai thikig ito every elemet of library plaig ad performace. Two importat areas where this ca ad should take place are supply maagemet ad customer experiece. This value gap must be crossed i order for public libraries to begi to realize full value for their customers. I the challegig article Values ad Visio i a recet America Libraries, Eleaor Jo Rodger questios commo declaratios about the value of libraries ad librarias. These, she says, are ofte offered more to comfort, advocate for, ad defed libraries rather tha explai how they serve to create public value. She the goes further to argue: [Beig] valuable is ot about our professioal values; i the paradigm of the value of public libraries we are the producers, ot the cosumers of our services. Our persoal sese of what is valuable does t matter uless it matches that of our customers. 1 Rodger s istructio is timely. There is a wideig gap betwee those who see themselves primarily as persoal custodias ad istitutioal guardias of received library values ad others who believe librarias should be agets workig to create value for library users. While the two positios are ot mutually exclusive, they are differet, ad they lead to very differet assumptios about what good library service is ad how it s achieved. Gary Deae is a library strategy cosultat ad evets speaker with IformatioRich, a maagemet cosultig firm based i Ottawa, Caada; gvdeae@sympatico.ca. Someoe who campaigs as a custodia is Michael Gorma, who uderstads library values as beliefs that are edurig prefereces relatig to the eds ad meas of the professio. 2 His values iclude stewardship, service, itellectual freedom, ratioalism, literacy ad learig, equity of access to recorded kowledge ad iformatio, privacy, ad democracy. No oe argues with Gorma o the merit of these values or the eed for the orgaizatios i which librarias work to proclaim a set of values. As a library strategy cosultat, oe of my jobs is to help goverig boards ad maagemet groups do just that. Clear value statemets help guide a orgaizatio i its coduct ad its relatioships. Values also uderscore both a library s purpose ad its visio. However, library leadership ca weigh too much i favor of collective values whe framig orgaizatioal eds. Policy ad program choices that follow ofte fail to recogize the library s obligatio to create tagible value for idividual customers ad to deliver it to them as they uderstad it ad wat it. As Rodger states, Valuable does ot ecessarily correspod with the library staff s ideas of importace. 3 It is customers, oe at a time, who defie a library s value. This value is realized i the usefuless, the quality, ad the availability of the library s products ad services, as well as i the customer support that accompaies them. It is also foud i the image that the library presets to the customer, a image that must be carefully defied ad maaged by the library. Cocepts of value do chage ad evolve over time. Not log ago, orgaizatios were urged to see value primarily as a fuctio of efficiecy ad the iteral capacity to produce. The way to succeed was to figure out how to produce or do more usig the same or fewer resources. For the private sector, this meat maximizig trasactioal profits. As a result, customer service ofte fared badly (Is there aybody here who ca help me?). As the public sector followed suit i a attempt to miimize trasactioal costs, the customer relatioship ofte became reduced to oe of ear-abuse. However, i the past decade there has bee a marked shift i the balace of 315

50 power from orgaizatios to their customers. This is a result of factors such as icreases i geeral educatioal levels ad livig stadards ad demographic shifts (the affluet baby boom, the demadig ad impatiet Geeratio X, the cosumptio-obsessed Geeratio Y ad the milleial geeratio). Mostly it has bee about the impact of techology (especially that of the Iteret) ad far greater access to tools for smart cosumptio (some of them available through the library). As a result, cosumers o loger are prepared to be treated idifferetly ad will abado ay orgaizatio that they feel is uresposive to their wats ad eeds. Competitio for customers ad their loyalty is icreasig, ad beig i secod place i a category is ot a good place to be. Beig see as secod rate is eve worse. Public libraries have felt the brut of these cosumer ad competitive shifts. Compellig ew retail chaels for books, coveiet access to iformatio sources through the Iteret, ad a host of ew product optios ad service experieces dagled i frot of users have had their effect. Some libraries have recogized their ow vulerability i the face of these impacts. They have respoded with ivestmets i ew ad redeveloped buildigs, expaded techology ifrastructure, ew or revamped services, ad creative marketig. A few have goe the ext step ad have begu champioig the cocept of customer value amog maagers ad staff members. They have worked hard to reform their orgaizatioal cultures ad to overcome professioal iertia ad resistace. To do this, a library first has to go through the process of decidig what its ultimate value drivers are goig to be. These will steer the strategic choices ad decisios about which services are to be offered ad how they re goig to be provided. Together they form what is kow as a value propositio. Although the cocept ad term origiated i private eterprise, they have become part of the lexico of a growig umber of publicly supported istitutios, ragig from ot-for-profits such as the Uited Way to etire govermet departmets ad agecies. Essetially, a value propositio is the promise that a library makes to its customers about what they ca expect to receive i retur for their time, their effort, their loyalty, ad especially their tax dollars. They defie how services are provided ad structured to meet customer eeds ad to create value. I order to do that, the library must uderstad what its customers wat ad the be able to provide it. I developig value propositios, the oly perspective o value that matters is that of the customer. Aother importat value cocept is that of the value chai. This is the etire I developig value propositios, the oly perspective o value that matters is that of the customer. sequece of activities that, first of all, the library ad its suppliers perform to desig, produce, deliver, ad support its products ad services. The library ad supplier value relatioship is becomig icreasigly importat. For example, libraries ow are expected to work closely with systems vedors to assist i the developmet of improved itegrated library systems. This kid of virtuous relatioship also has to be exteded by the library to its customers. This helps defie the efforts ad the timig ivolved i goig from the promises of the library s value propositio to tagible results. The maagerial ad orgaizatioal cosequeces of value-chai thikig for the library are profoud. The first cosequece is that that the library sees each of its activities as related, with each step addig icremetally to the value of the fial service offerig. The secod cosequece is that the library sees its etire eterprise as a whole, regardless of who performs each customer-related activity or where it is performed (without ay assumptio that the library should perform every fuctio itself). Library maagemet the ca look at the orgaizatio ad its value chai from the outside i, from the customer s poit of view, ad develop orgaizatioal ad service cofiguratios that will deliver the best value overall. Accordigly, we ca look at just a couple of examples of eterprise areas i libraries where substative issues exist with respect to value. Library strategy i these areas eeds to be trasformed ad operatioal processes improved if more value for library users is to be created, delivered, ad sustaied. The first is i the area of what is called supply maagemet. Supply Maagemet A supply chai is the etwork of etities that performs fuctios of procuremet of materials, trasformatio of these materials ito itermediate ad fiished products, ad distributio of these fiished products. These ivolve the idetificatio, acquisitio, access, positioig, ad maagemet of resources the library eeds or potetially eeds i the attaimet of its strategic objectives. Supply chai maagemet is a subset of the value chai ad reflects a much more systematic way of thikig about how the library ca create value for its customers. It holds the promise of both greater efficiecies ad greater cotrol of the library s value propositio. Procuremet Library procuremet ceters primarily aroud the selectio ad acquisitio of library materials. As they are ofte performed, the operatios ad the processes ivolved are very labor ad kowledge itesive (for which there are correspodig costs, icludig opportuity costs). The issue is the extet that they eed to be i relatio to their ultimate value to library customers. Coutless ad compellig argumets have bee made for the alterative delivery ad outsourcig of procuremet, icludig cost savigs, icreased productivity, ad revaluig of core library competecies aroud direct public service. However, these have had a rough ride from librarias who fear both professioal loss of cotrol ad the dumbig dow of their collectios if ay part of the resposibility for selectio is haded over to others. The issue of loss of cotrol is oe that will have to work itself out i time, ad it will. However, there is precious little time left. For public libraries to start supplyig eough curret, highdemad, ad high-iterest materials i a variety of formats to both satisfy ad to icrease customer demad, libraries must improve their forecastig accuracy 316

51 ad begi to satisfy demad by deliverig more product that people wat whe they wat ad eed it. (As it stads right ow, the escalatig umbers of holds beig placed olie by customers are turig may libraries ito the equivalet of the Moty Pytho cheese shop, i which a customer requests cheese after cheese i vai, oe of which is available.) To say so is ot ew. It just eeds to be said agai if libraries are to survive ad to thrive. Charlie Robiso, director emeritus of Baltimore Couty Public Library, argued for years that the value of a library does ot deped o how may book it has; it depeds o how may books it has that people actually wat to use. Robiso ad those who thik like him have log take their lumps from evagelical practitioers who defed Gorma s values premises over Robiso s value promises; for example, promotig stewardship (preservig the huma record) over puttig as much library material as wated ito as may hads as fast as possible. It s hard to uderstad why there are libraries still tryig to cotrol ad suppress customer demad whe the resources to respod to it are so readily available to them. Trasformatio The secod elemet of library supply maagemet is cocered with the methods ad activities of catalogig ad processig. These processes also are weighed dow by burdes of time, effort, ad cost. We eed to ask the followig questios: Is what is beig doe here yieldig tagible results for the customer or just respodig to professioal covetios? How much really eeds to be doe ad spet to assure sufficiet bibliographic ad authority cotrol, stadardizatio, ad record levels to satisfy basic system requiremets? Could this be doe elsewhere at lower cost ad more efficietly? Do the trasformatios that icumbet librarias perform move value sufficietly far dow the supply chai toward the customer? It is importat to remember that the ultimate product of the trasformatio process i the library, the actual catalog, belogs to the customer, ot the libraria. Recetly, my local library system has bee i the process of acquirig thousads of theatrical DVDs. However, the collectios are uable to be browsed i the catalog by gere or eve by material type. DVDs have bee etered as video recordigs, ad for browsig purposes the item records are idistiguishable from those of the library s more tha 15,000 video cassettes. The opportuity to build a sizeable icremet of value ito the catalog aroud the library s fastest-growig ad most popular collectio o a turover basis had bee lost. This may seem like a small matter, but as a object lesso, it is aythig but. I the absece of strog value propositios that are i the frot of every employee s mid, too may small matters go urecogized, uderestimated, eglected, or igored. These mout up to erode ad udermie a library s better efforts ad its credibility i the mids of customers. Distributio Distributio is cocered with the delivery of the products or services to the customer ad the ivetory maagemet process that supports it. I may libraries, ivetory maagemet is a oxymoro at best ad a total quagmire at worst. Shelves ad catalogs are filled with material that is uwated, obsolete, or both. This is completely atithetical to value because it frustrates ad icoveieces customers i their search for what they wat. It may be reassurig to professioals to see the shelves heavy with a wealth of recorded kowledge, but if o oe else wats or eeds it, where is the iheret value to the customer? I retail this is called over-selectio, ad oly army surplus stores ad bargai discouters make it part of their value propositio. Circulatio ad other library-use policies also ca represet a troublesome chokepoit at the distributio stage. Ufortuately, it seems that i their policy relatioships, libraries will say o to customers far more tha they say yes. This is because a culture based o professioal values wats to prescribe, whereas oe built o customer value wats to respod. I the ed, supply-chai maagemet gives libraries a far more systematic way of thikig about how it creates value for its customers through what it buys, through reductios i costs, through access to suppliers kow-how ad busiess efficiecies as well as just their products, ad through icreases i speed ad flexibility of library processes. Without supply maagemet strategies, ay chages that do occur i processes will ted to be for the coveiece of the people i the process rather tha i the best iterests of the library or the customer. Comfort ad cotrol, istead of effectiveess ad prudet risk-takig, become the rule. Priority has to go to eablig the library to focus o customers ad what they actually wat ad eed as well as how they wat ad eed it which takes us to the secod example of a area i which value must be realized, customer experiece. Customer Experiece Customer service is a cocer of most orgaizatios. However, librarias, by both professioal ad persoal dispositio, ofte get ucomfortable ad eve atagoistic whe the subject of customer service is brought up. There is a tedecy to characterize it as what Wal-Mart does, as if employees that make sure that they look at you, speak to you, smile at you, help you, ad thak you is a bad thig. Wal-Mart ad most other retail ad service busiesses, from baks to the large-format bookstores, also routiely employ mystery shoppers to observe ad report o the quality of service. They do so to improve performace ad to icrease the value of their eterprises to the customer (a practical guide for improvig the quality of customer service i libraries is Deliverig Satisfactio ad Service Quality: A Customer-based Approach for Libraries, by Peter Hero ad Joh R. Whitma, ALA Editios, 2001). However, customer service ivolves more tha just the essetials of beig pleasat ad helpful. At issue is the etire ecouter that customers have with a library, from the first momet of cotact right through to their use of its products or services. This ecouter is the customer experiece, which will demad differet competecies accordig to the type of eterprise (ad the type of customer). Library competecies iclude selectio, service ad care, coveiece, ad ambiece ad atmosphere. Selectio As previously discussed, selectio coects with ad reflects the effectiveess of 317

52 the library s supply chai maagemet decisios. Selectio also refers to service choices i their variety, breadth, ad depth, as well as the library s materials. Specifically, variety icludes the various groups ad categories of library products ad services the collectio ad material types ad the rage of library services aroud them. Breadth refers to the selectio, wide or arrow, withi each category; for example, the umber of uique fictio titles committed to withi the system or at a give library locatio. Depth of selectio refers to the umber of copies of each committed to. The specific selectio strategy that determies the mix of product edig up o the shelves or provided electroically will have a huge impact o the experiece ad use patters of customers. Service ad Care It has bee said that good customer service is that which fulfills a customer s expectatios. If that is that case, libraries certaily are doig a amazig job. The results of every library customer satisfactio survey that I have ever read or see reported appear to give overwhelmig edorsemet to what the library is doig ad the customer service it is providig. Of course, this rus couter to customer ad cliet evaluatio of most other orgaizatios ad eterprises. Perhaps people do love libraries to the extet librarias like to say they do. O the other had, perhaps library surveys ted to have a built-i positive bias, or expectatios of customer service i libraries are sufficietly low that eve service that is merely adequate still stads to be rewarded. The truth probably lies somewhere i the middle. It is likely the expectatios of library customers are more ucertai tha aythig else. They simply do ot kow what to expect of a library. The goal of the library, therefore, should be to make sure customers are absolutely clear o the library s value propositio ad the to exceed all expectatios of it. Customer service is just the start. As Roger N. Nuley, maagig director of the Customer Care Istitute puts it, customer service does t cut it aymore. 4 Customers who are merely satisfied are o loger ecessarily loyal oes. The cocept of customer care, which is broader ad richer tha customer service, is a attempt to esure a better customer experiece ad to stregthe customer loyalty. The basic elemets of care iclude: tagibles (the physical appearace ad demeaor of staff ad the image they project); reliability (the ability to perform the promised service depedably ad accurately); resposiveess (the willigess to help customers ad provide prompt service); assurace (employee kowledge ad expertise ad ability to ispire trust ad cofidece); ad empathy (the carig, idividualized service that makes a customer feel valued). Together these describe a kid of missio statemet for customer egagemet. They provide a framework for developmet of a comprehesive customer care program, a cetral expressio of the library s commitmet to value. Also fudametal to the cocept of customer care is the assumptio that staff, at the momet of egagemet, o loger work for the library but for the customer. As with the terms service ad care, this ot a matter of playig with words. The otios of customer care ad agecy itroduce powerful chages i service midset that greatly stregthe the library value propositio. Coveiece For most library customers, coveiece comes dow to how easy it is to fid the library, to get to it, to park ear it, ad to eter it. The it becomes a factor of how easy it is to fid material ad iformatio ad complete the trasactios ivolved. Where services are provided virtually, coveiece is qualified similarly, but i terms of usability. Libraries should respect their customers time ad pla ot to waste it. They ca do this first by makig coveiece a key elemet of their value propositio ad by plaig for it with the developmet of comprehesive coveiece strategies that steer all operatioal, admiistrative, ad policy choices. These have the effect of buildig i coveiece across the etire customer experiece ad, just as importatly, removig the barriers to coveiece. Coveiece has to be uderstood as a core competecy of the library, ad commitmet to it has to be both highlevel ad broad-based. Addressig obvious issues such as library locatio, drive-up widows, hours of opeig, sigage, or staffig for peak periods is just the begiig. Library trasactio processes, such as those of circulatio ad referece, have to be assessed i terms of their coveiece. Busiess processes associated with selectio ad supply maagemet have to be reviewed i relatio to how well they work for the coveiece of the customer rather tha the coveiece of the libraria. Huma resources practices have to be put i place that make sure all employees get the traiig they require to reach optimal efficiecy ad effectiveess i performig their jobs. Staff have to be empowered to make decisios that make the library experiece as frictioless as possible, without fear of puishmet if they get it wrog. Everythig has to be subject to the test of coveiece i terms of customer value ad customer experiece. This will be eve more the case i the future, particularly as baby boomers, who are still the most loyal to libraries, move through middle age. At the same time, as the library makes itself more coveiet through self-serve ad olie optios, it has to esure that it does ot do it at the expese of huma cotact whe eeded. Customer care becomes eve more critical i the library i which coveiece is a key elemet of the value propositio. Ambiace ad Atmosphere A quality customer experiece also is defied by the social, sesory, ad aesthetic dimesios of that experiece. It s obvious that a major part of the success of the large-format bookstores has bee a result of due attetio to this. Aesthetic expectatios are icreasig as techology drives dow the cost of good desig ad fabricatio. Desiged eviromets please customers ad persuade them to retur. They also attract ad motivate staff. Libraries have bee forced to ackowledge the importace of desig ad aesthetics to their eterprise, largely as a result of ufavourable comparisos to the bookstores. However, coversatios i libraries aroud topics such as style ad looks as key value drivers do t sit comfortably with may librarias. This is ufortuate. As Berard Schmitt ad Alex Simoso ote: Maagers have forgotte what provides value to customers, what truly satisfies them, ad what turs them o. I a age whe most customers have their basic eeds satisfied, value is most provided by satisfyig customers experietial eeds their aesthetic eeds

53 Virgiia Postrel, writig i Forbes magazie, goes further. She talks about a aesthetic ecoomy, arguig that aesthetics are movig to the forefrot i the battle for competitive advatage. 6 (B. Josephie Pie II ad Jame H. Gilmour have put forth a related propositio i their book, The Experiece Ecoomy, which is credited with ifluecig the desig of the stuig ew Cerritos Public Library i Califoria. 7 ) Libraries have to develop a aesthetics strategy for their marketig, commuicatios, ad bradig programs ad commit to makig this part of the library experiece oe of its most importat value compoets. If people love libraries, this will give them all the more reaso to do so. What Happes Next Libraries must start lookig i differet directios ad i differet places for value, ot as directed to do so by what professioals believe but by what customers wat. Perhaps if librarias begi by lookig from the outside i ad from the customer poit of view, they will discover a brave ew world of iovative solutios ad value optios for customers. However, a value gap exists i may public libraries, ad it is a big oe. O oe side of this gap are the edurig prefereces that give comfort to librarias. O the other side are the practical ad political preoccupatios that take up the day i workig i a library. I the middle are the uackowledged ad uderappreciated iterests ad eeds of library customers. To bridge ad to fill this value gap, library leadership has to begi champioig customer value ad the meas of deliverig it. Customer value has to become our first priority at every level ad i every way, ad maagemet has to make certai that it becomes the first priority of everyoe i the library. It starts with the library s strategic plaig foudatios ad the formatio of cetral value propositios, ad it goes from there. Ufortuately, o oe is holdig libraries feet to the fire. Orgaizatios such as school ad hospital boards, ot-for-profits, NGOs, ad govermet departmets ad agecies icreasigly are beig held publicly accoutable for their programs ad outcomes. They are subject to structured program evaluatios, detailed value-for-moey audits, ad evidecebased performace reviews i a attempt to see that cliets are receivig requisite value i retur for their ivestmets, fiacial ad otherwise. Meawhile, public libraries are asked to report o a umber of disassociated activities measures such as circulatio ad referece statistics as key idicators of performace ad value. It seems to come dow to oly these or to the stadard declaratios of itellectual freedom ad democracy wheever libraries are asked to speak to their value ad their draw o the public purse. This demostrates how wide the value gap i public libraries has become. Perhaps library fuders should start to ask for more by movig away from the curret practice of givig libraries global budgets based o historical spedig patters ad program icremetalism. Istead they could begi to fud o the basis of the demostrated quality ad effectiveess of the services that libraries are actually deliverig to their customers. Ultimately, the poit is ot that library values, as Gorma represets them, are uimportat or irrelevat. They are exceedigly importat as expressios of civic fuctio ad purpose. However, the obligatios ad commitmets that public libraries have to their customers go much farther. To just live i the world of values or disassociated measures ca lead to illusios of value to users. Worse, it ca lead to complacecy, smugess, ad resistace to the kid of disruptive chage that is eeded. The amout of customer value waitig to be ulocked i public libraries is huge. To see it released will take library goverace ad maagemet whose visio is more etrepreeurial tha evegelistic aroud matters of value ad values. Library customers should ever have to be satisfied with whatever they ca get ad with whatever they are told is good for them. Selected Resources Etteberg, Elliot. The Next Ecoomy: Will You Kow Where Your Customers Are? New York: McGraw-Hill, Magretta, Joa. What Maagemet Is: How It Works ad Why It s Everyoe s Busiess. New York: Free Press, Refereces 1. Eleaor Jo Rodger, Value ad Visio, America Libraries 33, o. 10 (Nov. 2002): Michael Gorma, Values of Steel i Thirty Days, America Libraries 31, o. 4 (Apr. 2000): Rodger, Value ad Visio. 4. Roger H. Nuley, Customer Service Does t Cut It Aymore. Accessed Nov. 12, 2002, library/research/pdf/loyalty_nuley.pdf 5. Berard Schmitt ad Alex Simoso, Marketig Aesthetics: The Strategic Maagemet of Brads, Idetity ad Image (New York: Free Press, 1997), Virgiia Postrel, Looks Matter, Forbes Magazie, Mar. 5, Accessed May 8, 2002, com. 7. Joseph B. Pie II ad James H. Gilmour, The Experiece Ecoomy (Bosto: Harvard Busiess Pr., 1999), 56. CARR S COMPENDIUM of the VIETNAM WAR Four ew titles ow available: A Study of Strategic Lessos Leared i Vietam A Systems Aalysis View of the Vietam War DAO Saigo: RVNAF Quarterly Assessmets MACV Commad Histories (Saitized) Represets over 17,000 pages of Vietam War official records reproduced o CD-ROM & DVD-ROM. Titles i developmet iclude: Lessos Leared ad After-Actio Reports U.S. Naval Forces, Vietam: Mothly Historical Reports Air-to-Air Ecouters i Southeast Asia For details, visit our website at or write Carr s Compediums P.O. Box Seattle, WA

54 Herrera Begis Term as Presidet of PLA Luis Herrera, director of the Iformatio Services Departmet for the City of Pasadea, officially bega his term as presidet of PLA with the coclusio of the 2003 ALA Aual Coferece i Toroto, Otario, Caada. Herrera brigs a wealth of experiece i librariaship to PLA. Prior to assumig his curret positio i Pasadea, he was the deputy director of the Sa Diego Public Library ad has served i public library maagemet i Log Beach, Califoria, ad El Paso, Texas. Herrera is also a former middle school libraria. Whe asked for plas for his presidecy, Herrera remarked, I its ew strategic pla, PLA membership evisios the library card as the most valued card i every wallet. As presidet, a top priority will be to lead the associatio i esurig ot oly this visio, but to stregthe public libraries ad their cotributio to the commuities they serve. This is cosistet with my visio of promotig public libraries as iovative ad dyamic orgaizatios workig i partership with commuities to ehace the quality of life i the twety-first cetury. Active i ALA sice 1987, Herrera has served o umerous PLA committees as well as beig ivolved with several other ALA divisios. Durig this time he has also bee active i several other professioal groups, servig as the presidet of the Califoria Library Associatio, a coucil member of ALA, ad board member of PLA. He is past presidet of REFORMA, the Natioal Associatio to Promote Library Service to the Spaish Speakig, ad is a former recipiet of the REFORMA Libraria of the Year award. Most recetly, Herrera was a keyote speaker i Lodo, Eglad, at the Bill ad Melida Gates Foudatio Coferece o the People s Network, a techology iitiative providig public access computig i libraries throughout the Uited Kigdom. Herrera holds a BS degree from the Uiversity of Texas at El Paso ad a MLS degree from the Uiversity of Arizoa. He also eared a Master of Public Admiistratio degree from Califoria State Uiversity, Log Beach, where he received the Future Urba Admiistrator Award. PLA Presidet-Elect to Focus o Movig Associatio Forward Clara Nalli Bohrer, director of the West Bloomfield (Mich.) Towship Public Library, said she will focus o leadig the associatio forward i completig strategic pla iitiatives particularly i the areas of traiig ad kowledge trasfer, emerget literacy, ad recruitmet durig her term as PLA presidet, which begis i July I look forward to my term ad to all of the challeges ad opportuities that it presets. I additio, I hope to icrease cotiuig educatio opportuities for our members o a regioal ad a electroic basis, she said. Bohrer has bee a active member of ALA sice 1980 ad has served o the board of directors for both PLA ad the Associatio for Library Service to Childre (ALSC). She curretly serves as the chair of the PLA 2004 Natioal Coferece Committee (the coferece will be held i Seattle, Washigto, February 24 28, 2004). I additio, Bohrer has chaired committees for ALA, PLA, ad ALSC. These iclude the ALA Stadards Committee, ; the PLA Presidet s Evets Committee, ; the 1998 Clara Nalli Bohrer PLA Natioal Coferece Program Committee; the PLA Coferece Program Coordiatig Committee, ; the PLA/ALSC Committee o Output Measures for Childre s Services, ; ad the PLA Services to Childre Committee, Bohrer has also served as a member of several other associatio committees. Alog with her ALA resposibilities, Bohrer is active i a umber of other professioal groups, icludig the Urba Libraries Coucil. She served o the board of directors ad as presidet of the Michiga Library Associatio, was a member of the board of directors for the Greater West Bloomfield Chamber of Commerce, ad is curretly presidet-elect of the West Bloomfield Chapter of Optimist Iteratioal. Bohrer is also a experieced speaker ad workshop orgaizer. I the past, she has plaed ad coordiated programmig (as program chairperso) for the 1998 PLA Natioal Coferece, as well as semiars for the Buildig workshops held durig PLA s Sprig Symposiums i 1999 ad i Most recetly, Bohrer was a speaker o creatig eviromets that promote emerget literacy at the sessio Buildig the Perfect Library Workshop, which was oe of the five sessios offered durig PLA s 2003 Sprig Symposium, held i March 2003 i Chicago. Bohrer received a BA i Educatio from the Uiversity of Michiga at A Arbor i 1973, a MSLS from Waye State Uiversity i 1976, ad a MA i educatio from the Uiversity of Michiga at A Arbor i Public Libraries Authors Feted durig Presidet s Receptio The two wiers of the aual Public Libraries feature-writig cotest received their awards at the PLA Presidet s Program, which was held durig the recet ALA Aual Coferece i Toroto. The cotest awards cash prizes to the authors of the Leo Kight & Deutsch Photography 320

55 the value of public libraries ad librarias i the twety-first cetury, the campaig will help public librarias promote their libraries through messages, ideas, ad strategies that ca be put to use immediately at the local level. The PLA 2004 Natioal Coferece to be held i Seattle, Washigto, February 24 28, 2004 will mark the official lauch of the campaig. Get the Iformatio Advatage at PLA 2004 PLA Presidet Jo A Pider presets the Public Libraries Writig Cotest awards to first-place wier Edward Elser (left) ad secod-place wier Robi Brya (right). best feature articles by public librarias published i the previous year s issues of Public Libraries. The first-prize award of $500 wet to Edward Elser, director of the Crawford Couty Library i Graylig, Michiga, for his article The Evolutio of PLA s Plaig Model, which appeared i the July/August 2002 issue. Secod prize of $300 wet to Robi Brya, Brarydog Coordiator at the Public Library of Charlotte ad Meckleberg Couty (N.C.) for her article, Brarydog.et: A Homework Assistace Portal for Studets, published i the March/April 2002 issue. The wiers of the cotest are selected by the members of the Public Libraries Advisory Committee. Persos iterested i writig a feature article for Public Libraries should visit to review the criteria, or they may the feature editor, Reée Vaillacourt McGrath, at publiclibraries@aol.com for more iformatio. Public librarias iterested i beig cosidered for the 2003 prizes should visit the PLA Web site for submissio guidelies, or the feature editor at publiclibraries@aol.com for more iformatio. Oe Coferece/Oe Book Wrap-Up PLA would like to thak members who atteded the PLA Presidet s Program ad Awards Receptio durig the recet ALA Aual Coferece i Toroto. The evet was the culmiatio of the Oe Book/Oe Coferece project preseted by the ALA Public Programs Office i cooperatio with PLA. Oe Book/Oe Coferece aimed to egage all coferece attedees i readig Margaret Atwood s The Hadmaid s Tale ad participatig i discussio groups about the book. The evet, hosted by the-pla presidet Jo A Pider, drew a stadig-room-oly crowd, who ejoyed a ivigoratig ad thought-provokig presetatio by Atwood as well as a gala receptio followig her talk. PLA thaks Igram Library Services for its support of this evet. PLA your library Advocacy Campaig A task force chaired by Kathlee Reif, Wicomico Couty (Md.) Free Library, will begi work this fall o your library campaig. Desiged to create public awareess ad uderstadig of The PLA Natioal Coferece is the oly coferece dedicated etirely to the cotiuig educatio eeds of public librarias ad public library staff members. You wo t wat to miss the excitemet as early 8,000 of your frieds ad colleagues from across the coutry ad aroud the world gather i Seattle ext February to lear, exchage ideas, etwork, coduct busiess, ad reew their eergy ad ethusiasm for the professio. The coferece will feature more tha 150 educatioal programs ad talk tables, ivigoratig author sessios icludig the closig sessio featurig author ad poet Sherma Alexie ad may other excitig author ad social evets. I additio, PLA 2004 will feature early 800 booths with vedors displayig the latest ad best i ew techology ad other library-related products ad services. Atted this coferece ad you ll leave with the Iformatio Advatage kowledge ad skills that will put you o top of your area of expertise! Registratio opes September 1, PLA members will receive a registratio brochure via regular mail, ad registratio also will be available olie at Visit the site ofte for coferece aoucemets ad updates. ALA Publishes Creatig Policies for Results, the Latest Etry i PLA s Results Series Creatig Policies for Results: From Chaos to Clarity. By Sadra Nelso ad Jue Garcia. Chicago: ALA, p. paper, $50 (ALA members, $45) (ISBN: ). What does a libraria do if a uatteded child remais at closig time? Ca oresidets get a library card? What is the library s positio o Iteret filters? These are but a few of the kids of issues that require clear, up-to-date library policies. If your staff makes decisios o the fly, if policies are oexistet, outdated, ad o oe kows what they are, your library may be experiecig policy chaos. The aswer is to create curret, customized policies geared to your library. Now it s easier tha ever usig this oe-stop, step-by-step guide that dovetails with PLA s The New Plaig for Results. Creatig Policies for Results will help your library: l l l l l l Create soud ad legally defesible policies Customize policies appropriate to your library's specific missio, customers ad size usig prove work forms Serve customers more effectively by updatig, clarifyig, ad commuicatig ew ad revised policies Address the eeds of a chagig customer base Create guidace ad cotigecy plas for emergecies Add details ad eforcemet procedures for as may situatios as possible Creatig Policies for Results is available via the ALA olie store, or by callig

56 Web of Deceptio Misiformatio o the Iteret Edited by Ae P. Mitz. Medford, N.J.: CyberAge Books, p. paper, $24.95 (ISBN ) LC Web of Deceptio aims to iform readers of misiformatio o the Web, or more specifically, those o the Web who purposely set out to deceive through the use of false iformatio o Web sites, , message boards, ad so forth. Editor Ae P. Mitz otes i the itroductio that while the book caot iclude every deceptive site o the Web, the cotributors do seek to iform readers of the warig sigs they should look out for whe usig the Iteret. The book is orgaized ito several chapters writte by experts i the iformatio field. Shorter versios of these chapters previously appeared as a series i Searcher magazie. The book is arraged i such a way that oe ca either read it straight through or just read through specific chapters. Topics covered i the book iclude Web hoaxes ad couterfeit sites, medical misiformatio, Iteret security ad idetity theft, charity scams, cosumer ad fraud, ad optios for victims of Iteret fraud. The authors make good use of examples, checklists, ad figures to illustrate their poits. Some of the best of these iclude a checklist for orderig medicie olie, a checklist for prevetig credit ad idetity theft, ad a discussio of the famous Nigeria letter scam. Some chapters rely a little too much o jargo ad are ot as accessible to the begiig Iteret user as the majority of the other chapters, but the book is user-friedly o the whole. Public librarias could use Web of Deceptio i a umber of ways. With icreasig cocer about Web fraud ad idetity theft, this book would be a popular additio to the circulatig collectio. For librarias wishig to add a sectio to their library s Web site about how to evaluate iformatio o the Web, this book provides liks to a umber of good resources for further research. Fially, for referece librarias who are ofte asked by patros about amazig offers that have foud their way ito their iboxes, how to go cybershoppig, or how to do medical or legal research o the Web, this book gives good examples of the eed for careful If you are iterested i reviewig or submittig materials for By the Book, cotact the cotributig editor, Je Schatz, 213 Waterfield Library, Murray State Uiversity, Murray, KY 42071; jeschatz@earthlik.et. By the Book reviews professioal developmet materials of potetial iterest to public librarias, trustees, ad others ivolved i library service. PLA policy dictates that publicatios of the Public Library Associatio ot be reviewed i this colum. Notice of ew publicatios from PLA will geerally be foud i the News from PLA sectio of Public Libraries. A descriptio of books writte by the editors or cotributig editors of Public Libraries may appear i this colum but o evaluative review will be icluded for these titles. evaluatio of Web sites that ca be shared with those patros as well as tips for how this evaluatio ca be doe. The chapters are well orgaized, ad the book eds with a webliography, a collectio of may of the sites metioed throughout the book. The work is well-idexed, has a easy-to-use table of cotets, ad is reasoably priced. Web of Deceptio would be a good additio to ay public library collectio. Julie Elliott, Referece Libraria, Goshe (Id.) Public Library Developig a Compesatio Pla for Your Library By Paula M. Siger. Chicago: ALA, p. paper, $38, $34.20 ALA members (ISBN ) LC Developig a Compesatio Pla for Your Library is a timely book for libraries strugglig with chagig missios, chagig demads from the public, chagig staffig eeds withi the library, ad a chagig market outside the library. Most public libraries wat to hire ad retai high-quality, customer-service orieted staff but are fidig that they caot compete with private sector employers offerig higher salaries ad more progressive compesatio packages. Clearly there is a eed to reexamie the traditioal compesatio models used i public libraries. I this book, maagemet cosultat Paula M. Siger provides library admiistrators with a step-by-step guide to developig a compesatio pla tailored to their particular library ad commuity. I a straightforward ad methodical maer, Siger walks library professioals ad huma resources persoel through the process of developig compesatio program objectives, makig prelimiary decisios (egagig a cosultat, settig up a committee, commuicatig with staff), aalyzig jobs ad draftig job descriptios, desigig ad applyig a poit factor system of job aalysis, surveyig the market, desigig a salary structure, costig the pla, ad implemetatio. Some of these tasks may at first seem itimidatig, but Siger does a excellet job of layig out what eeds to be doe ad how to do it. Throughout the book she offers umerous examples, sample forms, ad worksheets to assist librarias who udertake this process. The book serves as a excellet how-to maual, but the real value of Developig a Compesatio Pla for Your Library may lie i the discussio of compesatio philosophy that is wove throughout the book. Siger ecourages library admiistrators, trustees, ad staff to examie their ow values ad goals, the missios of their libraries, ad the eviromets i which they exist to see how these thigs cotribute to developig a compesatio pla. While the author may advocate a particular compesatio system, her method allows ad eve ecourages library admiistrators to thoughtfully develop a compesatio system that works best for their specific library. Eve if they are ot cosiderig udertakig a compesatio study, Developig a Compesatio Pla for Your Library may ispire library professioals ad huma resources staff to examie the whys ad hows of their existig compesatio plas ad thik about them i a ew way. Ad as Martha Stewart might say, that s a good thig. Vicki Nestig, Regioal Brach Libraria, St. Charles Parish, East Regioal Library, Destreha, Louisiaa Youth Developmet ad Public Libraries Tools for Success Edited by Kursti Fich Gehm. Evasto, Ill.: Urba Libraries Coucil, p. loose-leaf with a CD-ROM. $20 ( ). Ay library that is located i a commuity with tees will fid this Urba Libraries Coucil (ULC) publicatio a eergizig, must-have resource. It is desiged to share the best strate- 322

57 gies, tools, ad iformatio discovered through extesive research ad studies coducted by several public libraries. A result of the Public Libraries as Parters i Youth Developmet (PLPYD) iitiative, this toolkit was made possible through a grat from Wallace- Reader s Digest Fuds with the hope that public libraries would be ecouraged to revamp their services for the youth i their commuities. The grat gave ULC capital to provide oversight ad techical assistace to te of the largest public library systems throughout the Uited States. Each of the PLPYD libraries received plaig grats, which eabled them to coduct focus groups with hudreds of youth i their commuity to fid out what they liked ad did t like about the public library. Based o this iformatio, ie of the te libraries applied for ad received three-year follow-up implemetatio grats, allowig them to exercise what they had leared through the focus groups. ULC agai received moey to oversee ad assist the ie participat libraries durig their iovative work with tees. The resoudig motto of this project was with, ot for tees. The ie PLPYD libraries bega implemetig the project with the hopes of makig a lastig impact o the library professio through real, useful experieces. To do this, several librarias ad tees worked diligetly to produce elighteig iformatio worthy of distributio to other libraries ad librarias attemptig to break ito the world of twety-first cetury teeagerdom. The resultig publicatio, packaged i a three-rig bider format, is extremely well orgaized ad thought out. A extesive table of cotets outlies each topic ad tool foud i the publicatio, ad the accompayig CD-ROM allows easy modificatio of templates for persoalized use. Each of the five chapters is desiged aroud the philosophy that every public library s service to tees should be built with tees, ot simply for them. The materials i the bider are ready to use ad do ot require grat moies to implemet. They are desiged to ehace existig youth services, while helpig to avoid some major crises that might arise without havig this backgroud iformatio. Chapters iclude Fidig Out about Youth, Traiig Staff for Work with Youth, Employig Tees, ad Services with Tees. Each chapter is the divided ito umerous subheadigs, ad each oe also cocludes with templates for ready-to-use tools (such as surveys, letters, evaluatio forms, sample iterview questios, sample scearios, FAQ sheets). Each of these tools is also available o the accompayig CD- ROM. Oce purchased, all materials may be reproduced without further permissio from ULC. Although most useful to librarias servig ad workig directly with tees i the library, this toolkit provides a excellet kowledge base importat to all library staff. Ayoe passioate about library services will come away from readig this publicatio feelig eergized ad motivated to implemet some of the proposed strategies, ad (thaks to the well-prepared templates) it should t be difficult to do. Cathie Bashaw Morto, Teacher/ Libraria, Somers (N.Y.) Library Eric Moo The Life ad Library Times By Keeth F. Kister. Jefferso, N.C.: McFarlad, p. paper, $30 (ISBN ) LC If you re overwhelmed with job-related readig ad wat to curl up with a rollickig good read about a brilliat, irreveret libraria who believed passioately i our professio, pick up this woderful biography that reveals much about the Aglo- America library world i the last fifty years. Kister does t tread lightly; he reveals Eric Moo s weakesses as well as his stregths, so oe gets a real sese of this brilliat but sometimes exasperatig ma who worked i Eglad, Caada, ad the Uited States. Books i Brief Aotatios of Books Received but Not Reviewed The Newbery ad Caldecott Awards: A Guide to the Medal ad Hoor Books. By the Associatio for Library Service to Childre. Chicago: ALA Editios, p. paper, $19, $17.10 ALA members (ISBN ). Fully idexed, updated aotatios for all Newbery wiers from 1922 ad Caldecott wiers from The Browsable Classroom: A Itroductio to E-Learig for Librarias. By Caroly B. Noah ad Lida W. Brau. New York: Neal-Schuma, p. paper, $45 (ISBN ) LC A discussio of the library s role i electroic learig eviromets ad distace educatio. Maxwell s Guide to Authority Work. By Robert L. Maxwell. Chicago: ALA Editios, p. paper, $49, $44.10 ALA members (ISBN ) LC A step-by-step text for creatig efficiet, complete authority records. Iterlibrary Loa ad Documet Delivery i the Larger Academic Library: A Guide for Uiversity, Research, ad Larger Public Libraries. By Lee Adrew Hilyer. Bighamto, N.Y.: Haworth, p. $39.95 (ISBN ), paper, $24.95 (ISBN ) LC A practical, well-illustrated itroductio to basic iterlibrary loa procedures. Automatig Media Ceters ad Small Libraries: A Microcomputer-Based Approach, 2d ed. By Daia Bilal. Eglewood, Colo.: Libraries Ulimited, p. paper, $38 (ISBN ) LC A uts-ad-bolts guide to the istallatio of OPACs, circulatio systems, ad etworks, as well as discussios of likig to the Iteret, wireless etworks, ad more. Techologies for Educatio: A Practical Guide, 4th ed. By A E. Barro, et al. Eglewood, Colo.: Libraries Ulimited, p. paper, $48 (ISBN ) LC Sceario-based itroductios to various educatioal techology topics such as computer graphics, digital audio ad video, distace learig, ad assistive techologies. The book opes with Moo s very humble birth i Eglad i 1923, his first job at sixtee as a rebellious library clerk i Southhampto Public Library, service i World War II as a telegrapher ad vaudeville comedia, his library educatio i Loughborough, ad his first professioal library job i 1949 ear Lodo. The story provides woderful isight ito the lives of the poor workig class betwee the two World Wars, British postwar library educatio, ad the traditio-boud British public library service of the 1950s that Moo, brimmig with bright ideas ad buoyat expectatios (62), wated to trasform. Moo left Eglad i 1958, ad after a brief stopover as Newfoudlad s chief libraria of public library services, he became editor of Library Joural i 1959, based i New York. Bowker hired him to revitalize LJ, which Moo did over the ext ie years, chagig it ito a iformative, ivitig, combative magazie with 323

58 lively articles ad aimated ad probig editorials o such cotroversial topics as uios ad cesorship (150). Moo s greatest cotributio while at LJ was his frotal attack o America librariaship s deepest shame: the professio s mute acceptace of, ad complicity i, acts of blatat discrimiatio agaist black people, particularly i the South where most libraries ad some library associatios were racially segregated by law or custom (151). Despite strog oppositio from may quarters, Moo published a LJ article ad editorial i 1960 o segregatio ad the social resposibilities of librarias that forced this issue oto the atioal library ageda. Kister s detailed explaatio of Moo s ivolvemet i the battles betwee library factios i a chapter called Explodig the Silet Subject should be required readig for all LIS studets. Moo became chief executive officer ad the presidet of Scarecrow Press i 1969, a positio he held util 1978 whe he retired. From , while at Scarecrow, Moo was elected the first British-bor presidet of the America Library Associatio (ALA). It was durig Moo s presidecy that ALA s Itellectual Freedom Committee released The Speaker, a film about the First Amedmet that was labeled racist by may ALA members ad strogly codemed by the Black Caucus. The furor about the film overshadowed may of Moo s presidetial iitiatives. Kister s research o this decade is particularly good, ad ayoe iterested i ALA itellectual freedom history will fid this story fasciatig. Author Keeth Kister is well kow as a authority o referece materials ad a frequet cotributor to library literature. His research for this book icluded iterviews with Moo ad his wife ad may of their frieds ad library colleagues who cotributed humorous quotes ad aecdotes. Kister s excellet research regardig social coditios i the early decades of Moo s life provides greater uderstadig of the public library service that Moo so desperately wated to revolutioize. I highly recommed this book to all those iterested i the history of our professio, to all associatio jukies iterested i the politics withi the America ad British library associatios, ad to those iterested i a exceptioally well-writte biography about the passios (both persoal ad professioal) of a liberal activist who advocated progressive chage i the library field ad society as a whole (406). A Curry, Associate Professor, School of Library, Archival, ad Iformatio Studies, Uiversity of British Columbia, Vacouver Iteret Power Searchig The Advaced Maual, 2d Ed. By Phil Bradley. New York: Neal-Schuma, p. paper, $49.95 (ISBN ). Because the olie revolutio has bee so rapid ad pervasive, we ted to forget that the Iteret was essetially a realm for academic ad techical professioals before Tim Berers-Lee itroduced the Web to the public i the mid-1990s. Neither the vast growth of the Net sice the or its most commoly used search utilities have bee desiged primarily for iformatio professioals. Istead, the popular search egies rely upo volume ad algorithmic muscle to compesate for the amateur searcher s lack of skill at costructig well-defied searches. Noetheless, these same egies ca be versatile, productive tools for ayoe with the kowledge Phil Bradley offers i this ew editio of his brilliat Iteret searchig maual. Bradley s goal is for the serious searcher to be able to select from a wide rage of tools ad databases ad to use each efficietly. He therefore gives more breadth ad expert guidace tha oe usually fids i itroductios to Iteret searchig. The book begis with the basic categories of search egie (free-text, idex-based, multisearch, ad atural-laguage), usig familiar examples of each to illustrate the details of effective searchig. A ew chapter i this editio explais the use of advaced search egie fuctios to fid image, soud, ad multimedia items, ad a secod ew oe describes Web sites for fidig people. Further chapters lead the reader to categories of olie resources that the amateur ofte overlooks, i each case revealig the specialized iformatio available ad how to search for it. The databases covered iclude those of publishers, olie commuities, commercial aggregators (for example, Silver- Platter s multijoural research databases), olie jourals, ewspapers, ad bookshops. Fially, the book gives detailed attetio to virtual libraries ad gateways, to itelliget agets, ad to fidig ad searchig Useet ewsgroups ad mailig lists. Bradley emphasizes that these are resources ot oly for iformatio but also for fidig people who have iformatio. The aim throughout is expert searchig skills, ad the fial third of the book addresses this explicitly. Chapter 13 begis with ivaluable sample searches ad a discussio of overall search strategy. Chapter 14 lists forty speed ad efficiecy tips, ragig from the mechaics of URLs, coutry codes, ad domai ames, to the fie poits of Web page ad browser use, to the maipulatio of frames sites ad dowloads. Chapter 15 is a aotated bibliography of Web sites for keepig up with the rapid chages i the field. Three appedices offer HTML code for search egie liks, coutry codes, ad a list of URLs metioed i the book. Bradley is cocered that readers appreciate ad be able to exploit the chages the Iteret is makig i the role of iformatio professioals. With global access, physical proximity is o loger a cocer i fidig the most authoritative sources. With o eed for local just i case collectios, searchers ca cocetrate o just i time discovery ad delivery of iformatio. Yet sice the Iteret is vast ad uorgaized, expert skills i defiig ad accomplishig searches, evaluatig the authority of sources, ad iterpretig ad timely delivery of results still assure professioals a role as facilitators for iformatio cosumers. This secod editio of Iteret Power Searchig has ew chapters, updated examples ad liks, ad expaded discussios of ewer olie utilities ad of future developmets i the field. While writte primarily for iformatio professioals, it uses accessible laguage ad examples. It will be a valuable resource for ayoe desirig to do more skillful olie searchig. Michael Austi Shell, Itegrated Library Services Libraria, Jacksoville (Fla.) Public Library A Ouce of Prevetio Itegrated Disaster Plaig for Archives, Libraries, ad Record Ceters, 2d Ed. By Johaa Wellheiser ad Jude Scott. Latham, Md.: Scarecrow, p. paper, $30 (ISBN ) LC Curret evets have sadly taught us to be more aware of disaster preparatio. How ca libraries prepare, give the differet types of media ad people we serve? A Ouce of Prevetio provides readers with thorough istructios o the plaig ad recovery processes. This comprehesive work covers disaster iformatio i both Caada ad the Uited States. The opeig chapters provide a brief overview of the recet developmets i disaster preparedess. Surveys show that while may libraries have experieced collectio losses, a high percetage of them lack a disaster maual. A listig ad descriptio of differet agecies available to help i the evet of a emergecy is particularly useful for readers. The secod chapter outlies i great detail how to develop a disaster pla. Every cotigecy is cosidered, from outliig the sigs of impedig disaster where possible to dealig with temporary locatios for materials. The warigs about hazardous materials are timely ad 324

59 importat cosideratios. It is more likely, though, that most libraries will be dealig with water damage. Further chapters provide charts of temperatures ad the specific effects of weather-related icidets o prit ad computer resources. Oe of the best features of this book is the presece of checklists for security, storage, ad so forth. These break dow scary possibilities ito maageable processes. For example, the storage checklist icludes descriptio of types of restraits or shelvig furiture that will help prevet earthquake damage. Advace plaig caot, of course, prevet all types of damage, ad this maual provides specific remedies for may types of damage. The chart Summary of Recovery Optios for Water-Damaged Collectios ad Records provides a quick ad helpful referece for treatig differet types of media. Some areas such as boostig employee morale ad dealig with documetatio ad isurace after a disaster make this maual uique ad especially realistic i dealig with such situatios. The book eve provides a Persoel Welfare Checklist. Excellet refereces are located at the back, icludig a listig of where to fid examples of disaster plas. The secod editio of this book expads coverage of types of media so that more facilities ca use it, such as records ceters. Other recet books do cover multimedia, icludig Disaster Respose ad Plaig for Libraries by Miriam Kah (ALA, 2003), but this is certaily a topic where the library should acquire comprehesive iformatio i multiple sources. This title will be especially useful for public ad corporate libraries. Amy Alessio, Tee Coordiator, Schaumburg Towship (Ill.) District Library INDEX TO ADVERTISERS AWE , 325 Baker & Taylor cover 2 Book Wholesalers Ic , cover 3 Carr s Compediums Dyix cover 4 Illiois Library Associatio Icecom Neal-Schuma OCLC Poisoed Pe Press Referece USA Sirsi TLC Weiss Ratigs AWE bw 1/

60 Referece USA 4c page 326

61 Free Cumulative Idex to Natioal Geographic Available Olie Natioal Geographic is oe of the mostused magazies i public libraries. Now there is a easy way to search for articles i ay of the Natioal Geographic Society s publicatios. As a public service, the Natioal Geographic Society is offerig access to their olie magazie idex at o charge. This idex cotais more tha 23,000 bibliographic records, oe for each magazie article, map, video, ad so forth. Alog with the Natioal Geographic magazie (1888 preset), the followig magazies ad products are idexed: Adveture magazie, Traveler magazie, Kids magazie (formerly World), Explorer! for the classroom, Research Joural (o loger published), maps, videos, ad educatio products. The Natioal Geographic Society ecourages libraries to lik to this free resource. For more iformatio, cotact the idex maager, Ae Marie Houppert, at ahoupper@gs.org. publicatios/explore.html Natioal Archives Offers New Electroic Database The Natioal Archives ad Records Admiistratio lauched Access to Archival Databases (AAD), a ew research tool that makes a selectio of the orgaizatio s most popular electroic records available to the public over the Iteret. AAD is the first publicly accessible applicatio developed uder the auspices of the Natioal Archives Electroic Records Archives Program. AAD addresses access to a specific type of electroic record databases ad records that are structured like databases. AAD provides researchers with olie access to more tha 350 databases created by more tha 20 federal agecies; the ability to search, retrieve, prit out, ad dowload records; ad cotextual iformatio to help researchers better uderstad the records. Notable databases i the iitial release of AAD iclude: preservatio survey of Civil War sites; combat casualties from the Vietam ad Korea Wars; POWs from World War II ad Korea War; Japaese-America Iteree files from World War II; Port of New York ship passeger lists, (Irish Famie database); death records from the Gorgas Hospital Mortuary i Paama, ; ad idexes to black ad white ad color NASA photographs, Natioal Ceter for Educatio Statistics Offers Free Guide to Web-based Resources A Quick Guide to Educatio Data Resources is a free tabletop display desiged for use i public libraries as a quick referece guide to select easy-to-use, Web-based databases from the Natioal Ceter for Educatio statistics (NCES). The NCES databases will be of iterest to librarias, studets, parets, ad educators. Produced by the NCES Library Statistics Program, the guide is curretly beig mailed to the 9,134 public libraries icluded i the NCES Public Libraries Survey uiverse ad to all state library agecies. The cotributig editor of this colum is Vicki Nestig, Regioal Brach Libraria at the St. Charles Parish Library, Louisiaa. Submissios may be set to her at 21 River Park Dr., Hahville, LA 70057; vesti@ bellsouth.et. The above are extracted from press releases ad vedor aoucemets ad are iteded for reader iformatio oly. The appearace of such otices herei does ot costitute a evaluatio or a edorsemet of the products or services by the Public Library Associatio or the editors of this magazie. NCES Web sites highlighted by this guide iclude: Search for Schools, Colleges, ad Libraries public ad private elemetary ad secodary schools, colleges, ad public libraries by city, state, ame, ad zip code. Studets Classroom activities for studets, icludig math games ad activities, math cocepts such as probability, iformatio o famous mathematicias, ad a test to see how the studet compares to iteratioal studets. Quick Tables ad Figures data searchable by keyword, topic, ad year. Electroic Catalog dowloadable PDF files of NCES publicatios. Public Library Peer Compariso Tool ad the Academic Library Peer Compariso Tool detailed iformatio about idividual libraries ad comparisos betwee idividual libraries ad other libraries state- ad atiowide. Copies of the guide are free of charge. To order, call ED Pubs at ED-Pubs ad provide the publicatio referece umber NCES The tabletop referece ca also be ordered olie or dowloaded from the NCES Electroic Catalog at pubsifo.asp?pubid= Bares ad Noble to Publish the World s Greatest Classics Bares ad Noble has itroduced Bares ad Noble Classics ew, quality editios of the world s greatest classics. Each book will cotai authoritative texts ad origial scholarship, icludig ewly commissioed itroductios by leadig experts ad study materials for a ew geeratio of readers. The books will be published i various formats, icludig hardcover, trade paperback, mass-market paperback, ad e- book. Prices will rage primarily from $3.95 to $9.95. The series will be available to all bookstores, libraries, ad wholesalers throughout the coutry. I additio to commetary, each book will feature foototes ad edotes, dis- 327