Wednesday, March 16, 2016

Adults Just Wanna Have Fun


Barbakoff, A. (2016). Adults Just Wanna Have Fun: Programs for Emerging Adults. Chicago, IL: ALA Editions.

There are a wealth of resources out there geared towards serving the needs of toddlers, school age children, young adults, and senior citizens. But something's missing. Library users in their 20s and 30s constitute one of the most underserved populations for public libraries, and there's a scarcity of guidance on how to target them. Barbakoff’s fun and practical programming book helps to fill that gap. A 2013 Library Journal Mover & Shaker who was also named one of Flavorwire’s “10 of the Coolest Librarians Alive,” she shows how to draw emerging adults to the library using a mixture of play and engagement and then keep them coming back for more. Packed with ideas that are real-world tested and approved, this guide  
  • examines the unique needs and expectations of millennials, many of whom are already avid readers and have the potential to become a core part of the public library user base;
  • presents easily adaptable programs that are fun for a variety of groups, from “Bad Art Night” and “DIY Hot Cocoa Mix” to “Library Speed Dating” and “Homemade Spa Products”;
  • features a range of events that move the library outside and into the community, such as hosting a book club in a bar, combining books and bikes, partnering with a commercial kitchen for a cookbook group, and a book-to-action program that uses book discussions as springboards to hands-on service projects;
  • offers advice for garnering funding and support by showing how to connect programming to the library’s fundamental values; and
  • provides tips for prep, setup, and teardown, plus pointers on marketing and outreach.
By taking the initiative to offer programming that appeals to emerging adults, public libraries help to make them life-long library users. It’s an investment that will reap benefits for years to come, and this book shows how to make it happen.

Check out this title's Web Extra!

(book description)

Wednesday, March 2, 2016

Inspired Collaboration: Ideas for Discovering and Applying Your Potential


Stoltz, Dorothy. Inspired Collaboration: Ideas for Discovering and Applying Your Potential. ALA Editions, 2016. ISBN: 978-0-8389-1396-3

Description
The author and her collaborators offer advice on how to cultivate and maintain effective collaborations within libraries and with community partners. An array of appendices with worksheets, examples, suggested readings, and other tools will inspire effective communication and accountability within your organization and among community allies.

Table of Contents 

Introduction: Let’s Celebrate!

Part I    Why Collaborate?

Chapter 1    The Library’s Role
Chapter 2    Working Together

Part II    The Trials of Collaboration

Chapter 3    Too Much Red Tape
Chapter 4    Striving for Excellence
Chapter 5    Gaining Insight
Chapter 6    Staying Above the Fray

Part III    A New Way to Plan and Implement

Chapter 7    Creating Your Future
Chapter 8    Putting Your Principles to Work
Chapter 9    Avoiding Tales of Woe—or Whoa!
Chapter 10    Practical Implementation

Part IV    Engagement—The Heart of Collaboration

Chapter 11    Growing and Flourishing
Chapter 12    Sparking Curiosity
Chapter 13    Engaging Your Community
Chapter 14    It’s Magic!
Chapter 15    Everyday Efforts, Everyday Greatness
Chapter 16    Inspiring Your Community
Chapter 17    Celebrating Success!

Afterword
Appendixes

Appendix A    Worksheet: Growing My Community Collaboration
Appendix B    Using Critical Incidents to Build Leadership Competence
Appendix C    Strategies Inventory: Race to the Top—Early Learning Challenge
Appendix D    Action Plan Sample: Aligned Action Commitments for Early Childhood Advisory Councils
Appendix E    Colorado Example: Earlier Is Easier
Appendix F    Pondering Everyday Wisdom
Appendix G    ALA Web Extras: Collaboration in Practice
Appendix H    Suggested Reading

Tuesday, March 1, 2016

Organizing Information

Houston, Cynthia. Organizing Information in School Libraries: Basic Principles and New Rules. Santa Barbara, CA: Libraries Unlimited, 2016. ISBN: 978-1-4408-3686-2

Publisher's Description
Covering both classification and cataloging principles as well as procedures relevant to school libraries, this book provides a teaching kit for a course on this critical subject that includes content and practice exercises.

A valuable resource for instructors in LIS programs who teach courses in cataloguing with an emphasis on school libraries, this textbook explains the nuts and bolts of classification and cataloging as well as the functionality of integrated library systems and how these systems critically serve the mission of the school. Author Cynthia Houston covers Web 2.0 and the social networking features of these systems as well as examining in detail the principles and procedures for subject classification using Sears subject headings or Dewey Decimal Classification using the Sears tool.

This teaching tool kit addresses the cataloging of print materials, audiovisual materials, and electronic materials separately—but all within the specific context of the school library. It supplies a number of examples and exercises to reinforce the key concepts and skills as well as to demonstrate the real-world applications of learning concepts and procedures. Based directly on Houston's extensive experience in teaching classification and cataloging courses, the included content and practice exercises enable instructors to use this book for content, for instruction, and for providing student feedback.

Features
  • Answers essential questions such as "What is the nature of the bibliographic universe in an electronic information age?" and "What is the relationship of my school library's catalog to the bibliographic universe?"
  • Addresses RDA standards as well as cataloguing and classification strategies for school library programs
  • Features practice exercises that readers can apply immediately for in-class use