Continuing Education for Oregon Library Personnel: Needs Assessment Report and Proposed Model

Ruth Metz Associates for Portland Community College. Continuing Education for Oregon Library Personnel: Needs Assessment Report and Proposed Model. October 11, 2010 020.715 conti

Resulting from a 2010 LSTA grant, this report looks at continuing education needs identified in many focus groups throughout Oregon. The report also explores models for CE for Oregon’s library community.

El día de los niños/El día de los libros: Building a Culture of Literacy in Your Community through Día

Jeanette Larson for the Association for Library Service to Children (ALSC). El día de los niños/El día de los libros: Building a Culture of Literacy in Your Community through Día. Chicago: ALA, 2011 027.625 Larso ISBN: 978-0-8389-3599-6

A celebration of children, families, and reading held annually since 1996, Children’s Day/Book Day, known as Día, emphasizes the importance of literacy for children of all linguistic and cultural backgrounds. In anticipation of Día’s fifteenth anniversary, the Association for Library Service to Children (ALSC) presents a collection of the best of its Día programming ideas, offering · A wealth of ready-to-use programs, easily adaptable for a variety of cultures · Cultural competency training tips to encourage outreach to minority populations · Interviews with library directors about the best ways to heighten awareness of cultural and literacy issues Complemented by numerous bilingual book suggestions, this resource is perfect for collection development, early literacy storytimes, and year-round program planning.

The Challenge of Library Management

VanDuinkerken, Wyoma and Mosley, Pixey Anne. The Challenge of Library Management: Leading with Emotional Engagement. Chicago: ALA, 2011. 025.1VanDu ISBN 978-0-8389-1102-0

Change is inevitable and essential to any functioning institution. But change can be stressful, especially when it upsets established routines and patterns. Library managers need to be able to lead staff through episodes of change while remaining empathetic, and this book shows them how to · Engage library staff in the process and encourage their active participation · Navigate successfully through common types of change, such as space planning, departmental reorganization, and changes in work responsibilities · Draw on concepts from psychology, communication, empowerment, planning, and evaluation to minimize friction Most workplace changes are not ends in themselves but part of a continuous process of transition. Peppered with short narratives that use real-life examples of change principles, this book helps managers reassure their staff that change can be an opportunity for reflection and personal growth.

The Librarian as Information Consultant: Transforming Reference for the Information Age

Murphy, Sarah Anne. The Librarian as Information Consultant: Transforming Reference for the Information Age. Chicago: American Library Association, 2011. ISBN 978-0-8389-1086-3 025.52 Murph Library users evolving information needs and their choice of search methods have changed reference work profoundly. Today’s reference librarian must work in a whole new way not only service-focused and businesslike, but even entrepreneurial. Murphy innovatively rethinks the philosophy behind currentlibrary reference services in this thought-provoking book, which: · Rebrands reference librarianship on the model of a consulting business, providing a renewed vision of the reference desk by treating patrons as clients · Spells out the importance of the patron s voice, and details methods for building and maintaining relationships with patrons · Identifies the reference librarian s competitive advantage over Web search engines and shows how to capitalize on it Murphy adapts existing business practices and programs to the context of the library, allowingfrontline staff and administrators in any type of reference department to monitor and continuouslyimprove their library’s services.

Into the Minds of Babes (book)

Guernsey, Lisa. (2007). Into the Minds of Babes: How Screen Time Affects Children From Birth to Age Five. NY: Perseus Books.

As a mother, Lisa Guernsey wondered about the influence of TV on her two young daughters. As a reporter, she resolved to find out. What she first encountered was tired advice, sensationalized research claims, and a rather draconian mandate from the American Association of Pediatricians: no TV at all before the age of two. But like many parents, she wanted straight answers and realistic advice, so she kept digging: she visited infant-perception laps and child development centers around the country. She interviewed scored of parents, psychologists, cognitive scientists, and media researchers, as well as programming executives at Noggin, Disney, Nickelodeon, Sesame Workshop, and PBS. Much of what she found flies in the face of conventional wisdom and led her to conclude that new parents will be best served by focusing on "the three C's": content, context, and the individual child.

Advocating a new approach to TV and DVDs, Guernsey focuses on infants to five-year-olds and goes beyond the headlines to explore what exactly is "educational" about educational media. She examines how play and language development are affected by background and foreground TV and how to choose videos that are age-appropriate. She explains how to avoid the hype of "brain stimulation" and focus instead on social relationships and the building blocks of language and literacy. Along the way, she highlights independent research on shows ranging from Dora The Explorer to Dragon Tales, and distills some surprising new findings in the field of child development.

(book description)