Library News

From SFGate.com via my friend Deborah Doyle's Facebook post  - Print is Not Dead - Libraries Booming

That's not news to us here at PVLD where our 09/10 door count and circulation matched 08/09's record levels per hour that the libraries were open, our Summer Reading program for kids and teens is on track to meet or exceed last year's record 3600 participants, and it is almost impossible to find a parking space in the afternoons....

At New York’s Polo Grounds on Oct. 3, 1951, outfielder Bobby Thomson of the Giants hit a game-winning home run off Brooklyn Dodgers pitcher Ralph Branca for the National League championship.   The home run was immortalized as “the shot heard ‘round the world.”  Thomson died yesterday in Savannah, Georgia at the age of 86.

His home run capped a late-season push by the Giants, who caught the Dodgers in September, necessitating a three-game playoff.  In later years, it was revealed that the Giants stole opposing catchers’ signals during the 1951 season.  Thomson denied having been tipped off about the high fast one from Branca that he hit into the left field stands.

Library resources: The shot heard ’round the world, NY/SF Giants, Brooklyn/LA Dodgers

As recent blog posts reflect, the subject of how libraries can support local businesses has been on my mind.  Today started with a meeting about our Zerunyan Center for Business, Entrepreneurship, and Community Development (located at the Peninsula Center Library) and as I write this a local group of Angel Investors is meeting in our Community Room to hear about new start-up businesses, and my day will end with a Chamber of Commerce meeting as part of my role as Chair-elect of the Chamber.

On a business-focused day like this it seemed like synchronicity when this article about a proposal by some entrepreneurs up in Santa Cruz to "... integrate libraries as the centerpiece of efforts to generate large numbers of low cost and small-scale entrepreneur businesses"  came across my blog reader.

Based on the headline I was excited to see what new ideas were being pursued up north, and it is always nice to see a maintstream media article about all of the ways libraries can support entrepreneurs.  As I read the article, however, I was dismayed that many of the things presented as new ways to support businesses are actually things many public libraries already do:

"Public libraries could provide open spaces, computers, wireless environments, print and electronic materials, access to the Internet, public hours, photocopiers, printers and places to sit and read and meet with others, they said. "Best of all, librarians are trained professionals who can connect people with the information they need to become entrepreneurs."

Open spaces? - check

Computers? - check

Wireless environments? - check

Access to print and electronic materials? - check

Public hours? - check

Photocopiers and printers? - check

Places to sit and read, and to meet with others? - check

Trained professional librarians who can connect people with entrepreneurial resources? - check

The comments from the entrepreneurs made me wonder if they really know what their local libraries are probably already doing, or whether they have a vision that extends beyond what was reported. 

In the end the article left me appreciative of the recognition that libraries can play an important role in local business development, but wishing both the entrepreneurs cited and the journalist had done a bit more homework...

Research published in the journal Nature this week indicates that only about 35% of anxiety risk is inherited.  In a study of rhesus monkeys, scientists at the University of Wisconsin concluded that the processing of emotions is a clue that environment is the major factor in anxiety in children.

About one in eight children in the U.S. is affected by anxiety.  Researchers stress professional help for those suffering extreme symptoms.  But for children exhibiting more moderate anxiety, parents can help by talking to their kids about their fears and encouraging them to try things they may be afraid of.

Library resources: Anxiety and kids

From my friend Paula Weiner, Director of the Torrance Public Library - an excellent article on why libraries are important from the The current issue of Governing Magazine -

Libraries Lose More Than Time.

Although non-IBM personal computers were available as early as the mid-1970s, IBM’s own Personal Computer, the IBM 5150, was introduced at a press conference on August 12, 1981 in New York City.  The IBM development team went outside the bounds of their traditional product development and was able to develop and announce their new PC in just 12 months.

The price tag for the base model of this new PC was $1,565, which included a system unit, a keyboard, and color/graphics capability.  (Just 20 years earlier, IBM computers usually cost up to $9 million and required an air-conditioned space of a quarter-acre and staff of 60 people.)  The 5150 was powered by an Intel 8088 microprocessor that operated at speeds in millionths of a second.  IBM retailed this PC through ComputerLand, Sears Roebuck and Co., and IBM Product Centers.  100,000 orders for this new computer were taken by Christmas with Newsweek magazine noting “IBM’s roaring success.”

Library Resources:  IBM history; learning to use computers, Microsoft Office, and Windows 7 for seniors   

Everyone who works in a public library knows that in these tough economic times we are seeing more and more people come to us looking for resources to aid their job search, and to use our computers to create resumes and fill out online job applications. 

This year, thanks to a Federal Library Services and Technology Act grant PVLD along with nearly every other public library in California is please to be able to offer free access to the Career Transitions online service for job-seekers via our website (available from any computer with Internet access whether in the library or not).

Against this background it was nice to see the important role libraries play highlighted in this week's Job Journal : 

Libraries Branching Out into Employment Centers Libraries Branching Out into Employment Centers

With free Internet access, a wealth of printed information, and knowledgeable staffers, libraries are becoming valuable hubs for jobseekers. With the growing need, libraries are offering classes on resume writing and interview techniques, as well as online courses for entrepreneurs and civil-service exam prep. Some even offer free career counseling. In 2009, 20 million people reported using public libraries in their job searches, 6.9 million people used library computers for job-related training, and 3.7 million jobs were landed with the aid of library computers.

 Nice recognition for an important, but sometimes overlooked, service provided by your local library!

One of the projects that took up a fair amount of my time a few weeks ago was serving as a Rater for applications to this year's Eureka Leadership Institute.  This involved reviewing and rating about 60 applications for the 30 available slots.  Applicants had to submit a resume, several reference letters, provide answers to four qualitative questions about leadership, and describe a project that they plan to undertake as part of the Eureka process.

One of the qualitative questions was along the lines of "What are the most pressing issues facing your library and your community and how can the library address them?"  and I was stunned by the number of people who wrote only about the issues facing their library (budget pressures, short staffing, lack of awareness of library services, etc.) with no reference to the needs and issues of the community they serve and/or responded that the most important thing the library can do is make sure more people are aware of and use its services...i.e. "selling" the library or, as I have seen it put, "converting the heathen".   

I don't know whether it is an indictment of the state of library education or a reflection of a "hunkering down" mentality within libraries, but it was very disappointing that so few applicants seemed to grasp that the path to success isn't convincing people how wonderful libraries are, but rather in identifying and addressing real community needs.

My experience of the Eureka applications is still fresh, so this blog post from Dan Blank about using social networking to build communities (via David Lee King)  really struck a cord, especially this:

You don’t sell to a community. You support a community. You provide for a community. You connect a community. You mediate a community. You balance a community. You sacrifice for a community.

One of the important roles libraries can play (in both the physical and virtual worlds) is helping build communities...but as Dan Blank notes that is very different from selling something. 

Sure, we need to make sure people are aware of our services and most libraries, PVLD included, invest a significant amount of time and effort in marketing our services and programs.  I get worried, though, when as a profession we seem to confuse marketing with developing a deep understanding of the communities we serve and their needs and aspirations, and then connecting what we do to those needs.

Summer is almost over, but don’t get bummed out. Join us for an indoor “beach” party! Play some games, compete in some contests, enjoy summer tunes, and munch on snacks, all without getting sand in your flip flops! We’ll be drawing the prize winners for the Teen Summer Reading Program and all party beach bums in attendance get an extra chance at the drawings!

We all caught the wave Thursday–the wave of FUN that is! We limbo-ed, tried to herd bubbles (turns out bubbles are very uncooperative), decorated cupcake masterpieces, drank some delish “daiquiris” (non-alcoholic of course!), and basked in the virtual sun of the Wii-Sports Resort. Check out the pics from our Flickr feed on the bottom right of this page. We also drew names for the winners of the Teen Summer Reading Program and those winners will be hearing from us shortly. And to put a shiny sparkle on the end of the festivities, Laura Henry, Young Readers Manager, unveiled a NEW PS3 console for The Annex! We had an awesome time!

~Louise

Thursday, August 19th
2-4 pm
@ The Annex

I've had some requests for the list of books from last weekend's gathering, so here it is.  A few items may be in the wrong category...pretty much any book we talked about got written down, so it is an eclectic list!

Fiction
Allen, Sarah Garden Spells
Amirrezvani, Anita Blood of Flowers
Bail, Murray Eucalyptus
Barbery, Muriel The Elegance of the Hedgehog
Barrows, Annie and Mary Ann Shaffer The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel
Pie Society
Bender, Aimee The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake
Blake, Sarah The Postmistress
Boyle, T. C. The Woman (about Frank Lloyd Wright’s women)
Bradbury, Ray Something Wicked This Way Comes
Bradley, Alan Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie, The Weed that Stings,
The Hangman's Bag
Byatt,A.S. Possession (read past p. 100)
Cashore, Kristin Graceling (young adult)
Collins, Suzanne The Hunger Games (young adult)
Courtenay, Bruce The Power of One
De Rosnay, Tatiana Sarah’s Key
Divakaruni, Chitra Banerjee Sister of My Heart
Drayson, Nicholas A Guide to the Birds of East Africa (a novel)
Ghosh, Amitav Hungry Tide
Gopnik, Adam Paris to the Moon
Greene, Graham The Honorary Consul
Gruen, Sarah Water for Elephants
Ford, Jamie Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet
Haddon, Mark The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night
Harrison, Jim The English Major
Horan, Nancy Loving Frank (Frank Lloyd Wright)
James, PD â€" mysteries
Jordan, Hillary Mudbound
Larsson, Steig The Girl With the Dragon Tatoo, The Girl Who Played with
Fire, The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet’s Nest
Mankell, Henning mysteries
McCann, Colum Let the Great World Spin
Mones, Nicole The Last Chinese Chef
Petterson, Per Out Stealing Horses
Quinn, Spencer Thereby Hangs a Tale, Dog On It (mysteries)
Rendell, Ruth  Detective Wexford mysteries
Russo, Richard Bridge of Sighs and That Old Cape Magic
See, Lisa Snowflower and the Secret Fan, Shanghai Girls
Shreeve, Anita Change of Altitude
Simonson, Helen Major Pettigrew's Last Stand
Smith, Jack God and Mr. Gomez
Stein, Garth The Art of Racing in the Rain
Straight, Susan A Million Nightengales
Strout, Eliabeth Olive Kitteridge
Tsukiyama, Gail The Street of 1,000 Blossoms, Samuri Gardens and Women of
the Silk
Verghese, Abraham Cutting for StoneWaldman,
Ayelet Red Hook Road
Zafron, Carlos Ruiz Shadow of the Wind and The Angel’s Game
Zusak, Marcus The Book Thief

Nonfiction
Bard, Elizabeth Lunch in Paris: a love story with recipes
Carpenter, Novella Farm City: the education of an urban farmer
Child, Julia My Life in France
Cooper, Helene The House at Sugar Beach
Drinkwater, Carol The Olive Farm
Fadiman, Anne The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down
Forshaw, Barry The Man Who Left Too Soon: the biography of Steig Larsson
Gentile, Olivia Life List: a woman's quest for the world's most
amazing birds
Gill, Brendan Many Masks: A Life of Frank Lloyd Wright
Gruber, Michael Book of Air and Shadows
Halperin, Mark and John Heileman Game Change (about the 2008 election)
Hirsi Ali, Ayaan Infidel, Nomad: From Islam to America
Kahn, Ava, Ellen Eisenberg and William Toll Jews of the Pacific Coast:
reinventing community on America's edge
Kidder, Tracy Mountains Beyond Mountains: the quest of Dr. Paul Farmer, a
man who would cure the world
Krakauer, Jon Where Men Win Glory (about Pat Tillman), Into Thin Air
Lebovitz, David Sweet Life in Paris
Levy, JoAnn They Saw the Elephant: Women in the California Gold Rush
Mortenson, Greg Three Cups of Tea, Stones Into Schools
Obmascik, Mark The Big Year: a tale of man, nature and fowl obsession
Snetsinger, Phoebe Birding on Borrowed Time
Stewart, Rory The Places in Between
Struach, Barbara The Secret Life of the Grown Up Brain
Walls, Jeannette Glass Castle and Half Broken Horses
Zorbas, Elaine Fiddletown: From Gold Rush to Rediscovery

There's still plenty of time to join the Summer Reading Program!

Have you joined the  the Palos Verdes Library District’s Summer Reading Program? It’s easy! Drop by Malaga Cove, Miraleste or Peninsula Center Library to pick up a free book bag, bookmark and reading log.  Read any books you like and for every 2  1/2 hours you read, you can collect a  cool patch. Read 15 hours and win a special certificate. You can read and collect patches through August 31st.  Reading in summer helps prepare kids for the school year and it’s fun too. Preschool children can join too, and earn patches when they listen to stories.  Check out our huge collection of books for all ages and interests and make a splash reading this summer!

Our special activities will continue through Aug. 13. Check our on on-line calendar at http://host5.evanced.info/pvld/evanced/eventcalendar.asp?Lib=ALL&EventType=Young+Reader  for details!

Recent news headlines claiming that NASA’s Kepler spacecraft had identified 100 earth-like planets outside our solar system were incorrect, the space agency has reported.  Since its launch in 2009, Kepler has sent back data which indicates the existence of over 700 extrasolar planets, or exoplanets.

The data must be tested using “extensive follow-up observations” in order to confirm whether these planets in the Milky Way Galaxy are truly earth-like.  It is thought that such small and rocky planets, and not large and gassy ones like Jupiter, would be potentially capable of sustaining life.

Library resources: Extrasolar planets

If you haven’t read the final part of the trilogy, The Girl who Kicked the Hornet’s Nest, here is a link to it at Amazon. The Swedish movie is scheduled to be released in December 2010. The first part of the trilogy, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, was released in theaters in the US [...]

The Girl who Played with Fire, the second title in the Larsson trilogy, is now playing in Manhattan Beach and Long Beach! I am still reading this novel (click image below for link) and have been on page 402 since the last five weeks… hope to finish by tomorrow! PVLD has 12 copies and it [...]

Hell-llo, everyone! I’m back from Boston (well, Newton, MA) and after having slept for 18 hours yesterday, I am keen to get back to blogging as much as I possibly can before I leave for New Mexico! Here’s the latest on the Stieg Larsson movie!  For those who have already read the novel, the Swedish [...]

We’re showing Pirates of the Caribbean:  The Curse of the Black Pearl this Thursday night. Come sit out under the stars on our new carpet and pillows, or bring your own chair. Enjoy snacks and bring a book for the book exchange table. It may be a bit cold so you might want to bring a snuggly!

“So, there is a curse? That’s interesting”

~Captain Jack Sparrow

We definitely were cursed! It was just too sunny to project the movie so that we could actually SEE it! So, in a flash of inspiration we moved the whole operation over to The Annex where we flopped onto the epic-sized bean bags and commenced to snack and watch Captain Jack and “crew”. I guess I’ll have to rethink the idea of having movies on the roof in the summer when it doesn’t get dark until later. If you have any ideas–please comment!

~Louise

Thursday, July 29th

7:00-9:30 pm

Peninsula Center Library Roof

We’ve just added a section to pvldfriends.org called “I Love PVLD” — with some of the facts and figures about our terrific libraries. We’ll be adding comments about our libraries from time to time. See the I Love PVLD category for more. For our first “I Love PVLD” feature, please meet Janey Jones. A long-time [...]

You can help make lives better! PFL invites you to support the Technology 2010 Project at the Palos Verdes Library District — a project that will enrich the lives of library users from toddlers to teens, to boomers to centenarians. The Technology 2010 Project will provide a much needed bundle of technological improvements and upgrades [...]

We recently added a section to pvldfriends.org called “I Love PVLD” — with some of the facts and figures about our terrific libraries. We’ll be adding comments about our libraries from time to time. See the I Love PVLD category for more. Do you love Palos Verdes Library District and its great work to serve [...]

“There are many little ways to enlarge your child’s world. Love of books is the best of all.” — Jacqueline Kennedy I volunteered this afternoon at the Malaga Cove Branch Library used book sale as I do one Saturday per month. Malaga Cove is one of the three Palos Verdes Library District libraries and I LOVE [...]