Thing 35 Smart Tips

I was so fortunate to be able to attend the Public Library Association meeting yesterday. It was a great source of inspiration. So many ideas swirling around and I all I had to do was to reach out and grab a few. From the vendors floor, to the presentations to the the finale at the Audio Book Dinner the time was enlightening.

I was fortunate to stand directly behind a Minitex staff in a line for an author signing. In conversing with her I learned we could have a Minitex staff come out to present the database collection to our staff. And it is all free. What a deal. She also told be she would put the ELM emblem and link directly on our school web page so student don't have to searching for it anymore among the many links in the Student Resources section. Way cool!

I also attended a session on making libraries welcoming environments for the public to come in to. The presenter had a great speaking style which included a healthy sense of humor as well as practical tips on creating an environment that would not only make people want to stay in the library but they would also look forward to returning. Taking down all the "Do not . . ." signs and replacing them with something more attractive, say artwork. Putting displays to the right of an entry or exit is more likely to get attention than at the left. Probably the most powerful piece to this is simply to be kind and considerate of the public. Too often in this speaker's experience she has seen staff being rude or at least inattentive to the needs of people.

There were also presentations on new technology with the clever name of Technozoo. This speaker was a tad younger than the crowd he was speaking to and often put in good natured digs at the boomers. He reminded us to continually push into the Web 2.0 phenomena and never stop learning.

All in all a wonderfully invigorating day! Thank you Metronet for making this possible for me.