Spring Fling: Create, Collaborate, Communicate

The theme of this years spring fling West Virginia Library Association conference was "Create, Collaborate, Communicate". I may be wrong, but it seems like more folks come out for the spring conference than for the fall conference.

Conference Sessions

Held at the Days Hotel in Flatwoods, West Virginia, the first session I attended was "The New Change in Learning Express" presented by Susan Hayden of the West Virginia Library Commission. Presented with grace and humor, Ms. Hayden taught an overflowing conference room of librarians how to navigate the 3.0 version of the Learning Express through the West Virginia Info Depot. Many WV library users don't know about this wonderful online database that you help you find articles for research, take practice ACT and SAT tests, or figure out the sequence of your favorite fiction series that has 12 volumes.

The second session I attended was "Free Stuff From the Foundation Center" presented by Olivia Bravo of the Kanawha County Public Library. This was a helpful and informative presentation that talked about the resources available at grantspace.org and foundationcenter.org. These are great websites to explore so that you are familiar with funding sources, requirements, and deadlines.

Waffle Lunch

For lunch, I had the pleasure of going to a local waffle house with other representatives from affiliates of the Upshur County Library. (And thanks, UCPL, for the yummy lunch!) It is so nice to get a chance to see colleagues in other rural libraries who are strong, creative, and resourceful folks who love their jobs. You are all inspirational to me!

After lunch, I lead a meeting of the WVLA Directors Roundtable. There were about 20 attendees in the meeting and we took some time to consider a bookmark that highlights "The Power of West Virginia Libraries". We also had a chance to talk about funding loss, lack of Bibliostat participation by academic and special libraries, and about our goals for the roundtable group. My point of view is that this group of library leaders can work together to make this into whatever we want. As library directors we can lean on each other for support, input, and progress. Just like the theme says: Let's create, collaborate, and communicate with each other to help libraries move forward with secure funding and clear goals.

Mock Board Meeting

Perhaps the most helpful session (for me) of the day was "What a Board Meeting Should Look Like" presented by the Marsh County Public Library Board with Judy K. Rule, director. A board meeting packet is mailed to board members a few days prior to the meeting so that everything may go smoothly and quickly at the board meeting. This board whipped through an entire meeting in 30 minutes. Very impressive. The Library Director's Report was also a part of the board packet and included many important topics regarding funding, legislation, statistics, fundraising, and circulation. This is a model that I will encourage my library board to follow as it made this board meeting fast, friendly, and efficient.

Sunshine Law

There are also laws that need to be abided by regarding transparency in local government. The Sunshine Law mandates that library board meetings be posted publically, for example, in the local newspaper. The agenda must also be publicized prior to the meeting. Minutes of the previous meeting need to be in the "board packet" mailed to all members of the board.

By that time it was time for me to head home to get ready for my Collection Development class. It was great to be re-energized by all the great librarians at the WVLA Spring Fling. Thank you, WVLA, for this inspiring learning opportunity with a great view from the hilltop where the Days Hotel stands in Flatwoods, WV. Fall conference in October is at Snowshoe, WV.

E Equals Everyone: West Virginia Library Association Meets in Shepherdstown

Last week I had the pleasure of attending the West Virginia Library Association's annual fall conference in Shepherdstown, West Virginia. While the rainy and cold weather was uncooperative, it was still a great conference full of energy, ideas, and, of course, some wonderful librarians from all over the state.

Many librarians are concerned about the future of libraries. And it's no wonder since the printed word has gone through a huge loss, with many magazines and newspapers closing shop. So it was refreshing and fun to listen to Peggy Cadigan of the New Jersey State Library talk about the future of libraries. She talked about how libraries will have to be innovative and creative to survive and maintain loyal patrons. What I liked about Ms. Cadigan's presentation was that she compared her home state of New Jersey to West Virginia. New Jersey has the most diverse population in the US, while WV has the least diverse. (She had the sources to back up her facts, as well. Good librarian.) Ms. Cadigan is a member of the Association of Professional Futurists, which has intrigued me no end. Futurists are not about predicting the future, they are about anticipating changes. I like that too. Ms. Cadigan also gave out prizes based on answering trivia questions during her presentation which was charming and fun all at the same time. (The prizes were boxes of salt water taffy from the New Jersey shore.)

How To Get a Levy Passed

Later in the day I went to a talk by Brian Raitz of the Parkersburg and Wood County Library, and Erica Reed about how to Get Your Excess Levy Passed. An excess levy is a request for more funds from tax payers that is decided on by an election. In Randolph County, WV, our previous county superintendent was able to get a levy passed for the first time in decades. How did Dr. Phares get a levy passed? He held meetings at many schools in our county and answered every question about where the money would go and how it would be used. Dr. Phares is a natural politician who campaigned for the extra funds and was successful. Our Randolph County libraries receive $10,000 every year for the five years that the levy is enacted. Our levy expires in two more years and I am thinking about the future of our libraries. That $10k represents almost one-third of our operating budget. What will we do when that money runs out?

Mr. Raitz talked about the behind-the-scenes campaigning that is necessary to educate voters and cultivate library supporters. As librarians, we are limited by ethics and the law about how we campaign for our libraries. We are not allowed to ask people to vote for an excess library while we are in the library. We may not use library funds to promote the levy or legislation. We are not allowed to directly ask our politicians to vote for legislation that increases our funding. Librarians are allowed to talk about the benefits of libraries. We may talk about innovative programs that we are using to engage, empower, and educate our library patrons. If your library has a Friends of the Library organization, they may print and distribute signs and flyers. Nonprofit Friends of the Library groups may solicit politicians to vote on legislation to benefit libraries. The bottom line of this presentation was that librarians and avid library patrons need to toot their own horns about the power of libraries to change lives for the better.

There were a couple of events that I missed that night that included a "Banned Books, Bordeaux and Beer", sponsored by the Intellectual Freedom Roundtable of the WVLA, and a movie and a pub crawl through historic Shepherdstown. (I had to go to class that night online...sigh.)

Data and Communication

The next day I went to a presentation by Dr. Majed Khader, director of the Morrow Library at Marshall University in Huntington, WV, entitled "Data On Demand: Federal Government Information at Your Fingertips." Sadly, because of the government shutdown many of the census bureau sites that he was going to use for his presentation had been shuttered as well. However, he had planned ahead and had some great references handouts for us courtesy of the United States Census Bureau. So, why is it important for librarians to have access to census data? The data can be used to write a grant, to inform our legislators, and to get a better picture of the makeup of our communities.

I also attended a presentation by West Virginia Library Commission Secretary Karen Goff, who spoke about "Communicating With Your Elected Officials". Even though we are librarians (not professional lobbyists) it is important to have a few details about what makes your library special ready to talk to your state and national representatives. When your representative says, "We love your little library", be sure to tell them how many children's programs you had last year. Or how much money you raised at a particular fundraiser. Or your annual attendance number. Make sure that your elected officials have real facts about the awesomeness of your library. ('Cause your library is Awesome!)

Later in the day, I had the honor of making my own presentation on "Developing Alternative Revenue Streams For Your Library." I had about 20 attendees who listened to me talk about how I sell books on Amazon to profit the Pioneer Memorial Public Library. I also talked about how you can create a blog, like the one you are reading, and monetize it through Google AdSense. It's really easy, free, kind of fun, and it's a great way to keep interested library patrons informed about goings on at your library. I also talked about joining Amazon Associates and writing book reviews on the blog with links to Amazon to buy the books, audio CDs, or e-books. I also included plugs for selling books via Better World Books, and for encouraging patrons to use Kroger cards to send money back to your library every time they shop. My goal is to use the Internet to bring in money to my library in every creative and clever way possible, as alternatives to bake sales, cake walks, and other typical fundraisers.

Later, we had a Library Director's Roundtable where I got to meet library directors from all over the state.

The Evening Buffet

That evening, we had a pleasant buffet dinner and listened to Dr. Sam K. Hastings of the University of South Carolina's School of Library and Information Science talk about the importance of professional, degreed librarianship in West Virginia. Dr. Hastings generously offered to match dollars with anyone who wanted to enroll in the University's distance education degree program. Entertaining and inspiring, Dr. Hastings made a lasting impression on many librarians that evening. I was also honored with a cash scholarship from the WVLA in acknowledgement of my enrollment in the Master's of Information Science program through the University of Tennessee. I am truly grateful for this scholarship. Even though I have my tuition paid for via the ITRL2 scholarship, I still have fees each semester and textbooks to buy. Several other library students were honored as well, and I am so proud of all of us who are working and going to school to pursue professional librarianship. Thank you, WVLA!

I left the West Virginia Library Association's fall conference with batteries charged and lots of ideas swimming in my head, some of which were showing off with colorful swim caps and doing synchronized swimming, but that is just my unusual imagination. I am looking forward to the next WVLA event, the Spring Fling in 2014. Will I see you there?