Old Books

Note: doing lots of local history research using 100 year old books (and I presume 100 year old dust) can in fact cause you to be sick. Note #2: Do not inhale 100 year old dust.

Library Security

Many people who work in public libraries will know that library security is an often ignored issue. Rarely if ever have I seen a journal article that discusses issues of security, harassment of staff, public disturbances and other related things. In just 3 years time I have been witness to quite a number of incidents that range from annoyances to ones that defy belief. We all know that public service will always entail dealing with patrons who are upset, demanding or even irate. In fact, I found a spectacular VHS staff training video while weeding our professional collection: “Dealing with the Irate Customer.” Must be from the late 1980s or early 1990s. Great cover photo to the tape, though both people on the front look pretty irate! And why is one of them in a house coat??

"Dealing with the Irate Customer"

Anyway, those things are the everyday stuff we deal with. However, what I am referring to are situations where staff are seriously harassed or threatened; significant public disturbances are made; or even cases where violence or drug use becomes an issue inside the library. Recently there were several incidents that occurred where I work, including threats of violence, severe public intoxication and, I’m sorry to type this out, public acts of self-sexual behavior – that’s about as tame as I could put that! For a number of reasons, and because I am the library union representative, I decided to contact a number of different libraries in my area (northern NJ) to find out what kinds of security policies they have and if they have had similar experiences to us. In my next post I will examine the results of my contacting about a dozen different libraries and discuss.

I think that if I continued as a Reference Librarian for perhaps 5 more years, I could probably have enough bizarre dark comedy to fill a book. I want to add a few random stories on my blog over time to make things a little different from a normal professional blog. How about something that happened this week. While I’ve had many bizarre questions come my way as a librarian, this week I got one that ranks probably top 5 for me for bizarre questions. A patron asked me simply “where can I find books on stimulation?” I was somewhat caught off guard by this being busy with a few things, so I naively proceeded into reference interview mode. I asked something along the lines of “well, what do mean exactly? Stimulation in relation to what?” …there I am, making a rookie librarian mistake. The patron responds, “Yunno, STIMULATION…” and kind of gives me a wink wink sort of look. As this point the realization of his question almost caused me to say out loud “oooohhhh, ok”. In situations like this, and yes, there have been others, I find a ‘get quick answer’ approach is best. For your information, books on this and related subjects could be found at Dewey 306.7.

Unique Community Programming

Here’s an article I recently got published in the NJLA Reference Quarterly newsletter about a unique programming series I started that promotes local business and culture, creates partnerships and focuses on local programmers.

 

“Do-It-Yourself Monthly Program Series as Community Bridge Building”

 

The Hoboken Public Library has recently initiated a new monthly program series that is calledHobokenDo-It-Yourself (DIY), which is a monthly series of programs that focuses on unique skills and informational programming as taught by local individuals, businesses and organizations. Our inaugural schedule includes bread baking, interior design basics, chocolate making, recycled sculpture art and home beer brewing. The workshops are interactive with students creating their own chocolate, testing beer making supplies or creating their own sculptures in class. Students enjoy the hands-on aspect and get the opportunity for a unique learning experience. The goal of this community program series is to offer free opportunities to learn unique skills and information. However, the nuanced rewards of this program go beyond one-way benefits for users and extend also to community partnerships, local identity and a potential role of the future of public libraries.

In contemporary library literature we are beset by urgent calls to adopt emerging technology trends and engage patrons in an online interactive setting. Indeed, there is merit to these arguments and in many ways libraries will need to adopt a variety of technological initiatives. The Hoboken Library currently operates such services as weekly computer classes, a technology lending program (Kindles, Nooks, laptops, Ipad, etc.), diverse online databases and resources and maintains an interactive presence on a variety of social networking platforms. However, another important aspect of the public library’s future is that of increased connection to local identity and organizations. Indeed, the Hoboken Public Library’s recent strategic planning process one of the goals identified through community analysis was for the library to be “a gathering place with opportunities for social interaction and cultural enrichment.” As more of our traditional lending services become digitized and under the prevue of corporate interests, libraries will need to shift in order to encourage its position as an important local entity. Much has also been written about the importance of partnerships and collaboration within the community: local government, schools, organizations and businesses. The public library can help to support local cultural identity as well as local businesses through programming and collaboration. This new program series takes positive steps in that direction.

WithHobokenDIY we engage local businesses and individuals to share their unique skills with the community in the form of an interactive program. The obvious manifest benefit is free programs for the community featuring unique skills. However, benefits are also received by local businesses, the community and the library. First, local businesses and artisans receive free promotion of their services through the promotion of this event in addition to modest compensation for their time and materials. Our library is has worked hard to foster a multi-faceted approach to promotion. The approach includes traditional advertising such as a monthly newspaper ad, online news ads, print and email newsletters, Facebook and Twitter and flyers in-house and around town. Our approach also includes one of the things this program seeks to accomplish: networking with a variety of local organizations and targeted promotion and collaboration with those groups. Through the programs patrons are encouraged to explore aspects of local culture and businesses that perhaps they were not acquainted with, which benefits the business at hand as well as the local business community. Finally, with collaboration comes shared resources and networking, which can help the business in terms of increased media exposure or contacts provided through interaction with the library and its patrons.

The library profits from this partnership and forges a forward thinking role in the local community. The library attracts new users through the variety of program topics offered by the DIY programs. The nature of these programs also allows the library to act as a medium through which local culture, business and identity is experienced and promoted, which is something uniquely available to public libraries to capitalize on. The library is also able to promote local mom-and-pop businesses and might serve to raise the library’s visibility within the community. It is hoped that this program can be extended to include collaboration with the local chamber of commerce and government to further local collaboration and exposure. Tailing on those points, the library is able to create new networking pathways with local business, government, organizations, media and community gatekeepers, which is crucial for the perception of library relevance in the future local community. Finally, the library benefits from the partnership with local businesses and other groups providing the program through joint promotional efforts and investment in the success of the program.

This new series is a work in progress and the details laid out are ones being continually strived for. However, I believe what the program series is attempting and what it represents is something that will be vitally important to the future of the public library. Certainly libraries will need to adopt relevant technologies at an increased pace. However, as lended materials become wane in importance the public library needs to bolster its position as an integral and vital part of the community. The library can offer much in the way of promoting local culture and business, as well as form partnerships and mutual arrangements with local stakeholders.  In the future, the public library will rely more heavily upon its programming, adult education, and children’s services in its physical locations. Beyond that the public library will need to work more aggressively on identifying itself as an important local institution and as a public space: unique community partnerships and gaining mutual investment are a big step in that direction.