All posts by Mary Jordan

General

Listening to Librarians! Podcasts that Pop

 

Podcast
http://tinyurl.com/zed5k23

Podcasts can be a great way to find out new information, and to pass time as you walk the dog or do dishes or other activities that leave your mind restless. This is an increasingly popular way of sharing information by individuals and organizations, on every topic out there. So of course, librarians are there! If cool things are happening with information – you can always find a librarian in the middle of it.

 

If you have not explored this yet, there are podcasts on every possible subject. Some are great, some are…less great; but it’s always interesting to hear what people have to say about a topic they are excited about sharing. (I am currently working my way through two different Mr. Robot podcasts, after I watch the episode on TV each week!) You can get a variety of free apps for your phone, if you do not already have one. Stitcher, Pocket Casts, Overcast, or Podcast Republic are popular and easy to use; and there are dozens of other choices. Find an app you like, then you just start searching around for different ones that sound interesting to you. They may come out daily, Monday through Friday, weekly, or irregularly; but your app will let you know when each new one arrives, and you can set it to automatically download the episodes if you want to do that.

Librarians podcast about the profession – and there is always a lot to share! Here are podcasts from librarians about the profession, service, and their experiences.

  • Professional Book Nerds: “We’re not just book nerds: we’re professional book nerds and the staff librarians who work at OverDrive, the leading app for eBooks and audiobooks available through public libraries and schools.”
  • The Worst Bestsellers : “Worst Bestsellers is a podcast where Kait, Renata, and a guest talk about popular books of questionable quality. It’s kind of like How Did This Get Made? or Mystery Science Theater 3000, but for books…We’re reading these books because we’re curious about what’s popular, and also, reading these books gives us a better idea of what’s popular and how to give good readers advisory. We make jokes about the books we read, but our intent is never to make fun of readers.”
  • S.S. Librarianship : “We’re Alli & Sam. We met in a pub the night before our first day of library school, and since then we’ve been through a lot together – classes, jobs, weddings, D&D campaigns – always finding ourselves engrossed in wide-ranging conversations about television, film, books, technology, and what it means to be a young, nerdy, lady librarian in the 21st century. This podcast is our invitation to you to join our conversation. We hope you’ll join us by sending in a question, comment, or topic for us to discuss on the show!”
  • Circulating Ideas: “For more than five years, I have facilitated conversations about the great work that librarians are doing to keep libraries vibrant and relevant in the 21st century, talking to over 100 librarians and library supporters!” (You can support his Patreon here.)
  • Secret Stacks: “Secret Stacks is YOUR comics in libraries podcast! Secret Stacks invites you to join a conversation between Kristin LaLonde and Thomas Maluck, two librarians who will share comics and graphic novel news, readers advisory, guest interviews, and tales from the front lines of conventions and library services. Each podcast episode is scheduled to record on the last Sunday of each month.”
  • Beyond the Stacks: “A podcast exploring interesting and unexpected career paths for librarians and information professionals.”
  • T is for Training: “A podcast about but not obsessed with training in libraries”

  • Lost in the Stacks: “The one and only Research Library Rock’n’Roll show! Ameet and Charlie from the Georgia Tech Library pick a theme and free-associate an hour of music, interviews, and library talk every Friday for lunch. You’ll hear indie rock, pop rock, alt rock, New Wave, and the occasional oddity in between interviews with students, faculty, and librarians.”

Batgirl
Librarians have always been cool and cutting edge!

Librarians also podcast designed for their patrons, as another service provided to their communities. Look and listen to these, and see if they stimulate any ideas for your own library!

  • Ann Arbor District Library: Browsing through their list, there are podcasts about local Ann Arbor history and service, as well as author interviews, and general information.
  • The New York Public Library Podcast: “A beacon of books, ideas, and education in a city described as the cultural capital of the world, the Library hosts more than 55,000 programs annually. Listen to some of the most engaging and memorable recent programs, discover new ideas, and celebrate the best of today’s culture.”

Note from Mary: this took forever to create, because I kept stopping to add them to my own podcast app! There are dozens of other interesting librarian podcasts out there; if you have one not mentioned here, add it in the comments.

Would you like to set up a podcast in your library? That sounds like a great idea! This would be a very interesting topic in our Continuing Education series of programs if there is interest. Check in with me if you want us to set this up!

Does your library podcast? We want to hear about it! Send me an email, and I would love to come talk to you about how you got it started, what your programming lineup is, and about your plans for the future.

 

Academic, General, Public, School Media Specialist, Special

Library Service in 3D: Let's Give A Kid A Hand!

You have probably seen the stories around the news: excited kid gets a 3D printed hand at the local library. In case you have not – or just want to see a great story about about public library service, check out this video from ABC News.

A few more details and photos from this success story are available here.

This is just another example of the state of library service: we are all using technology more often to connect our services to our patron’s needs. It may not look like a library from 50 years ago, or even 10 years ago, but we serve the needs of our patrons with all the tools at our disposal. And sometimes the results are fantastic!

Is someone in your library interested in learning more about 3D printed limbs?

Star_Wars_Bionic_hand
Cool kid with a Star Wars arm!
  • Disney is working with the organization Open Bionics to print Disney-themed arms! “Now kids can get excited about their prosthetics. They won’t have to do boring physical therapy, they’ll train to become heroes. They’re not just getting medical devices, they’re getting bionic hands inspired by their favorite characters.”
  • The organization e-NABLE is working to bring 3D printed hands and arms for people all around the world. Their site is filled with reference material, information, and stories to share. “The e-NABLE Community is made up of  teachers, students, engineers, scientists, medical professionals, tinkerers, designers, parents, children, scout troops, artists, philanthropists, dreamers, coders, makers and every day people who just want to make a difference and help to ‘Give The World A Helping Hand.'”

What other kinds of great things could your library do with a 3D printer? The possibilities are amazing! There are many websites filled with information about using your printer, and designs to follow. Thingiverse is one of the most popular, with all kinds of people sharing designs and learning from each other. “The Thingiverse community has uploaded over 606,640 3D models, and that number is growing every day. Check out all the incredible objects people have created, and get inspired to make your own!”

  • Maybe your cat needs armor? It’s here!
  • If the cat gets armor, your guinea pig needs some too, just to be fair.
  • A frog dissection kit? Comes with lesson plans!
  • You probably need a Pokeball with a button-release lid, when you can use a break from your Pokemon Go app.
  • A very cool T-Rex skull would brighten up any library!
  • Maybe a wall mounted hairdryer holder could help your morning routine, and keep your time management skills sharp?
  • Did you lose the buttons to your Toyota Yaris key fob? No worries – just print new ones!

We want to hear from our libraries about your use of 3D printers! Great successes? Share them! The time you printed a 3D pile of sludge – that was supposed to be a Legend of Zelda shield  key chain?  We want to hear that too!

Are you considering 3D printers for your library? This would be a great topic for us to discuss in a group, so we can share experiences and make plans for the future. Email us if you are interested in some training sessions, or group discussions!

Libraries are all about service; this is one tool we might use to provide outstanding service to our communities!

General

Hello, CMLE Libraries!

Mary Jordan
Mary Wilkins Jordan

Hello! I am Mary Wilkins Jordan, the new Executive Director of CMLE. This is a quick introduction of myself to you, so I can get started in the work of supporting you guys in your library work! Over the next few months, I hope to meet most of you in person or online; and I want to hear your ideas about support we can provide here at CMLE for you. My plan is to continue and build the tradition of service already existing here, and I will be reaching out to you to find out what you need from your system – but do not be shy about contacting me. My job is to support you, and I am excited to get started!

 

Some of my earliest memories are of being in libraries, and checking out armloads of books. (This is probably a common theme for all of us!) I have worked in all kinds of libraries, and I have spent the last several years working with libraries around the country to help them with a variety of different kinds of administrative issues. The areas I have worked in with libraries most frequently are library leadership, assessment and evaluation (outcomes!), planning (strategic, project, tactical), community engagement, stress in library work, and human resources issues. I have taught classes and seminars, presented at conferences, and written everything from guest blog posts to scholarly articles on library topics. My work has always been focused on getting down to the practical issue of helping librarians figure out how to make what they do easier, or faster, or whatever else is needed to serve their communities more effectively. If it involves libraries and doing great things – I am interested!

One of the things I like the most about the library profession is that we are constantly changing, so there is a need to constantly be learning new things. While we may not be able to know what our libraries will look like in the future, that flexibility and focus on providing the best service possible will always be the right answer. Continuing education programs will always be important for success in library work; and I will help to bring those to you. Grants are wonderful ways to get the resources to do new and interesting things in your library, and I want to help you to grab these. The applications and processes can be scary, so we will work together to give you the best chance.

Advocacy for libraries and library staff is my first priority. We all need to be more vocal about the immense value libraries provide to their communities – and fortunately it is really easy to do that, as we are great! We will be talking about this frequently, and I will ask you for your stories to share, and encourage you to share them yourselves with your funders, your stakeholders, your community members, and anyone else you can. Libraries enrich the lives of the people we serve, and we improve our communities; we need to be sure they know about it!

Thank you to people who have reached out to welcome me to Minnesota already, and I am looking forward to working with everyone. Look forward to hearing from me pretty frequently, as we work to keep moving forward with our library system success!