By now, hopefully everyone is back at work — and relatively rested up — who attended ALA Midwinter. Midwinter attendees tend to be a different crowd from those who attend other conferences. The primary reason for Midwinter attendance is that you are on a committee that requires your attendance at a face-to-face meeting or you want to see the Newbery, Caldecott, and other Youth Media Awards announced live (which is absolutely, unequivocally fun if you’ve never done it).

So the folks at Midwinter tend to be the librarians who are going above and beyond their day job at their library or related site. These are the folks who, back home, live under that dark shadow called, “You’re An Overachiever.”

If there’s one thing I saw this past weekend, it was FATIGUE. The combination of what was, for most, a shorter holiday break, plus additional job responsibilities seems to have tuckered out our profession. And there were many faces we didn’t see this year that we usually do, folks for whom salary or benefit cuts, or an overwhelming workload, meant they could scarcely afford the time or the costs of being away from home. And we know that there are many of you out there who are running multiple libraries, or trying to balance part-time classroom teaching with the very full-time responsibility of maintaining, much less improving, a library collection and program.

School Library Monthly hears every day from folks who are working this hard and feeling this fatigue, and that’s why it supports the White House petition that, if 25,000 signatures are received, will be delivered to President Obama’s desk. Many of your colleagues have worked tirelessly to get the word out on behalf of the profession.

If you haven’t yet signed, SLM encourages you to do so, if only as a sign of support and thanks for those formal and informal leaders in the profession who have extended themselves on behalf of all in the profession. Signing sooner rather than later reduces their fretful anxiety. Remember: this is a REVISED petition. If you signed the petition a few months ago that was initiated by librarians in California, that vote does not count toward this new petition.

Thanks.

ALA recognizes four library programs as top cutting-edge services in third annual contest | District Dispatch via kwout

From the ALA Washington Office’s District Dispatch Blog:

The American Library Association (ALA) Office for Information Technology Policy (OITP) and the Library Information Technology Association (LITA) have selected programs at Contra Costa County Library in Pleasant Hill, Calif., New Canaan High School Library in New Canaan, Conn., New York Public Library in New York, and Scottsdale Public Library in Scottsdale, Ariz., as the winners of the association’s third annual contest to honor cutting-edge technologies in library services …

“This year’s winners represent thoughtful and creative engagement with technology trends including QR codes, open-source software, social media, GIS, and mobile applications,” said Christine Lind Hage, Director, Rochester Hills Public Library, who chaired the selection subcommittee. [Kristin’s editorial note: Hage is a UM library school alum — Go Blue!]

About the Winners:

Snap & Go, Contra Costa County Library, California
Using QR (Quick Response) codes, Snap & Go serves as an innovative delivery mechanism for traditional library services. From local transit ads to posters to newspaper ads, Contra Costa County is delivering instant access to library materials and services to cardholders with mobile phones. By scanning the code with a reader on their phones, users are directed to downloadable e-books and audiobooks, virtual museum passes, interactive reference service, account and catalog search, and readers’ advisory tools. QR codes placed on popular titles take readers to “read-alike” lists created by library staff. Usage of the library’s mobile site has increased 16 percent since Contra Costa implemented Snap & Go. http://guides.ccclib.org/qr

Participatory Platforms for Learning, New Canaan High School Library, Connecticut
New Canaan’s Participatory Platforms for Learning program strives to cultivate curiosity throughout the learning community and encourage experimentation with new tools for content creation, publication and participation. The program includes deploying the full complement of Google applications; advocating a culture of intellectual freedom; using Twitter for current events research; and using Facebook groups for students to record their research process and provide feedback to others in the group. The program enmeshes learning and the “real world” to teach students digital citizenship by encouraging them to become responsible information consumers, creators and contributors … Their online portal is at: http://nchslibraryannex.blogspot.com/ [Kristin’s note: one of New Canaan’s librarians, Michelle Luhtala, has strong ties to School Library Monthly — having co-authored a recent article — and its book publishing wing, Libraries Unlimited. She penned a chapter on webinars in the upcoming professional development book Growing Schools: Librarians as Professional Developers, co-edited by Debbie Abilock, Violet H. Harada, and me.]

Map Warper Toolkit, New York Public Library, New York
The Map Warper toolkit allows staff and the public to virtually stretch (or geo-rectify) historical maps onto a digital model of the world à la Google Maps or OpenStreetMap, transforming old atlases into interactive spatial environments. Participants also can go deeper, tracing and transcribing specific map features into a growing public database. The project adds to the historical and scholarly record while engaging library patrons in building digital resources. The service is managed by the NYPL Labs group, developed in collaboration with EntropyFree, an open source geospatial software firm. The tools are in the process of being published to an open code repository for other libraries, scholars and cultural heritage workers to use and build upon. http://maps.nypl.org

Gimme Engine, Scottsdale Public Library, Arizona
The Gimme Engine mobile website helps customers find a great book to read based on a library staffer’s recommendation and review. Gimme combines library catalog MARC data, content enrichment service images and descriptions, and library staff book reviews on Goodreads.com to create a unique experience. Gimme, which was developed with monies received from an LSTA grant, was created to meet a need stated by both library and non-library users; they wanted book recommendations powered by library staff. The Gimme engine is a creative solution to meet these customer needs … http://gimme.scottsdalelibrary.org

Congratulations, winners!

From the ALA Washington Office’s District Dispatch blog comes an announcement that the The SKILLS Act has been re-introduced into the House with three purposes: to have a state-certified school librarian in every school, to restructure and re-fund the Improving Literacy Through School Libraries project, and to give school librarian access to professional development funds. Read the start of the post below, then click through to read the whole story.

Note 1/23/2012: The reintroduction of the SKILLS Act does NOT mean that the White House petition has reached its full 25,000 signatures. So if you have not had a chance to sign, School Library Monthly encourages you to visit the White House site and do so before February 4, 2012.

U.S. House Introduces SKILLS Act | District Dispatch via kwout