Final blog for Promotions

Wow, this year has been so busy, but thankfully it's nearly over (I'm actually not sure about being thankful, I have really enjoyed having somewhere to focus my efforts and gain a sense of achievement). I chose to do Scenario 1, regarding starting a book club. As I said in my last post (how appropriate for this week - Remembrance Day was just a few days ago) I was hoping to have my assignment ready to hand up this week. I was successful in getting this done without too much drama. I found the most difficult part was the format - it was difficult not to write it as if I was going through the processes. So - I wrote it as if it was already done, and then created another document as the planning for other branches to follow.

We were also required to create a report for submission to the powers-that-be (in this case the Jacaranda Public Library Corporation) to encourage the other branches to start their own book clubs.

Doing this exercise definitely opened my eyes as to the amount of planning any event requires, even the ones which seem so straightforward, there's a lot of detail behind them.

Initially I chose the book club scenario as I'm a member of a book club, although it isn't run by the library. I felt that this did help me with certain aspects, such as knowing that their are notes which come with each copy, etc. As our meetings are monthly and follow a general format, it gave me a basis for the time frame as well.

I chose to work alone, that's just how I roll. I think I achieved more as I was able to pick and choose my times and tasks to suit my lifestyle (hectic).

This module has been a bit mad ..... a bit of event planning never did anyone any harm! The display was a challenge, and I am so glad I had such great partners!

Thanks for the whole experience - I have enjoyed the challenges, for the most part........

I will probably continue to blog, just have to get past a few life challenges first.

Week 12 (during the scenario selection)

Terry did say we don't really need to blog during this week, as overall there were only 3 posts necessary for this month. But I found out so much interesting stuff when I was researching for the scenario I have chosen, that I wanted to put it here (as I can't really put it in our theoretical plan). I have chosen scenario one - setting up a new book club as a particular branch within a library, with certain required documents :
A planning document
A report on the success/failure (god forbid)
I don't know if this was cheating, but I worked back to front - I pretended (to myself) that I had been the book club coordinator, and listed the steps I followed to set it up. Then I realised that it didn't really look like a planning document, it was too specific - for example I mentioned a 30 November cut off date, how many respondents we received, etc. Which you can't really put into a planning document.........anyway, maybe I made more work for myself but that was how I managed to create the planning stage. As none of it was real, the method could still work - bottom up is how Michele puts it, when we speak about Gantt charts and design briefs.
Anyway, some of the cool facts/stuff I found is here :

Central Highlands libraries bookclub has over 110 clubs, a waiting list – and the waiting list is closed. They have 216 book sets (makes for a great selection), 10 books per set.

Albury city library has 10 types of book clubs.

How great is this? Victoria Library (Canada) . They actually lend out the book club sets - unfortunately it's in Canada, but there are several schemes running in Australia too.

AND (sorry, but I really enjoy all of this) look here : Melbourne book clubs there are so many interesting and varied clubs operating - there's bound to be something for everyone here, with a Cult Fiction book club, a 3rd Wednesday book club, etc . Plus there are also reading circles, where members bring and discuss books of their own choice. Which reminds me, my book club meeting is this Wednesday night - and for once I have already finished the book, no last minute skimming required.

There is so much going on there - now that would require lots of planning!

We were given time in class today, once the noise had settled down to a dull roar, to continue on with this task, as it is a major assessment task. We were given the option of working in pairs, but I prefer to work on my own. 

Hopefully by this time next week, I will have my assignment ready to hand in. 

.........

   Marita

Week 11 Event Planning

Now that Morgenne, Cameron and I have actually put up our display, I have a much better appreciation of the work involved. I am so grateful to my team members, as they had so many resources to make our 'Fantasy' themed display truly spectacular. Morgenne, in particular, devoted many hours creating her amazing dragon, which is really the backdrop of the whole cabinet. So many fantasy books between the two of them, a lot of which I'd never even heard of. My contribution was pretty much limited to assisting with the planning, some childrens' books (a very old Alice in Wonderland and a not-so-old Pagemaster) - oh and the fabric for the backdrop and ground. We were in fairly constant communication, thanks to facebook and text messaging. At no point were there any arguments, and discussions were always completely amicable. We all listened to each other and I feel that we worked very well together. (Thanks guys!)

Looking at event planning on a larger scale, whether it is an activity or a simple display, requires several steps:

• Ideas (brainstorming)
• Feasibility (is it achievable)
• Resources (do you have the budget or props to hand)
• Time (do you have enough of it to get the job done)
• Delegation (can you share around some of the work)
• Publicity (within budget / technical support, etc.)

Events and Displays in Libraries

Frankston Library holds frequent events. They have a section of their website dedicated to upcoming events, ranging from regular workshops to special events such as 'Locked in the Library' (an event for juniors on Halloween); Live Music - Czarina; Poppy making workshops. Most of these are free or gold coin entry.

Cambridge Library holds several events over the year: Kaleidoscope Ensemble for kids, International Games Day, classes for the technologically challenged. However, these are not free - $15 per hour for the first 2 hours, $10 per hour after 2 hours. A bit on the pricey side, I thought.

Here are a couple of displays I thought were eye-catching, for a variety of reasons:

I have been keeping a keen eye out to see what events are being promoted lately, particularly around libraries and/or public events to do with reading. I heard an advertisement on the radio just the other day regarding the Clunes open day event. Clunes is a book town, several hours journey away, but it did catch my attention, so I used our good friend google and discovered that on the Victorian Government website, on the Events Calendar is the 2014 Clunes Booktown Festival. It is  under the category of Arts, Culture & Heritage, and has it's own website http://www.booktown.clunes.org
so I went to the website and here is what I found:
For a $20 entry pass, you can get access to talks, readings, lost trades village, workshops and much more.
Clunes has 3 festivals per year, and I imagine that most of the rest of the year is spent planning for those 3 days.
I was looking for information to help library staff with the basic requirements of planning an event for their library And then I hit the jackpot! 

I found a document (pdf) which has details of a workshop offered to libraries titled "Event management for public libraries: the essentials". I've shared it on the Diploma facebook page, I've read through it and it really covers the basics very well. Particularly as it has been created with Library staff in mind. Here is the link:
http://libraries.vic.gov.au/downloads/Statewide_Marketing_Project/presentation_event_management_workshop_final.pdf

I think that's enough for this entry.........
Till next time,
See ya!

Week 10 CULEVP503A Analysis

Analysis of the Elements, Skills,  Knowledge and Range Statement of CULEVP503A

 Plan, develop and promote activities and/or events.

My understanding of this unit is that it covers what needs to be taken into consideration when planning a public event or display.

For example:
  

• Resources
• Time
• Budget
• Ideas

 Some of the required skillsets and knowledge involved are:

• community and teamwork skills
• initiative and enterprise skills
• literacy skills
• numeracy skills
• planning and organisational skills
• problem solving skills
• self-management skills
• technology skills

Required knowledge

•  subject matter around which activities, events or public programs are developed
•  features of typical policies, procedures and practices relating to the provision of activities, events and public programs
•  concept of sustainable practice and its relevance to the development of public programs
•  sources of advice and specialist assistance for activity development
•  techniques for planning and scheduling activities, events and public programs
•  interpretation techniques suitable for a wide range of audiences
•  resources for planning, promoting, delivering and evaluating activities, events and public programs
• cultural protocols to be observed in developing programs, including those relating to Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander contexts
• copyright, moral rights, privacy and intellectual property issues and legislation that impact on the development of activities, including those relevant to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures, child protection and trade practices.

Literature - Shelving, classifications & non-English

Today we had Maria for our class, as Terri is off to her daughters'  wedding. I hope it went smoothly and everybody had a wonderful time!
It was nice to finally meet Maria, we've heard so much about her.
Todays' class was very interesting, albeit short! We had a good discussion about this weeks topic. I had no idea that the Harry Potter books are shelved in Monash under Literature and given Dewey numbers - because thesis are being written about them. Who woulda thunk it! I looked for 2 other fiction (popular) novels - Animal Farm and Eragon. Neither of them are filed under literature; the Harry Potter novels really changed the world in regards to children reading, which is why they've been more or less singled out for special treatment I think.

Labeling and Shelving arrangements.

The most common arrangement for fiction in schools and public libraries is in Call Number order, however I think there is a gradual shift occurring, particularly in schools, to shelving them in genre order. When I spoke to the librarian at St. Peters last year, their shelves had been recently re-organised into genre order and it was working well, encouraging more reading. This requires the end-processing to include genre stickers, which makes it easy for a patron to find the type of book they are looking for.
In a school library (using St. Peters as a guide), certain of the books are restricted to borrowers aged over 15; whereas in a public library they are divided into larger sections: early readers, children, teen, young adult are the most common terms used. They are placed on the shelves in a fashion where the children can reach them easily, according to the age group, and most libraries will have story time, where an adult will read to the children. This encourages an early attraction to books, which will hopefully continue as they grow. Having easy access to books is much more likely to facilitate a love of reading than none.

Classification of Literary works in Academic Libraries

Literary works are catalogued under the dewey classification 823. I can't really tell at what point they are classified - it may be once they have theses written about them, it can't just be by popularity or according to prizes (eg, Booker prize), as I searched for several other novels which were prize-winners in their day and they had not been allocated a Dewey number. I would like to understand this point better and intend to investigate this more fully. For example, in the Latrobe University catalogue I searched for 2 George Orwell novels, 1984 had a Dewey classification No., but Animal Farm just has a call number, not a Dewey number. So; you'd really have to know whether it was considered as literature or just a novel to find it. Confusing!

Subject headings for literary works including fiction

I found this information on http://lib.guides.umd.edu/content.php?pid=132359&sid=3308846

Subject Headings for Literature fall into several categories, offering many ways to search for information on an author, work, genre, or time period:

• Individual Literary Authors
• Literary Works by Author
• Literary Works by Title
• [Name or Topic] in Literature
• Literatures by Region/Genre
• Authors by Nationality
• Miscellaneous Subject Headings

I couldn't find any information regarding the Literature subject headings in Australia, I would assume they follow the Library of Congress rules, as we do in so many ways.

Non-English Literature and ESL (English as a second language) shelving

From what I can find, shelving for books which are not in English are categorised firstly by language and then by author. For example, a book by Yibin Jiang in Chinese would be catalogued and shelved with the label CHI JIA. This was the most information I could find, but I will look next time I'm in a large library.

My local library does not have a LOTE collection (in Carrum Downs) however I'm not sure about the Frankston branch. I don't go there very often but will try to make the effort over the holidays and check it there.

Whew, this entry took me ages, it was quite hard to find adequate information to answer the dot points for week 9!

Til next time.....

Literacy

• What is you opinion of the statisitics in the above ABS documents and do you think there is a role for government, schools and other organisations in raising literacy levels and fostering reading?
• Find some examples of  the promotion of literacy and/or  reading by different organisations - libraries, schools, adult education venues, ESL courses bookshops, the media, book councils,  literacy or reading associations etc.
• Has there been any research done on the success of any promotional activities or prgrammes in encouraging reading and the acquisition of higher levels of literacy ? (perhaps a couple of articles could be found  in some scholarly journals)

Start with the basics.
What is a definition of Literacy?
On dictionary.com the definition is :
The quality of state of being literate, especially the ability to read and write; the possession of education; a persons knowledge of a particular subject or field eg computer literacy.

I found a pdf http://www.australiancurriculum.edu.au/GeneralCapabilities/Pdf/Literacy dealing with literacy in the curriculum for Australian schools, and one of the lines reads "Language, verbal or non-verbal skills is critical for the development of literacy skills. The definition on the Australian Curriculum website is:
Literacy encompasses the knowledge and skills students need to access, understand, analyse and evaluate information, make meaning, express thoughts and emotions, present ideas and opinions, interact with others and participate in activities at school and in their lives beyond school.

I was shocked at the statistics in the ABS documents. I would like to see the tests that were done to gather the figures. I do believe they were helpful in forcing the government to allocate funding to schools, which is never a bad thing.
In my opinion, the government should have a role, at least in providing funding, to aid in raising the literacy levels. This is the future generations we're talking about, after all!
I looked at the smarter schools site, and read about the results gained from the Smarter Schools National Partnership for Literacy and Numeracy. The funding that went into this program was noteworthy - the minimum being $6.1 million for the ACT, up to 136.0 million for NSW.
The focus on literacy and numeracy was decided upon as they are, after all, foundation skills; allowing young people a better chance of achieving at school as well as when they have finished school. The particular focus was on underachieving students, where the biggest gains could be made to most effect.
Searching for promoting literacy, I came across an article from the United Nations Educational, Scientific & Cultural Organization (UNESCO) where I found out that the 8th September, 2014 was International Literacy Day 2014 with the theme of Literacy and Sustainable Development.

Here is a sample of literacy promotion, which has been created to give schools ideas on how to promote literature using awards, bookmarks, etc.  http://www.nwt.literacy.ca/resources/famlit/howtokit/caught/caught.pdf

I also found this list of 10 charities that promote literacy :
http://www.mediabistro.com/galleycat/10-charities-that-promote-literacy_b42231

Last year the Australian Booksellers Association (ABA) held several promotions to support National Bookshop Day on 10 Aug 2013.

Literacy Programs and their success.

I found a pdf which covered a LOT of research, and included a variety of programs.
Eduweb Victorian Government
In section 5 there is a list of the different programs; it also covers the strengths and weaknesses of the individual programs.
Continuing to read through this extensive pdf, it became apparent that most of the programs were more highly successful than had initially been anticipated.
In some cases, simply raising the awareness of literacy issues can be the trigger to get interventions (if required) in place, The encouragement and enjoyment that most students gain from proving to themselves, and others, that they are capable of improving in their literacy goals can be a huge step forward, for the student, the family, the teachers and the schools.

Given the opportunity to participate in a literacy program, most schools will be happy to get on board. Good teachers are usually able to pinpoint students who would benefit the most from the programs on offer.

Week 7 Reader Advisor

Our task for this week was to look up several websites and jobs in relation to a readers advisory position. We don't really recognise this as a separate task in Australia, it's sort of put-upon the existing library staff to educate themselves in order to assist their patrons. There are many sites we can use to help us to keep up with the latest release information. Listed below are several, I particularly like the 3rd website listed, but I would always refer to Goodreads as well.

Websites

http://www.readersadvisoronline.com/ranews

Readers' Advisor News

An e-newsletter published quarterly by Libraries Unlimited, this is a good resource with many articles regarding trends and other items on issues, this release is particularly aimed at Reader's Advisories who may work in an Academic Library and recreational / pleasure reading services.


 http://www.readersadvisoronline.com/blog/index.php??ws=WS_RA&as=blog%2findex.php&token=1A3E54B96CC87894CB2562DB3DD226B8

The Readers Advisor Online

The readers advisor online is a blog which is based on Libraries Unlimited's Genreflecting Advisoy Series.It has been created or readers' advisors and people who work wih readers. Look here for the latest news, tips, fun stuf, and a list of books both non-fiction and fiction which are about to be published. There is a plethora of links on this page which would be useful.

http://www.ebscohost.com/novelist/novelist-special/readers-advisory-blogs-you-may-have-missed

NoveList - Readers' Advisory Blogs you may have missed

This is a great article, originally published in March 2012 in the RA News Newsletter, which includes a list the author suggests should be checked at least once a week. They provide quite a lot of information which would be useful, particularly for someone employed (or wanting to gain employment) as a readers advisor.

These jobs are all in the United States, and I'm stunned at the fact that the salary is not very good for a position which requires a College Degree.

Jobs

https://www.governmentjobs.com/jobs/937258/library-technical-assistant-reader-advisor
This position was for a Library Technical Assistant - Reader Advisor. The wage range was $26,139 - $48,361 p.a., as a full-time position at the State Library at Richland County. SC.The responsibilites were :
Provides comprehensive reader advisory service to Talking Book Services patrons.  Selects recorded, Braille and large type books and matches all to selected reader interests.  Responsible for one-to-one contact with patrons via telephone, mail, email and in person.  Responds to incoming calls throughout the day as scheduled.  Advises patrons in the selection of books.  Researches general reference questions.  Keeps patron computerized request files current and processes request lists received by mail, phone, or in person.  Keeps patron records accurate and current.  Reviews new reader applications and initiates contacts.  Creates computer profiles on new readers and updates current profiles.

https://www.tsl.texas.gov/jobs/ral.html
This position was for a Readers Advisory Librarian with the Texas State Library and Archives Commission; Monday to Friday 8 - 5pm, and the pay was $2,500 - $2,600 per month. This position was advertised at the end of 2013, and initially I thought it was the same as the previous one, but it's in a different state, so that's not the case.

This position provides reader’s advisory, reference, research, and technical support services for the Talking Book Program. This position provides service via telephone, email, postal correspondence, and in person to patrons with visual, physical, and reading disabilities that prevent them from reading standard print. Work is performed in a call center environment. Works under general supervision, with moderate latitude for the use of initiative and independent judgment.

http://www.darienlibrary.org/general-information/we-are-hiring-part-time-readers-advisor
This position is part-time, 10 hours per week, primarily weekend hours at Darien Library in Connecticut.  The pay is $15 per hour, but the required qualifications are a college degree! You are also 'preferred' to have enrolled in a library science or information science graduate program.

The Darien Library is looking for an enthusiastic librarian to join its Readers’ Advisory department. Readers’ Advisors staff the Library’s Welcome Desk and do a little bit of everything, but most of all, are counted on as trusted recommenders of books and other entertainment. We are big believers in the power of librarians connecting readers with their perfect book, and are always looking for new ways to do so.