MLA 2007 Conference Weblog

MLA 2007 tags on Flickr

2007-05-31T23:19:00.000-06:00

More conference photos:

MLA2007 tag

Montana Libraries Pool

2007 Conference Photos

2007-05-31T23:03:00.001-06:00

Thanks to Lisa Mecklenberg-Jackson for these great photos from this year's MLA 2007 Conference. Click through to add your comments!

Set 1

Set 2 by John York

flickr 101: Taking Pictures, Making Connections

2007-04-29T19:56:00.000-06:00

Shelly Drumm of BCR rewarded attendees with a presentation of flickr and its possible uses in promoting our libraries. She addressed the questions of what it is, how it works, why it is unique, how libraries and librarians can use it, and led a discussion of issues and concerns with using it.

flickr is for online photo storage, a photo organizer, a large photo database, a resources for photo sharing, and a place for social networking. After explaining its inner workings, Shelly pointed out its unique qualities when compared to similar services. flickr includes social aspects, sets and slideshows, favorites, fun tools, and Creative Commons licensing options. It can be used to share library events, share marketing ideas, and meet other librarians.You can access and experiment with your own uses for flickr at http://www.flickr.com

Web Searching for All

2007-04-28T19:35:00.000-06:00

On Friday, 27 April, Greg Notess, well known search engine expert of Montana State University, Bozeman, showed his audience of librarians the latest iterations of the main Web search databases. These included Ask, Google, Live Search (MSN), Yahoo! Search, Exalead, and Gigablast. Greg demonstrated how these various choices can give different results with similar searches and their differences in searching abilities. Using more than one of these is necessary especially when one does not find what she/he is seeking.

Overlap among the various databases is good for organization home pages, major pages, and frequently visited sites but not so good for deeply buried pages, forums, and social networking pages. Greg also touched upon "search switching" for searching across search engines, "shortcuts" for quick answers, "questions & answers" where the searcher submits a question in natural language, and a variety of search features in the various databases. Some search engine betas include SearchMash, AskX, and Alpha Beta. Greg always does an excellent job with these sessions and I strongly recommend attending his sessions in the future.

Greg's PowerPoint Presentation is available at <http://show.zoho.com/public/notess/07-mla-ppt2>.

Making some noise: podcasting at your library

2007-04-27T12:15:00.000-06:00

This was a most excellent class! Shelly Drumm from BCR taught the class and she was an exciting and energizing presenter. The workshop showed how easy it really is to produce a podcast and get it out there so your patrons can access it.
Here's a sample of one I made using Gabcast.com
http://www.gabcast.com/casts/9602/rss/rss.xml

Later boys and girs.

Health Sciences Interest Group

2007-04-27T12:12:00.000-06:00

On Thursday, 26 April, Laurel Egan of St. James Hospital, Butte, led our Health Sciences Interest Group in a discussion of possible technologies that we could use in our various libraries which serve medical professionals, nursing and other students. As an aside, the Pacific Northwest Chapter of the Medical Libraries Association will hold its annual conference in Billings, MT, from 28 September to 2 October, 2007.

The discussion returned to the topic of how we are using technology in our libraries. Some in our group bemoaned the fact that their libraries were basically locked down with regards to free access to the system for experimentation with the latest technologies and ideas in presenting information. The problem seemed to involve security and firewalls.

Laurel has been using blogs to get her information across to professionals at her institution. She discussed the value of blogs in the health sciences and mentioned some of the blogging software which she found valuable in building her sites. If any of us would like to create our own blogs, Laurel has offered to walk us through some of the problems.

Choosing a provider for your blog depends upon what you want your blog to do. Some providers include Blogspot, WordPress, Xanga, and LiveJournal. Laurel also recommended "mooshing" the names of blogs which may contain sensitive information (e.g. sjhdiabetes) to hide the blogs from "outsiders" when necessary. Having created a blog for physicians to maintain currency on some of the medical literature without getting buy-in from the physicians, Laurel used her site as an example of what not to do. She emphasized the necessity of discovering the needs of one's clients and what they are willing to make use of before creating a resource which they may not use.

Hot Water, Hot Discussion!

2007-04-27T07:03:00.000-06:00

It's that time of year again: The Hot Tub Book Discussion!

This year's title, "Anansi Boys" by Neil Gaiman, is sure to provoke some great discourse and dialog. Even if you have not read this fun New York Time's Best-seller, do come on down to brush up on your Mr. Neil Gaiman before he speaks Saturday morning.

Begin meeting at the Hot Tub (in the Colonial Red Lion) around 915-930ish, swimming attire not required, just come have a great time. Bring a drink, bring a friend, bring your rapier wit and intellect!

Limes are welcome!

I'll be seeing you, in hot water... :o)

Keynote by Nancy Pearl

2007-04-26T21:26:00.000-06:00

Nancy Pearl, who "went to Mukilteo to be digitized" (for her action figure), titled her keynote speech, "The Pleasures and Perils of a Life of Reading," and defined herself as "a reader." She humorously gave the example of being "trapped" in the bathroom in the Mallory Hotel on the verge of panic realizing that she had nothing substantial to read. That's when she accepted the depths of her reading addiction.

As a child in a self-described dysfunctional family, Nancy escaped to the local library to travel to the other worlds that books allowed her to flee. She read a great deal, under the guidance of her mentor Miss Whitehead, at the public library and under the spell of books and Miss Whitehead became a children's librarian. During her years of reading and getting others to read she came to realize that "through books and reading we can have any number of lives."

Nancy shared the adventures of writing her books, Booklust, More Booklust (aka Booklust II: The Morning After), and Bookcrush. She stressed the importance of the first line of a book and gave various examples of books she fell in love with after reading just the first line. Nancy inspired us all to continue our love of books and reading and to not give them up too easily in this age of the World Wide Web.

A Fresh Approach to Reader's Advisory

2007-04-26T20:05:00.001-06:00

Nancy Pearl presented a fresh approach to Reader's Advisory to many of us in this afternoon's session. She shared that we all enter books through four different doorways; story, character, setting, and language.

Important points to remember when doing RA:

"It's not about you!"
You don't have to have loved a book or even read it to suggest it to a patron. In fact it's okay if you hated the book.
Ask patron to tell you about a book that they liked. In 30-45 seconds you can determine what doorway (story, character, setting, or language) the patron entered through.
Give the patron three books. One that is very similar, one that is closely related, and finally one that is a bit of a stretch; from a different section of the library even. They shoud share the same doorway.
Remember that mood can affect patron preferences. Ask "What are you in the mood for today?"

The other point that Nancy brought home to me today was that while the newly published books get the prime real estate, "a new book is any book that the patron hasn't read."

Personally, I find that I enter books most often through the character and language doorways. Sometimes when I haven't read fiction in a while a good story can grab me too. One of my recent favorites was Life of Pi by Yann Martel (character).

What doorway do you enter books through most often? What have been some of your recent favorites? Post in the comments.

Catherine McMullen, Bozeman Public Library, www.greenlibrarianbozeman.blogspot.com

Book Club Discussion group wins Nancy!

2007-04-26T16:18:00.000-06:00

It's official, the Book Club Discussion interest group has won dinner with Nancy Pearl. The final bid was $270 and was announced during the Keynote address given by Nancy. We are dining at the Brew Pub and I am so looking forword to this! Her Keynote address was so entertaining and her class on Readers Advisory was just terrific. I am going to take my Nancy Pearl librarian action figure to dinner tonight where we can hear more "Pearls" of wisdome from Nancy.

Legal Reference for Non-Law Librarians

2007-04-26T10:05:00.000-06:00

Tammy A. Hinderman and Christine Mandiloff, of the State Law Library of Montana and Montana Legal Services Association respectively, began the morning with a presentation which proved valuable to both public and academic librarians. Tammy presented attendees with an overview of the three branches of government, both state and federal, and the types of resources created by each, including statutes, opinions, rules, and forms. She pointed out the secondary sources which could be consulted for legal reference questions: dictionaries, encyclopedias, treatises, articles, book, and sample forms and discussed how to attack a legal reference question by identifying the patron and the type of question. The legal reference framework included the resources of one's own library, the Web, the State Law Library, and proceeding to other organizations.

Christine led us through an overview of MontanaLawHelp.org and its resources. This site provides valuable assistance in areas for Families and Kids, Public Benefits, Consumer, Housing, American Indian Issues, Employment, Domestic Violence, Seniors, and the Legal System sections. It also includes legal information for the public, local listings of legal aid offices, local community resources, a directory of local courts, automated forms (coming soon), and a LiveHelp chat service.

Tammy continued with an overview of the State Law Library of Montana site, providing a variety of services and resources. Here one can find laws by topic, forms, statutes and rules, links to free Web sites, and suggested books, Montana Supreme Court Cases, opinions, and briefs, and a Law Library Newsfeed. She ended with other resources available through the Web and at the State Law Library.

Christine concluded the presentation with an overview of the Montana Legal Services Association, "a federally and privately funded program that provides free legal assistance in civil cases to low-income people." She also explained who qualifies for this service, the types of legal assistance offered, and what the service cannot do. A hotline for information (1-800-666-6899) and brochures covering 35 legal topics are also available.

Montana's Changing Economy & Census Data

2007-04-26T09:32:00.000-06:00

Excellent talk this morning in the Gallery computer lab on the state of Montana's economy, census data, and where things are going over the next several years. Brad Eldridge (spelling?) gave a good overview on current trends (and an excellent job as fill-in presenter!) What was most interesting was the tight work force currently in the state, with unemployment hovering around 2%. He said that there has only been one state ever that has gone under 2%, and that was Maine back in the 80's. Interesting if Montana can beat that mark! He also pointed out that Montana could be in trouble with available work force unless we can somehow either increase the productivity of current workers or increase the number of available workers in the state by increasing retirement rates or increasing in-migration or even immigration. Interesting stuff.
Susan Ockert, Senior Research Economist for the state, also went throught the state's available data sources and walked us all through it. I'm continually impressed with the amount of data the state has on it's website. I spend a lot of time helping business students find demographics, etc. and I can tell their impressed with what their state offers. http://www.ceic.mt.gov/

p.s. Just outside the conference room there's a rowdy group kicking off the new Montana Librarians Calendar. Sounds like fun, I hope someone blogs it!!

What was your most challenging reference question

2007-04-25T13:28:00.000-06:00

That is what we are going to talk about next. One virtual reference question that was a real challenge for me was from someone in Wyoming who wanted to know "what that purple flower was" in his yard. Gee, after pushing dozens of flower identification web pages to him I finally thought to suggest he go to his local extension office.

I just learned stuff about Google that I had not taken the time to explore before. Much wonderful stuff in the advanced search area. There is never enough time to really learn all the wonderful info that is available:(

One web site we talked about was http://del.icio.us/ , a great way to develop a portable bookmark collection and fined even more places you want to bookmark.

The below info was from the Business Resources part of the class by Christy donaldson
Ohh, I did not know the Occupational Outlook Handbook was online! http://www.bls.gov/oco

Note to self: Buy Business Plans Handbook, Gale Group and Small Business Sourcebook for library.

Some other good ref questions: Can you answer them?

There was this poem and he died

Is the house I live in a former red light house?

What's this dead bug I found in my washing machine?

Picture or plan for a turtle trap

What was a rest area in Mineral County named?

Yee Haw!

2007-04-25T10:31:00.000-06:00

Wednesday April 25
Reference and Beyond
My first class and I'm sure I will learn many cool nifty things. So far I've learned about offering food and beverages in the library, cell phone issues and how reference is changing. For instance; the reference desk is now the information desk or the help desk. I like the trend away from library language. Another cool thing is to get librarians out from behind their desks mingling with the great unwashed. Gotta go, class is back in session
Donna
AKA Crazy Library Lady

Edible book art contest

2007-03-16T09:15:00.000-06:00

Mm, mm, good!

Are you a reader, creative, AND a wiz in the kitchen? Then I have the perfect event for you. An edible book contest! Start thinking about your favorite book--and whether you could turn it into something edible. Look for inspiration here.
http://books2eat.com/books2eat2006.html
http://colophon.com/ediblebooks/books2eat2005.html
Books will be showcased at MLA 2007 with the winner receiving a fabulous prize. With good participation, this could become an annual event--how festive! So come up with your best edible book art. We'll eat it in your honor! Please contact me with any questions, Ljackson@mt.gov.

Participate--it will be much fun. Thanks! Lisa, MLA 2007 Planning Co-Chair

Let's Talk Neil Gaiman...

2007-03-15T11:10:00.000-06:00

Think you know Sandman?
How many different gods can you find in American Gods?
Where’s your lime?

And finally… are you ready for Neil Gaiman to make his first, and hopefully not his last, official visit to Montana? Librarians attending MLA this year get three chances to experience genre-conquering Gaiman: 10:30-Noon Intellectual Freedom and Comics, 12:30-2:00pm Lunch with the author, and at 2:30pm Public Lecture and book signing.

A sought-after guest author and public speaker, Gaiman consistently lectures and reads to capacity crowds. I had the immense pleasure to see Gaiman speak at last year’s Comic-Con International in San Diego. I was one person in a sold out auditorium of over 5000 fans; all there to hear him, along with Stardust screen-writing partner Jane Goldman, talk about the transition of Stardust from book to feature film. Needless to say, his scheduled appearances at MLA will be less crowded than San Diego was. His presentations are enjoyable, intellectual, and comfortable; if you doubt this, I encourage you to check out some of the free videos available on his website… just to whet your appetites for what promises to be an amazing day at MLA: http://www.neilgaiman.com/exclusive/Video/

In the meantime, what do we all do to gear up for a famous author visit? We’ll read tons of the author’s stuff, of course!

So, here is your mission: I am officially opening up this blog as a forum for your Gaiman literature recommendations, opinions, and suggestions. Give Montana librarians a month, and we’ll all be Neil Gaiman book experts.

(Note: for those of you who did not see the message on Wired—the Friday Hot Tub book discussion for this year’s MLA was announced by Karen Gonzales: Neil Gaiman’s Anansi Boys. Are you ready for hot water and hot discussion?)

My final question for today… Is Neil Gaiman ready to visit Montana?

~ This blog entry brought to you by Hannah Nash, an emissary of the MLA PR Committee, “See you all in Helena!” ~

Bid on Dinner with Nancy Pearl

2007-03-09T09:52:00.000-07:00

Let's start the bidding on Nancy Pearl. You are bidding for the opportunity to take Nancy out to dinner on Thursday, April 26, 2007. If you win the bid, you or your group are responsible to take her out to dinner, pay for her dinner, and have her back by 7:45 for the Cates Event. The money the winning bider(s) pay goes to the Cates Scholarship Fund. We are encouraging people to form teams to give you more bidding power...

Remember - this is a fundraiser for Cates - so bid 'em up!

MLA 2007

2006-11-13T13:29:00.000-07:00

It would be great if we could access and print the MLA presenters' online resources, PowerPoints, etc. before the conference.

Heath Sciences Librarians Interest Group

2006-05-10T13:50:00.000-06:00

As always, Laurel Egan, from St. James Community Hospital and the leader of our MLA Health Sciences Librarians Interest Group, came up with a stimulating and thought-provoking presentation. Lisa Autio, editor of the Montana Medical Libraries Newsletter, Lisa discussed the survey, which she had a large part in conducting, to discover what part public, school, academic, medical, special (non-medical), and other types of libraries played in educating the public on consumer health issues. Questions included library access to the public and health professionals, presence of a Health Information area with various resources, use of MedlinePlus.gov, challenges of providing health information, hosting of training session for health information, and familiarity with the National Network of Libraries of Medicine and the National Library of Medicine.

Some comments on the survey included:

1. We are a school library, medical health is a priority as it ties into the curriculum only.
2. A growing number of patrons are interested in learning more about their diagnosed health problems and [it's] hard for us to find up to date information--more than superficial info
3. Our hospital has a small library but it does not seem interested in cooperating with us or the other public libraries in the area.
4. Great demand for consumer health information continues--including demand on campuses.
5. We need more help with interpretation of resources.

Surprisingly, only 78 of 134 respondents were aware of the National Network of Libraries of Medicine and the National Library of Medicine and what they do.

Thank you to Laurel, Lisa, and Heidi for some great information and jump-starting our thoughts on what to do next!

Rich

Cates Raffle Winners

2006-05-09T16:06:00.000-06:00

The following is a list of items and the winners from the Sheila Cates Scholarship Fund Raffle.

On behalf of the Cates Scholarship Committee, many thanks to all those who donated items and to all those who purchased raffle tickets.

A Musical Puzzle Box, donated by Virginia Leininger, Kathy Mora's mother. Won by Sheryl Stout.
Bluebird of happiness, a framed photograph of a bluebird, donated by Dale Alger. Won by Lisa Mecklenberg-Jackson.
Gallatin Valley Gardening Goodies, donated by the Bozeman Public Library. Won by Ann Walters.
Set of Lewis & Clark & Sacagawea bears donated by Suzanne Reymer. Won by Jay Selman
Heavenly Homemades, a collection of homemade goodies donated by the Bitterroot Public Library. Won by Steve White.
Glacier Reader Basket- Donated by the Flathead County Library. Won by Jan Zauha.
Make Your Life Sparkle, a basket donated by the Montana State Library, Won by Vivian Yang
Tea with Dolley includes a free performance of Tea with Dolley Madison. Donated by Cherie Heser, Rosebud County Library. Won by Doug Ferkin.
Everything you need for a Kitchen Garden Donated by Skyview High School Library. Won by Lynn Zimmerman
Red Hat Bag Donated by Virginia Leininger. Won by Jill Johnson
Specialty Chocolates from the Sapphire. Donated by the Darby Community Public Library. Won by Sue Lerdal
Shhh! It's a Surprise! A mystery item donated by Ve Abrams, Fallon County Library and Diane Van Gorden, Baker MS HS Library. Won by Beth Williams
MOOSE shoulder bag donated by Suzanne Reymer. Won by Doug Ferkin.
Librarians Head for the Islands! Donated by Lisa Mecklenberg Jackson. Won by Lois Fitzpatrick.
Go Griz! basket with assorted University of Montana sports paraphernalia. Donated by Coby Johnson. Won by Jim Kemmerer
Dragon Dreams, Autographed copies of Eragon and Eldest along with a stuffed dragon. (Saphira blue, of course). Donated by Milla Cummins. Won by Doug Ferkin.
A Bundle of Books from Montana the Magazine of Western History Won by Magi Malone.
Librarians for Wellness, Donated by the MSU-Billings Library. Won by Dayl Fredrickson
Harry Potter the complete set (so far) donated by the Missoula Public Library. Won by Coby Johnson
Ceramic Pencil made & donated by Darlene Staffeldt. Won by Charlotte Henson
Relaxation Basket Donated by Virginia Leininger. Won by Nancy Brennan
Quilted Placemats. 2 sets donated by Carrie & Sinda from the Flathead Valley Community College Library. Won by JoAnn Schutte and Diane Van Gorden.
Remembering Missoula, a basket from the Fort Missoula Museum Shop. Donated by Coby Johnson. Won by Doug Ferkin
Framed fireworks photograph donated by Dale Alger Won by Sonja Woods
Books and CDs by MSU faculty. Won by Lois Fitzpatrick
Everything's Coming Up Huckleberries Donated by Sami Pierson, Lincoln County Libraries. Won by Cherie Bergeron
Proceeding on . . . the Garden : A Centennial Potpourri - donated by Lisa Mecklenberg Jackson. Won by Natalie Malaterre.
MLA Bookends & Books donated by Gloria Curdy. Won by Coby Johnson
Garden Delight donated by the Golden Plains Library Federation. Won by Milla Cummins.
100s of Things to Celebrate 100 Years of MLA donated by the Montana Tech Library Paraprofessionals. Won by Marie Habener
Trout poster, 2 bowls and notecards donated by Milla Cummins. Won by Bernadine Abbott
Tea Time donated by Jan Zauha. Won by Cherie Heser.
Gift Basket donated by Parmly Billings Library. Won by Gloria Curdy.
Children's Craft Basket donated by Parmly Billings Library. Won by Janet Eidson
3 hand-knit scarves donated by Anita Scheetz. Won by Vera Abrams, Vivian Yang, Julie Radtke.
Just Horsin' Around donated by the Sagebrush Federation. Won by Anita Scheetz.

Winners of the Cates Traveling Quilt are:

Magi Malone / Flathead County Library
Cherie Bergeron / OPI
Alice Meister / Bozeman Public
Karen Havelange / Glasgow Public

Originally posted to Wired-MT by Diane Van Gorden

Assessment workshop

2006-05-09T15:44:00.000-06:00

Assessment workshop 2
Originally uploaded by sreymer.

I have to give Brent Roberts credit for being probably the only person alive who could make assessment entertaining and useful. He put us in small groups and had us come up with outcomes to assess for a library program. Hopefully, it will help us all start thinking in those terms when looking at new and existing programs.

ASLD Dinner

2006-05-09T11:23:00.000-06:00

Unfortunately I didn't get much of a chance to really enjoy the MLA conference between presenting and running back to the Mansfield Library's reference desk. One excellent event that I did get to attend was the ASLD dinner at the Bridge on Thursday night (confession: I did make the arrangements for this event). 38 academic and special library employees and their friends ate a fine meal while sharing stories and ideas, some of them even work-related, with colleagues. The venue was excellent and the company quite nice. Thanks to all who attended, and I look forward to next year's dinner in Helena!

Finger on the Pulse

2006-05-08T15:39:00.000-06:00

On Thursday, 4 May, from 3 to 4:30 I spent some enjoyable time at Brent Roberts' presentation, "Finger on the Pulse: Measuring Your Library's Services for Quality." First of all, Brent is a dynamic speaker and I took notes on his presenation style to incorporate in my own presentations.

According to Brent's presentation, the tasks involved in Outcomes Assessment include six tasks: 1. Select a Program for Outcome Assessment. 2. Determine the Interim and Long-Range Outcomes. 3. Make Outcomes Measurable. 4. Design the Data Plan. 5. Make the Most of Your Results. Interim outcomes are short-term benefits while long-term outcomes become visisble and usable some 2 years after the program.

Mr. Roberts also brought in the relationship of Bloom's Taxonomy to measuring the quality of library services for quality. Results of the study would be best used through interpretation of the results, communication of the results, and using the results to move forward.

Brent recommended a book for further reading: Rubin, R.J. (2006). Demonstrating Results: Using Outcome Measurement in Your Library. Chicago, IL: ALA. OCLC:61451521

Rich

On Parliamentary Procedure

2006-05-08T14:13:00.000-06:00

Kudos to Lois Fitzpatrick for a fascinating introduction to parliamentary procedures. I had no idea there was even such a thing as "Robert's Rules" before this talk. According to Lois, one of the main goals of this protocol is to preserve the rights of the minority positions in the debate. Very interesting. Here's a few links if anyone's interested:
Official Robert's Rules page
wikipedia page
Other parliamentary rules

Remote Control Found

2006-05-08T12:14:00.000-06:00

We found this remote control as we were packing up equipment from the conference on Sat May 08:

It probably belongs to a projector brought by one of you to the conference. Please check to see if it might be yours. If it is, please contact Sebastian 406.243.4402 / sebastian.derry@umontana.edu, and we'll get it to you.

Poster Sessions

2006-05-08T11:31:00.000-06:00

Two thumbs up for the newly introduced poster session at MLA. I hope it will become a regular feature at future MLA conferences. I realize the displays take considerable time for the person/organization to create, but for the conference attendees they are an excellent way to get quick ideas for one's own library. Among the give-aways, I grabbed brochures on interlibrary loan services, a flier on medicine used by Lewis and Clark and the Corps of Discovery, and the web address for The Institute on Money in State Politics . Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.

A Last, Lingering Look...

2006-05-07T23:29:00.000-06:00

The last presentation I attended was about the NACO Funnel - a tornado, or a sweet from the Northwest Montana fair, as far as I knew. Ah, but no! Name Authority files are the underpinnings, the all - inclusive authority, the foundation upon which the giant Library of Congress bases its reputation as the Big Know-It-All of libraries. And it does so with help from some of the librarians at the conference, who have taken special training to be able to create Name Authority Files and funnel them to the Big One.
Now, don't run screaming from the room, but I found this rather fascinating. Also slightly comical to be listening to the serious discussion of an extra "x" in a format of lines of print with lots of numbers and undecipherable scrambled letters. But after awhile, I kind of got it. Enough to be able to explain it to my roommate on the long drive home.
So the reasons to attend a conference for someone like me, a librarian of five measly months standing? They include:
1. Being served by professionals in the Missoula Public Library. They were great; I want to grow up to be them;
2. Meeting people who helped me get over being intimidated by being a newcomer, and making me feel welcome and valued for the skills I did have, instead of the skills I didn't have - yet;
3. Gaining background on my new profession, and encouraging me to learn more about librarianship - and showing me how to do that;
4. Developing relationships with other librarians, and especially my colleague from the Whitefish Library, and roommate at the conference, Skeeter Johnston;
5. Renewing my friendship with Missoula - and conquering the M trail three times!
So, in parting, I leave you with some photos to remind you of a great conference in a great town:

Fishing under the Madison Street Pedestrian Bridge;
a view from the "M";
"Charging Forward, " a sculpture in front of the Adams Center by Jay Laber (Blackfeet).

Developing Native American Collections

2006-05-05T15:10:00.000-06:00

This was most helpful to me because it addressed an important aspect of my job. I learned to identify bias and evaluate Native American literature for stereotypes (intentional and unintentional) -- both in text and in illustrations. I was particularly intrigued by Julie Cajune's request to respect the tradition of only sharing coyote stories during the winter months. I would be happy to honor that tradition, and I wanted to share it with those of you, who like me, didn't know.

Anne Kish

Health Issues in the Headlines

2006-05-05T14:57:00.001-06:00

In her session on on "Health Issues in the Headlines: Reading Between the Lines," beginning at 0830 on Thursday morning, Gail Kouame, the Consumer Health Coordinator the National Network of Libraries of Medicine, Pacific Northwest Region (University of Washington) left her audience with much food/medicine for thought. During her stimulating presentation, which included chair- if not homework, Gail challenged us to determine the difference between a good and a slipshod consumer health article.

Gail spoke about the background of training of healthcare journalists, the scientist's perspective, the evaluation of news stories and how to follow up for more information, how to analyze a research report for accuracy and relevance, and how to help patrons sift through health news stories to get to the source.

Ms. Kouame also brought us into active learning by having us read some articles and evaluate them at her session. Articles we read and considered using Gail's directions included "Study finds another reasion to eat chocolate: A little chocolate may go a long way to reducing blood pressure" from The Associated Press; `"Is milk to blame for overweight children? Recent studies link dairy consumption, increased body mass in kids" from MSNBC; "Red Wine and Your Heart" from the American Heart Associaiton; and "An Evaluation of Echinacea angustuifolia in Experimental Rhinovirus Infections" from The New England Journal of Medicine. For those who might be interested, I am willing to assist you to evaluate medical information for your patrons. Thank you, Gail for all your great work and inspiration!

Rich Wojtowicz
MSU Libraries--Bozeman
richw@montana.edu
Phone: 406-994-1873
Fax: 406-994-2851

Montana's Special Libraries

2006-05-05T12:11:00.000-06:00

No one else has mentioned this seminar, and it was a good one. I didn't know that Montana has so many special libraries (55 mentioned during this workshop.) I love the way Jim Thull, librarian at the Renee Library, MSU Bozeman put it: "All things great and small, brilliant and idiotic, beautiful and ghastly, are housed and preserved for the benefit of ourselves and future generations" in the Creative Arts library where he works, and all of the special libraries.
The libraries reviewed are big and small, serve everyone, or only special populations such as the library in Deer Lodge Prison. Some of the libraries are up to date, such as the State Law Library http://courts.mt.gov/library/default.asp And there's the other end of the spectrum: the Lingenfeller-Hansen Lending Library in Gold Creek is on a ranch, and consists of the original 22 books of the homesteaders - known as a "saddlebag library" because that's how they were transported.
Magi Malone facilitated this seminar, and would probably provide a list of the libraries to you if you asked. (I didn't check this with her first - hope you don't mind, Magi.)

2006-05-05T10:55:00.000-06:00

The session this morning, Significant Tidings, was wonderfully informative and exciting: Montana librarians sharing their current research efforts!

Sheila Bonnard & Betsy Garlish shared adventures in virtual reference - reporting on the MLN Cooperative Reference Project, Ask A Montana Librarian
http://montanalibraries.org/AskA/AskA.asp

Samantha Hines discussed her pilot wiki - which she created as a new form of the traditional subject guide for the Journalism Department at the University of Montana-Missoula - check it out at http://umjournalism.pbwiki.com

Donna McCrea, shared her efforts to quickly make archival collections available for researchers in a presentation titled, "Getting Maximum Results from Minimal Processing at the K. Ross Toole Archives" (http://www.lib.umt.edu/dept/arch/arch.htm). Donna, UM-Missoula's Archivist, showed her passion for improving the problematic backlog faced by many archives - using minimal processing - and moving collections into the hands of users.

Heidi Sue Adams, Medical Librarian at Kalispell Regional Medical Center, discussed "Implementing an Informatics Student Project in the Solo Library." She did an excellent project, utilizing a student worker and her idea, to reach out to the Center's nurses - interviewing them to discover what services they wanted from the Library, and responding to those requests through the development of a tailored web portal.

The session concluded with Elaine Higgins & Linder Schlang's work on UM-Missoula Mansfield Library's Diversity Committee. "How Diverse is Your Library?" The Experience of Mansfield Library's Diversity Efforts" explored the formation of a Diversity Committee at the Library (including defining diversity and the Committee's charge), programs the Committee organized for library employees on diversity, the in-house creation of a Diversity Cookbook, and the acquisition of display cases for the Library that often highlight diversity collections.

There is lot we can learn and share with each other in Montana libraries - this session made this point, poignantly.

Cates evening

2006-05-05T10:45:00.000-06:00

Bruce & Pat
Originally uploaded by sreymer.

Many different eras were represented at the Cates' fundraiser. Bruce & Pat represent some of our pre-21st century colleagues learning to have fun.

My favorite cowlets
Originally uploaded by sreymer.

This team of intrepid public librarians may not have been the ultimate winners but they sure raked in the dough.

One useful tidbit I learned was, if your team is to have a reasonable chance at not being humiliated in Montana trivia, it pays to have at least one native Montanan on your team.

Walking Tour of Historic Missoula

2006-05-05T10:26:00.000-06:00

MissoulaTour1
Originally uploaded by kzlibrarian.

Yesterday afternoon a group of Montana librarians, including myself, took a sunny stroll - a Walking Tour of Historic Missoula. The Tour was led by Allan James Mathews, famed local author of A Guide to Historic Missoula (which can be purchased in the Exhibit Hall, Montana Historical Society). We learned about many of the downtown historic buildings, including exceptional preservation efforts by Missoula's Historic Preservation Commission (http://www.ci.missoula.mt.us/mayor/HistoricPresv.htm). Check out the pictures of the Studebaker Building, Higgins Block, and others by selecting the flickr: Montana Libraries link on the right.

Missoula Public Library reception

2006-05-05T08:57:00.000-06:00

Good food -- good drinks -- good people -- good fun! Last night Missoula Public Library hosted an inviting reception. It was a great opportunity to explore the library and relax to the tunes of the groovy musicians. Thank you to the MPL staff for putting this reception together!

Anne Kish

Favorite Things Day One

2006-05-04T18:23:00.000-06:00

Ulp...I'm behind everybody on blogging - but here's a collage from Wednesday's activities:
Early morning birdwatching along the Clark Fork - peaceful and reflective. Tour to Fort Missoula - rambunctious and funny. The question we all wanted to ask Ruth Royter, our tour leader, was why a fake log in the museum? Aren't there any spare logs left in MT to use?
A nice walk to Mansfield for the reception with Keith Michael Fiels. He was good-natured when I got a little lost...can anyone tell him how to keep ranunculus alive? Lovely classical trio in the library - and food and wine wasn't bad either.
Overall - librarians are wonderfully friendly people. I'm glad I am one...and this is just the first day!

Funding Digital and Preservation Projects

2006-05-04T14:44:00.000-06:00

Presenter: Gayle Palmer, OCLC Western Service Center
Digital and Preservation Services Manager
gayle_palmer@oclc.org

Good News! Lots of $ is out there for digital and preservation projects! So, where is it? Finding the $ is the hard part, but Gayle broke it down. She gave us tips on proposal writing and a list of resources to get us started on creating our own fund-finder lists.

I lingered after class for some one-on-one time with Gayle. She encourages any of you out there to contact her if you need info or advice. In addition to benefitting libraries, her expertise is just as applicable to museums and historical societies.

--Anne Kish

Oo-la-la--it's Sheila Cates night!

2006-05-04T13:10:00.000-06:00

Don't forget to attend the Sheila Cates Trivia Mania event tonight, Thursday, May 4 at 8 p.m. in ballrooms B & C. Food, fun, challenge, drinks--it all can be yours if you attend. Don't miss one of the most exciting events of the conference!

Montana Memory Project, what's in it for you.

2006-05-04T12:52:00.000-06:00

As Jason Clark, Steve McCann and I found out, digitization continues to be a very popular topic for Montana librarians. And scare resources in terms of funding, staff or volunteer time and equipment continue to be daunting challenges that must be overcome.

The Montana Memory Project is a growing working group of librarians committed to bringing to life a statewide digital initiative. At this time the work group would like to hear from you. Do you have content that you would like to digitize? Do you have the resources you need to create and publish digital content? If not, what do you need to make this a reality for you?

If this topic is of interest to you and your library please feel free to share your comments and concerns here.

Also please remember to comment on this topic and all the goals and objectives presented by the State Library. Online comments may be submitted at:

http://montanalibraries.org/BusinessPlan/BPinvite.asp

Jennie Stapp

Opening Reception--Mansfield Library

2006-05-04T11:42:00.000-06:00

The great folks at UM's Mansfield Library provided us with a wonderful welcome on Wednesday, from 4:30 to 6:30 pm, plying our pallettes with delicious food and drink and relaxing our ears with three very talented string musicians. They did not seem to mind (or were unaware of) the presence of Cats in Grizzly territory.

It was a pleasure to reconnect with new and seasoned colleagues from whom I consistently learn new things about life, liberty, the pursuit of happiness, and other important stuff.

Rich

Keynote address

2006-05-04T11:41:00.000-06:00

Keynote address
Originally uploaded by sreymer.

Keith Michael Fiels, ALA Executive Director, talked about some of the issues he considers crucial to libraries:

Library funding and advocacy as a way to sustain/increase library funding.
Planning at local, state and federal level.
Libraries have to be seen key players in education.
We want to improve library services by attracting the best and brightest to the field - provide training at all levels, resource sharing and recognizing outstanding service as well as that which needs improvement.
Improve library salaries one librarian at a time.
Libraries and librarians improve the world by serving all, promoting diversity, fighting to protect the constitutional rights of library users, fighting to keep information free and accessible for all, and helping to develop libraries internationally.

In answer to the question, will libraries survive? Keith was optimistic. He thinks we need to be part of an emerging virtual learing commnity. Not only will public and school libraries continue to serve the have nots, but they also provide a sense of community for all generations.

Every library should be linked by technology and by people who know how to use it.

He ended by letting the audience know that what we do is incredbily important to our communities and the world.

New Members Breakfast

2006-05-04T10:05:00.000-06:00

The Thursday, 7:00 am!!! breakfast for new and "vintage" members, organized by our dedicated, hard-working Director's at Large , Gail Wilkerson (East) and Magi Malone (West), went swimmingly and seems to have been enjoyed by the new members who attended. Consisting of coffee, some curly baked goods, cake donuts, two or three types of muffins, assorted fruit slices with strawberries, and a selection of juices, this breakfast lubricated the way for some great conversation and gave us the opportunity to get to know each other a little better.

Gail and Magi told us what to expect from the Conference and the opportunities we had for getting as much out of it as we hoped. They also introduced MLA Board members and others in the organization to help us remember names and associate them with faces. A drawing was held for several small door prizes--none of which ended up in my bag of booty.

If I can do anything to assist you, our new members (or old ones) please feel free to contact me at richw@montana.edu.

Welcome to all our new and vintage members!

Rich

Library Instruction as Outreach

2006-05-04T09:48:00.000-06:00

Bright and early this morning, I was treated to a presentation by UM librarians Sue Samson, Samarantha Hines, and Jennie Burroughs. The Mansfield Librarians offer library instruction effectively by dividing their users into unique user groups and tailoring their instruction programs to the special needs of each group. Targeted user groups include: first-year students, second-year students, upper-division students, grad students, faculty, adjuncts, TAs, campus administration, distance students, the community in general, teachers, businesses, health professionals, seniors, and government agencies. Whew! This library instruction program is really NOT one-size-fits-all!
Interestingly, Sue noted that, although undergrads are the most visible library users and the instructors don't frequent the library as often, the faculty are treated as the primary users. After all, they are the folks requiring all of the students to use the library.
This presentation went far beyond a show-and-tell presentation about what the Mansfield library is doing. It was an interactive multimedia presentation designed to help attendees develop library instruction programs for their own libraries. Each attendee received a take-home folder complete with a power point and a workbook with activities that enhanced the presentation. For more information about the UM library instruction programs, contact any of the 3 gracious presenters.
--Anne Kish

New Members' Breakfast

2006-05-04T08:48:00.000-06:00

New Members' Breakfast
Originally uploaded by sreymer.

The conference started out bright and early at 7am with a breakfast for new and vintage members.

A good chance to get introduced to the movers and shakers (and those intrepid enough to be up at 7am).

Dedicated to My Heroes

2006-05-02T20:12:00.000-06:00

We made it to Missoula and settled for the night at Goldsmith's Bed and Breakfast. "We" includes my husband, who just came off his ship . Bad timing for a conference!
Tomorrow he leaves, and I get to room with my fellow new librarian from Whitefish, Skeeter. Hee hee, it's going to be so fun!
We want to thank Our Heroes at Whitefish Branch Library for working while Skeeter and I get to come to the conference...Thanks Joey and Billie! Thunk those books!
Telling people I'm going to a Library Conference gets some hilarious responses. Everybody thinks we're all elderly females with our hair in a bun and chains on our reading glasses. "Oh, that'll be fun...watcha gonna do, read aloud to each other? Stay up until 8:30?"
Oh well, they don't have to know. And by the way, my reading glasses are on a really neat chain.

Final Schedule Posted

2006-05-02T17:27:00.000-06:00

Find it here: Final Schedule (pdf version)

Last Minute Schedule Change ...

2006-05-02T14:40:00.000-06:00

Via Elaine Higgins:

In the 2nd program session, Thurs. afternoon, 1:00-2:30, it will be Karen Strege and Lisa Wozniak [for the "Library Practitioner Certification and E-Learning Opportunities" program].

Additionally, during the break Thurs. afternoon [2:30-3], there will be a get-together of those interested in the MLA Calendar of Librarians.

Missoulian article

2006-05-02T11:59:00.000-06:00

Missoulian article
Originally uploaded by stevemtzn.

The Centennial conference has made the papers. Check out the image (or better yet, buy a paper) or read another article at the Missoulian

Stuffing MLA pizzas. I mean conference bags.

2006-04-29T20:44:00.000-06:00

When does the pizza get here?
Originally uploaded by stevemtzn.

Perfect weather in Missoula today. 70's and sunny. Perfect time to stuff nearly 400 conference bags! All in all, we finished the job at exactly the right time; when the pizza from McKenzie River Pizza arrived. Thai Peanut pizza ... mmmm.

More Missoula Events

2006-04-29T10:54:00.000-06:00

Holy smokes! In the past 2 days I've heard about 3 other great Missoula events going on during conference.

1. The first Missoula Farmer's Market of the year is on Saturday, May 6th! This is a weekly tradition for many Missoulians. The market is at the north end of Higgins (less than 5 blocks from the hotel) and runs 8:30-noon. The real abundance of produce becomes available in late June/July, but you can expect to find plenty of starter plants, lettuces, radishes, and other spring plants. Local bakers also show up, so you can get some tasty pastries for breakfast. The Saturday Arts & Crafts Market will also be going on 2 blocks south of the Farmer's Market.

2. The Garden City Brewfest will be going on in Caras Park (2 blocks from the hotel) noon-8:00 PM on Saturday, May 6th. "Admission to BrewFest is free, but those interested in tasting the beverages on tap will pay $5 for a 7-ounce commemorative glass, a wristband and two tokens, good for beer or wine. Additional tokens are $1 each. Soda, water and a variety of food choices are also available for purchase, including brats and pizza by the Sentinel Kiwanis Club and Mexican faire from El Cazador. Designated drivers who identify themselves will be provided with free soda throughout the day." It's a fun way to try some local microbrews and wines.

3. The 2006 Spring College Rodeos and Bull'o'Rama is happening at the Western Montana Fairgrounds May 4-7. The UM student newspaper, the Kaimin, has the story.

2006-04-25T20:14:00.000-06:00

Greetings from Flathead County Library, Whitefish Branch, where this new bookie is getting ready to attend her first MLA conference - and it's a biggie - the Centennial Conference. There I'll search for the answers to all the newbookie questions such as: what do OCRL, MARC, ASLD, and about a jillion other acronyms stand for? Okay, I really have looked up some of those, but I forget by the next day. And, are librarians really radical and extremist? Is that just in politics, or do they have other behaviors? I can't wait to find out - by observing librarians "in the wild." See ya there

cates 2005

2006-04-25T13:57:00.000-06:00

cates2
Originally uploaded by sreymer.

This is going to be fun. I always enjoy posting embarrassing photos of other people.

At least this one is relatively anonymous. You'd never know it was Bridgett Johnson of Lewistown Public Library, unless some evil person told you.

Looking forward to at least as much fun this year!

Food and Drink in Missoula

2006-04-10T13:00:00.000-06:00

We all have local favorites when it comes to food and potent potables. Let's share!

On Wired-MT, Barry Brown noted that there are 3 excellent micro-breweries in town:

Bayern
A Signature Beer: Trout Slayer

Big Sky
A Signature Beer: Moose Drool

Kettlehouse
(a few short blocks from conference site)
A Signature Beer: Old Bong Water
(My favorite is Cold Smoke.)

Missoula has taken Seattle coffee culture to heart. There are many independent coffee houses (and coffee cabooses) in town. Some of my favorite coffee places near the conference hotel include:

Liquid Planet

Butterfly Herbs

Bernice's Bakery

The Raven Cafe

Some of my favorite restaurants near the hotel include:

The Old Post (try the cod tacos--you'll be glad you did)

SaWaDee (Thai food)

The Bridge

Uptown Diner

The Shack (terrific breakfasts)

Higgins Alley

Please share your favorite restaurants, pubs, and coffeehouses in the comments section.

Other Events and Things to Do in Missoula

2006-04-10T12:40:00.000-06:00

A few months ago, several people posted on Wired-MT about other events going on in Missoula during the conference. These are some of the concerts, shows, and other events you may want to attend while you're in Missoula:

Events on the UM campus
May 2-12
Gallery of Visual Arts presents MFA Thesis Exhibitions by Orville Chigbrow, Sarah Conway and Steve Krutek. Opening reception Friday, 5/5, 5-7 PM, gallery hours Monday-Friday, 11 AM-4 PM, 243-2813.

May 3
UM Symphonic Wind Ensemble, 7:30 PM, University Theatre, 243-6880*.

May 3-6
Department of Drama/Dance presents Spring Dance Concert, 7:30 PM, Montana Theatre, 243-4581*.

May 4
Media Arts Spring Showcase, Undergraduates 2-4 PM, Graduates 7-9 PM. Programs feature short narrative/experimental movies and integrated digital art/design work, University Center Theater, open to the public without charge, 243-4540.

May 6
Missoula Symphony Orchestra, featuring the Eroica Trio, 7:30 PM, University Theatre, 721-3194*.

(* indicates that tickets are required)

Events Downtown

First Friday
"Most Missoula galleries celebrate their new exhibits on the First Friday of the month. Many stay open until 8 pm or later and serve a surprising array of refreshments. You won't want to miss this chance to experience Missoula's arts community!"

The Fifteenth Annual National Juried Exhibition Of Traditional Oils
"The opening reception and awards ceremony will take place on Friday May 5, 2006, from 7:00 p.m.-10:00 p.m." At the Dana Gallery
The preliminary program is online.

MCT Community Theater's production of My Fair Lady. The show runs May 4-7, 10-14, 2006, and is sure to be worth seeing. Tickets go on sale April 17th. You can purchase them online, or call (406) 728-PLAY.

The Missoula Downtown Association has a list of other events going on downtown.

Please use the comments option to add your own recommendations for events and things to do in Missoula.

Watch this space ...

2006-04-05T10:07:00.000-06:00

The MLA Conference blog is on it's way. Over the next month we'll finalize the design of this blog and then call for authors.

Are you willing to become a conference blogger? Have a digital camera, or are you simply willing to write down your thoughts on the various happenings in Missoula? Drop a line to Steve McCann and we'll set you up as a co-author of this blog.