July/August 2009

Three NNYLN member librarians recently received Professional Development Grants to aid them in attending national events.

SUNY Oswego Library Technology Coordinator Natalie Sturr attended the ELUNA (ExLibris Users of North America) conference May 4-8, 2009 in Richmond, VA.

"I had the opportunity to attend a variety of sessions given by librarians. The two most interesting were on analyzing data and undertaking usability studies to improve the opac’s interface and the user’s search experience. Information gleaned from these sessions can be used to improve almost any website," Ms. Sturr stated.

SUNY Plattsburgh Interim Associate Dean of Library & Information Services Holly Heller-Ross attended the 37th LOEX Conference in Albuquerque, NM from April 30-May 2, 2009.

"I attended conference sessions on several critical issues for us right now. One session in particular really opened my mind to a new way of thinking," Ms. Heller-Ross said of a session on the idea of threshold concepts.

A threshold concept is one that transforms the way the learner see the world, a concept that changes thinking in a significant and irreversible way. "These are the concepts that people find difficult to learn, the places where learners frequently get stuck in their understanding," she explained.

The conference also included three plenary speakers.

"Stephen Abram gave his views of libraries and information in the modern electronic world, Poet Jimmy Santiago Baca read some poems and spoke about libraries impact on literacy and his life as a poet, and Susan Deese Roberts walked us through several detailed approaches to using instructional theories and strategies connected to learning styles and learning modes," Ms. Heller-Ross reported.

SUNY Potsdam Crane School of Music Associate Librarian Edward Komara attended the Music Library Association (MLA) meeting in Chicago, IL from Feb. 17-21, 2009.

"The first part of my meeting was my assistance on the Basic Music Library (BML). It is a buying guide for music, including printed scores, sound recordings including CDs, and multimedia including DVDs," Mr. Komara said.

"Friday and Saturday were the days I had for attending conference papers. The Friday morning plenary session was devoted to music copyrights, in particular if there is a chance for reducing the long lengths of the current copyright terms. That afternoon I attended the Black Music Collections Roundtable, which provided an informational session of the latest work and research in African American classical, popular, and sacred music," he added. "Also, I went to an open session of the online journal-storage service JSTOR, which is subscribed to by many academic libraries including SUNY Potsdam."

	Kathryn DelGuidice, Center for Life Long Learning. --------- For more pictures, go to www.flickr.com/photos/nnyln.

By Pat Wiley
Saranac Lake Free Library

Nearly 30 participants from throughout the North Country attended the Northern New York Library Network’s Spring 2009 Library Assistants Conference: Library Smorgasbord, held April 16 at Clarkson University’s Adirondack Lodge, Potsdam.

Kathryn DelGuidice of the Center for Life Long Leaning at SUNY Canton talked about "Essentials of Customer Service" during the first of four diverse programs. Customer service is about treating others as you would like to be treated yourself. Every interaction with a patron is an opportunity to convince someone that the library is indispensable.

NNYLN Executive Director John Hammond then discussed "Politics and Money: Advocacy to Make it Through the Recession." This year, while there was an 8.7 percent increase in state spending, there was an 8 percent cut to library systems.

"In the end, programs will be cut," Mr. Hammond said. Libraries must send a clear message, must create relationships to find allies, must participate in legislative days, and advocate all year round.

During the final morning session, Jim Crowley of Crowley Computers talked about "Viruses, Worms and Spyware." While malicious programs can cause damage to computers and slow them down, Mr. Crowley pointed out it is a lot easier to keep them clean through a variety of protection methods than to clean them up after an infection.

Library assistants were able to meet with peers and exchange ideas during lunch, which was followed by Mr. Crowley’s afternoon presentation on "Microsoft Office 2007: Transition." Mr. Crowley showed the differences with previous versions, highlighting interface changes. "Once you get used to Microsoft Office 2007, you’ll never want to go back," he said.

Clarkson Library Director Michelle L. Young ended the conference with a tour of the University Libraries.

Thursday, July 9 - "Financial Overview for Library Business Managers" will be held from 9:00 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. at the NNYLN, Potsdam. The fee is $15 for library staff, free to Blue Line library staff, and $59.95 for all others.

Thursday, July 2 - "Evaluating Library Programs & Services" will be held from 9:00 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. at the NNYLN, Potsdam. The fee is $10 for library staff, free to Blue Line library staff, and $29.95 for all others. (Note: the class date was changed from June 26.)

Archives Mont - Be thinking about activities for October 2009 to be held in conjunction with Archives Month. Event details will be due to the NNYLN by Sept. 11.

SUNY Potsdam’s College Libraries has two new staff members: Daniel Newton is a Senior Assistant Librarian, and Jim Hubbard is an Instructional Support Associate. Richard Hartigan has retired from the library as an Instructional Support Associate.