23 Mobile Things Group Completes Their 23 Things . . . and then some

The first group of participants in the 23 Mobile Things program have completed their tasks.  While not all of the group managed to finish the program, we did have about half who did, despite the holidays and the renovation preparations.

The participants were very active, tweeting and sharing documents, posting photos and even watching some movies.  We discussed social media and online safety, shared images from our workplaces, and created some QR codes for our favorite websites.  The group also found some interesting apps for their 24th thing, and we found some things that just didn't work for us.

All in all a great learning experience for these intrepid explorers, some valuable lessons learned and some great resources shared.  Thanks to all who participated and especially those who made it to the end.

A few notes from the 2016 Training Magazine Conference

Here are some thoughts, quotes, and ideas that stood out at the recent Training Magazine Conference in Orlando:

• Context is important.  At Disney, things make sense that don’t make sense anywhere else, like wearing stylized rodent ears on your head.
• Think about questions before you ask them.  The keynote presenter asked the audience what the cells in the brain were called.  One person called out “brain cells,” to the amusement of the rest of the audience. 
• One third of the world lacks primary education and access to higher education.
• Generation Z (born 1990 – 2010) is getting ready to enter the workplace, giving us 5 generations of employees.
• All technology requires trade-off.  We lose something in exchange for what we gain.
• Communication is important.  People have cell phones in places where they don’t even have running water.
• Think about what you are doing and why.  PowerPoint says “insert text here,” but you don’t have to do it.
• Who would you ask for help if you had a problem?  That’s how you find out who the opinion leaders are in an organization.
• There is a fine line between awesome and too far.
• Don’t ever try to catch a cactus. 

Lisa R. Kenyon

SD&T

Winter/Spring 2016 Classes

SD&T is working on the schedule of classes for Winter/Spring 2016.  We'll be sending emails with the individual classes that are now available, and when the schedule is complete we'll send out the completed brochure with all classes listed.  Check your email for updates.

MD Tech Connect Workshop

December 8, 2015

Miller Branch, Ellicott City, MD

The goal of the Tech Connect workshop was to “mark a new beginning for a library technology group in Maryland” that includes all library staff, not just IT staff.  In attendance were “technologists” and “technology enthusiasts” from public and academic libraries

Greg Arig, software and game developer, gave a presentation about the development of Virtual Reality (VR).  One of the questions was “How can libraries use this new tool to meet the ever growing customer demand for technology?”

Tech Expo gave participants opportunities to experiment Virtual Reality Head-Mounted Displays such as Samsung Oculus, Augmented Reality, and other devices. I noted a few programs that can be easily replicated and implemented to offer STEM and STEAM programs for children.

·        CRATE (Create/Reinvent/Apply/Teach/Explore)

Carroll County Public Library will be launching CRATEs in 2016. This is a program that features a different activity (or CRATE) each month for 4 months for self-exploration.

CRATE 1 - Building with straws: http://www.strawbees.com/

                                    Also see Instruction Pamphlet

CRATE 2 – Robotics using cublets: http://www.modrobotics.com/cubelets/cubelets-six/

                                    using ozobots: http://ozobot.com/play

CRATE 3 – Makey Makey: http://www.makeymakey.com/

CRATE 4 – LittleBits to create sounds and music: http://littlebits.cc/kits/synth-kit

               LittleBits can be used in many kinds of projects: http://littlebits.cc/projects

·         Low Tech Intro to Coding, presented by Lori Conforti from Glenwood Branch, HCLS.

She had a set up where participants were able to make bracelets using colored beads to code their own initials. More ideas at: https://code.org/files/CSEDbinary.pdf, or email Lori Conforti at: lori.conforti@hclibrary.org 

·         Cubetto to introduce three to seven year-olds to coding. FutureMakers, represented by Matt Barinholtz, can provide libraries with the board and the cubic robot. It is a fun and simple way to introduce children to coding without using any screen. Click on http://www.primotoys.com/index, then click on “Show me!” to see it in action.

Click on https://mdtechconnect.slack.com/messages/about_event/ to see what came out of small group discussions about library trends, newest technologies, new services that libraries are offering, and the challenges ahead.

S. Merlier-Rowen

Children's Department, Central

February Application Deadlines for ALA and MLA

Here are the application deadlines for the annual ALA and MLA conferences.

MLA - Friday, February 5, 2016
Registration materials will be available online in January mdlib.org

ALA - Friday, February 12
Registration opens January 19 http://2016.alaannual.org/

Obviously there is limited information available about sessions and presenters at this early stage, but if you are thinking of requesting funds to attend you should start thinking about why you want to go and having a conversation with your supervisor about your interest.

"How to Respond to a Security Incident in Your Library" Webinar 12/9/15

We had a good turnout for the ALA webinar yesterday, with 61 staff members in attendance.  We've already received some great feedback from attendees.  Extra thanks to Bruce Hall for leading the Q&A session after the presentation, and for his helpful answers to staff questions and concerns.

Here is the link for the video mentioned in the webinar, "Run, Hide, Fight"

  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5VcSwejU2D0

Also, here is the link for the FEMA video Bruce mentioned in his email on 12/8/15, which is eligible for CEU credit:

https://training.fema.gov/is/courseoverview.aspx?code=IS-907

This was a great start to what will be an ongoing discussion about safety and security in the library, and we hope to have more programs on this and related topics coming soon.

Young Adult Services Symposium (YALSA) 2015

This month I had the exceptional opportunity to attend the Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA) Annual Symposium in Portland, Oregon. It was my first time attending the conference and I was blown away by the experience. All of the programs I was able to attend were incredibly useful and inspiring and the camaraderie amongst the all the attendees was invigorating. I have only been a YA library associate for a little over two months but this experience affirmed that I am in a profession where my colleagues are by and large a wonderfully supportive and passionate group of people.

It’s difficult to pick a highlight of the conference since so much of the experience was positive. Some of the programs I attended that I particularly enjoyed were on the subjects of: starting teen theatre groups at the library, creating welcoming physical space for teens in the library, helping LGBTQ teens transition out of high school, using graphic novels to teach about race relations, and how to introduce middle school students to more advanced YA literature.  I learned so much from these sessions about why YA library services are meaningful and about what fellow YA librarians are doing to meet the ever-changing needs of their adolescent patrons. One phrase in particular that I heard used over and over again which really stuck with me as a simple yet all-encompassing objective for the YA librarian was “buy-in.” Like stake holders in a business, the goal of “buy-in” is to get teens to be supporters of library services by making them feel like active and significant participants in the endeavor. This principle has been particularly helpful to me as I start new teen programming at Waverly. My services will be most effective if I can get the teens and young adults who use this branch to feel invested in their library and rewarded for their commitment. I feel that after attending the YALSA Symposium this year I am much more confident and prepared to make the teen services at Waverly the best they can be!

Isabelle Briggs

Library Associate

Waverly Branch