Richard Mott Reports On ALA Midwinter Conference

Manager of Strategic Initiatives Richard Mott was one of the two members of JPL's staff to travel to Denver for the American Library Association’s annual midwinter meeting, which was held the weekend of February 10, 2018. He was there to attend the final meeting of the Public Library Association’s Performance Measures Task Force, of which Richard has been a member since its inception three years ago.

Richard said the goal of the task force was to lay a foundation for outcome-based performance measurement to permeate the library field. By looking at outcomes, libraries are able to demonstrate, not only how many people attend their programs, but how many benefited from them. The instrument the task force created was a series of simple surveys to be completed by customers who attended programs. JPL is currently using these surveys for some of its programs and classes. They include questions such as, “After participating in this program, I am more confident about helping my children learn.” [Strongly Agree to Strongly Disagree]

Diffusion of Project Outcome throughout the library field far exceeded expectations; 21% of all US libraries and the majority of large libraries have registered to use the surveys. Being on the task force was “a satisfying experience,” Richard said. “I had the opportunity to work with and build relationships with some of the brightest and most dedicated librarians I have met outside of Jacksonville.”

JPL Staff At ALA, Orlando

Thanks to Richard Mott, Manager of Strategic Initiatives, for giving us a recap of JPL's contributions to the recent ALA Conference

"Barbara Gubbin, Jennifer Giltrop, Gretchen Mitchell, Lynn Jacobson, Richard Mott, Sara Roberts and others (listed below) attended the American Library Association’s Annual Conference in Orlando, which ran from Friday, June 24, through Tuesday, June 28. This is the largest library conference in the world, with over 20,000 attending from public, academic, school, and special libraries in every state and many foreign countries.

"We attended programs for professional development and explored the massive exhibit hall, where hundreds of vendors displayed and demonstrated everything from furniture to books to research databases. They experienced the unique culture of Orlando, Florida.

"Several made presentations. Barbara served on a panel on Sunday to discuss *“Libraries That Listen". Lynn participated on a panel discussion that discussed issues related to serials cataloging by playing the game Family Feud. Richard was one of two presenters of a Monday morning program on the topic Using Data for Strategic Planning.

"Phenessa Gray and Jill Sherrod attended and have already posted reports on the Conference Attendees team site. Here’s a link: 

http://inside.coj.net/li/sd/Lists/CONFERENCES%20%20Reporting/AllItems.aspx

Other staff attending ALA beside ones named above:  Lisa Taylor, Karen Walker, Alison McCarty, John Carter, Ann Fridl, Amber Holley, Donna Carroll, Chiquita Powell, Beth Friederich, and Phenessa Gray.  Staff attending exhibits only: Shirdellah Grouix, Marshelle Berry, Lisa Buggs, Mia Clark, Charlene Adkins, Jill Haile, and Linda Smith.    

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*Click on the link in the article below, "Director Gubbin On Panel At ALA", for details.

Travelogue: ALA Midwinter Conference, Boston, 1/8 – 1/11/16

Manager of Strategic Initiatives Richard Mott gives us an interesting recount of his trip to ALA Midwinter Conference, "Jennifer Giltrop, Lynn Jacobson, and I, along with almost 12,000 others, had the opportunity to travel to chilly Boston earlier this month for the annual American Library Association Midwinter Conference. Midwinter is smaller than ALA’s annual conference (which will be in Orlando in June this year, by the way). While Midwinter does have a number of programs and special speakers (Andre Dubus, Chelsea Clinton, Ken Burns, and Cory Booker, to name a few), most people who attend are on committees or have other library business to attend to.

"For example, there is a job placement center, a sort of job fair within the conference, at which we set up shop to talk to potential candidates for jobs at JPL. Among other meetings, Jennifer met with a deputy directors group she co-chairs and Lynn is on a committee responsible for planning programs for the annual conference. I had an all-day meeting on Monday of a task force charged with developing tools to help public libraries measure outcomes, and I had the opportunity to participate in a panel that did a presentation on the topic on Sunday.

"All three of us happened to attend a 3-hour session together on Saturday called “Change Essentials,” based on the eight principles laid out in a book called Our Iceberg is Melting.

"I had little time for sightseeing, but the weather wasn’t exactly right for walking the Freedom Trail, anyway. Even so, the highlights of my personal experience had nothing to do with the conference, I confess:

      1) Being able to put my scuffed shoes in a plastic bag outside the door of my hotel room before I went to bed and finding them in the same place the next morning, only freshly shined.

       2) Watching the Alabama - Clemson college football national championship Monday night in the hotel room with my wife (nothing to do with Boston, but it was a FANTASTIC game).

       3) Good restaurants! (I had my first ever whole lobster at this wonderful hole-in-the-wall seafood market/restaurant on the harbor four blocks from my hotel – lots of locals, order at the counter, plastic flatware. I strapped on my plastic bib while Siri helped Lisa find instructions on her phone for how to eat a lobster.)"

Deputy Director Giltrop Chats With Chelsea Clinton

Deputy Director Jennifer Giltrop attended midwinter ALA in Boston and had an opportunity to chat with Chelsea Clinton as she signed a copy of her book, It's Your World, Get Informed, Get Inspired & Get Going!

Learn more about her book at, http://www.itsyourworld.com/about-the-book/

Richard Mott Promotes JPL's Project Outcome At ALA

Richard Mott, Manager of Strategic Initiatives, gives us a snippit of one of his contributions on behalf of JPL at ALA, "On Saturday, June 27, I participated in a panel that gave an update on the progress of the PLA task force I am a member of, now called 'Project Outcome.' I shared JPL's experience piloting a survey we conducted last September of attendees of CareerSource programs, computer and technology programs, and early literacy storytimes (for the storytimes we surveyed the parents). Over 95% of attendees of all of these JPL programs indicated that they were more confident about the subject matter, more knowledgeable, and planned to use what they had learned. This kind of data helps us move a step beyond simply head counts to begin to demonstrate with quantitative data the impact of these programs on people who attend. Finding ways to demonstrate that impact is what this task force is all about."

Andrew Coulon In ALA's Emerging Leader Program

E-Specialist Andrew Coulon shares his experience at this year's ALA Conference, "This year, I have the privilege of participating in ALA’s Emerging Leader program. The program is intended to create leadership opportunities for librarians and MLS students within ALA and the broader profession. As part of the program, I attended the ALA Midwinter Conference in Philadelphia in January, 2014. The weather in Philly over the weekend was bitterly cold but I was very happy to have a chance to be back in snow, if only for a few days.

"As part of the Emerging Leaders program, I will spend time during the next few months working with a group of librarians to help the Map & Geospatial Information Round Table (MAGIRT) develop a marketing plan to help expand membership and networking opportunities for the group within ALA. I am very excited to work on this project and I am already very impressed with the professionalism and enthusiasm I encountered in the EL meetings.
"At the conference, I spent most of my time in meetings for the EL program, so I did not have time to attend many seminars. I did spend some time on Saturday afternoon in the Networking Uncommons to listen to five minute presentations on many different topics. The short sessions were followed by quick discussions in which librarians, administrators and students were able to pitch in their ideas and give feedback. It was very interesting to learn how other libraries are experimenting and developing new services and methods all across the country."

"Sometimes it is easy to get discouraged at work when budgets are cut and it seems like all we can do is just staff the desk and keep the lights on. Nevertheless, we always remember that the services we offer in our communities are valuable and important to the people we serve. Information technology is evolving very quickly and libraries around the world are finding innovative ways to expand literacy and access within communities. This is a very exciting time to be working in libraries." 

Great Input From Ron Block on Recent ALA In Seatle

Ron Block, Circulation Services Manager, has this to share about his experience at the January 25-29 ALA Midwinter Conference in Seatle, Washington:

"I was able to attend a series of talks led by Rich Harwood of the Harwood Institute about a partnership he is forming with ALA to highlight the need for libraries to become more civically engaged in transforming communities. The sessions were inspirational and created a lot of buzz! Some of the best phrases I heard were “move libraries from nice to necessary”, “people are looking toward trusted organizations, like libraries”, and “re-learn how to fail, to celebrate, and to re-forge meaningful relationships”. We’ll be hearing a lot more about this in the upcoming year!

"I also was thrilled to listen to Caroline Kennedy speak about how reading and libraries have played a huge role in her life, how it was interwoven into her family both at home and through their philanthropic work. It was so exciting to hear her talk of her family’s love of poetry! You can see her talk at http://www.eventscribe.com/2013/ALA-Midwinter/assets/videoPlayer/player.asp?PresentationID=34408"

Scroll down to see Sharon Kirkes' insight on this conference.

Sharon Kirkes' Recap on ALA's Midwinter Meerting

Sharon Kirkes, Webb Wesconnett Regional Branch Manager, had this to share about her recent trip to ALA's midwinter meeting in Seattle, January 25-29:  "The conference had fewer presentations than committee meetings, but two of the sessions I attended were really informative—the one on the PLA Digital Learning project, and the session on Common Core, which I knew very little about.

"I visited Seattle Public’s Central Library—interesting architecture (very Bauhaus), but not as beautiful as ours.  There were some service differences, like their coin-operated printing service, limited guest pass policy, and teen desk hours.

"Seattle appears to be a thriving, very active city, but the weather is depressing. I was so glad to get back to Florida."

I asked Mrs. Kirkes to explain a little about what she learned about "Common Core" and this is her input:  "It is a new set of education requirements that is being implemented in schools.  Florida seems to be moving right along with this approach.  It includes style and emphasis changes--students reading from a variety of sources and being able to evaluate a case based on evidence.  Common Core involves a different approach to teaching/learning and content.  Reading lists will not include so much fiction; they will include more nonfiction; I don't know the ratio. 

"As I undersand it, FCAT will evaluate students' performance in a particular course, so it will be broken down more--science, reading skills, etc. and will involve independent, critical thinking, and evaluating materials--a change in approach and content."