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The root of the word constellation means 'stars together.' That's an apt metaphor for a public library. Each employee in every department is a star whose light shines out into [...]

When I served on the PLA Board of Directors in the early 2000% plans were underway for the Certified Public Library Administrator (CPLA) program. When I was on the American [...]

What would you do if you weren't directing a library?' Lynn asked Sandra and me. We were having lunch at the White Gull Inn in Door County, Wisconsin. It was [...]

I have long maintained that the reason we are comfortable with ink-on-paper information delivery is that it is our paradigm. We learned to read in that format. We first encountered [...]

Library historian Wayne A. Wiegand's book, Main Street Public Library: Community Places and Reading Spaces in the Rural Heartland, 1876-1956, will be published in October by the University of Iowa [...]

The new librarians' perspectives on the librarians' recruitment and job prospective are discussed. The job applicant should possess flexibility and tenacity and the employer should consider nontraditional career paths and tap the existing talent.

The alternative lives led by many librarians that are apart from their regular jobs are illustrated. The librarian's profession leaves much needed space for living and these rich other lives are one of the most fun and fascinating aspects of it.

The small-town librarians recount their experiences of working in small libraries. Small libraries account for a major share of the total number of libraries existing in the US and although they are just like their larger kin, they differ in aspects where the staff must know a great deal about the day-to-day operations.

In 1931, S. R. Ranganathan posited the 'Five Laws of Library Science.' (1) Eight decades later they remain applicable to librarianship, augmented by revisions ('media' instead of 'books,' for example). [...]

It's not what you're selling, it's what they're buying,' organization consultant Simone Joyaux (www.simonejoyaux.com) said at a New England Library Association workshop some years ago. That's where marketing comes in. [...]

In-service days at the Zion-Benton Public Library (III.) generally include a speaker on a topic relevant to everyone--how to deal with stress, customer service, and cultural diversity. At lunchtime we [...]

Hurray for Will Manley's idea for printing poems on cereal boxes in his Will's World column 'Your Morning Metaphor' (AL, Jan./Feb., p. 96). To complement his suggestion of 'short, but [...]

The article presents several insights on how to provide good customer service in public libraries. Shelley Campbell, communications director of the Tulsa City-County Library in Oklahoma, explores the aspects and details of quality library service which include customer-oriented, understandable, consistent, and flexible. Pam Tomka, director of Washington District Library in Illinois, emphasizes the importance of creating a positive attitude and providing great service. Vanessa Uribe, library director of El Dorado County Law Library in California, provides and analyzes five significant elements in developing a culture of great customer service that would provide a quality library environment for customers and staff members.

The article presents essays on events hosted by various librarians for The Big Read initiative of the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA). It offers wide array of activities conducted in several U.S. states such as Illinois, Kansas, and Texas which are connected to the book they have chosen. The authors shared their experiences during the event and challenged on choosing the book from contemporary to classic ones.

The article discusses the various services offered by the public library for homeschooling families in the U.S. It includes the partnership of the Cleveland Public Library (CPL) with Cleveland Metropolitan School District (CMSD) to publicize materials of interest to homeschoolers with a quarterly booklist of new acquisitions. Another is the development of the Home Learning Center in Illinois which provides homeschooling families a range of several school-related materials. In Baltimore, Maryland, homeschooling technology classes are held at the Enoch Pratt Library's Orleans Street Branch at the Pratt Center for Technology Training (PCTT).

This section presents the views of several notable people in the public library profession in the U.S. on how being awarded not only honored what they have already done, but has also inspired them to continue and expand their work. Cindy Mediavilla, library programs consultant at California State Library, recalls that in 1991, she was hired by the Orange Public Library to oversee a federally funded homework center called The Friendly Stop. As a result of this experience, she developed a boundless passion for providing homework assistance to young people. Meanwhile, Jane Jacobs, assistant coordinator at the catalog division of Queens Library, said she won two awards for a cataloging translation program that she worked on with a team of librarians and information technology people at Queens Library and a freelance programmer.

This article offers several views on the talking books service for the blind and physically handicapped in the U.S. In 1931, Congress established the Talking Book Program, which is administered by the National Library Service (NLS) for the Blind and Physically Handicapped at the Library Congress. Since then, audio and Braille books, magazines and other materials have been provided postage-free to eligible borrowers throughout the U.S. and to eligible U.S. citizens living abroad. As the seventy-fifth anniversary of the program approaches, the community of those serving the blind and physically handicapped is torn over efforts to provide digital talking books (DTB) to its users. While NLS began planning for DTBs in 1996, deployment of the service is not expected until 2008. For seventy-three years, a network of state libraries, public libraries and other agencies have partnered with NLS to bring public library service to blind and print-disabled citizens. But today, participation in the program is falling because of the outmoded audiobook technology that no longer appeals to many potential users of the service. The U.S. is years behind the rest of the world in transpositioning from antiquated cassette talking books to digital talking books.

This article includes perspectives in readers advisory from long-time librarians as well as new librarians. There are practices through which librarians can become a better readers advisor. These practices include writing a reading list regularly, listening to audio books, challenging one's self to read several books on a particularly genre, visiting book fairs and events, connecting with book authors and library patrons, and volunteering in readers advisory classes. It also entails browsing exhibitions and bookstore, skimming newspapers for book reviews, remembering the literary style of authors and encouraging the library staff to attend readers advisory training. There are also resources which can be used by librarians to improve readers advisory. Such resources include web sites like Fiction archives and book lists, Webrary and What Do I Read Next?. These electronic databases give up-to-date reading lists and suggest books to read. S. N. Ranganathan's five laws of library science also apply to readers advisory. These are: books are for use; every book its reader; every reader his book; save the time of the reader; and, the library is a growing organism. All in all, a librarian would find that readers advisory is fun and with the right planning, this task can be most rewarding in itself.

The article presents an interview with Eleanor Jo Rodger, president of the Urban Libraries Council. Rodger reveals how her interest in library works was developed. She offers her views on the importance of the conferences held by the Public Library Association (PLA) to library employees. She then comments on the role of PLA's Planning Process for Public Libraries project in publicly funded institutions.

This section presents three essays describing how outside consultants have helped several libraries in the U.S. with their building projects, strategic planning, and library management. The first essay relates the decision of the Lincoln City Libraries in Nebraska to hire consultants for four different projects. It retained a consultant to help library staff prepare a building program for an addition and renovation of a branch library. Sometime later the same consultant reviewed a staff-prepared building program for new libraries. The Lincoln City Libraries hired consultants to conduct a space and facilities study of its four main library and to work with it to conduct a scientifically valid public opinion survey to assess its library services. The second essay describes how consultants helped the Fort Worth Public Library, Texas, to develop and implement their first-ever long-range plan. The consulting team developed, planned, conducted user and nonuser surveys, focus groups, community meetings, and staff training sessions. Capacity building was a key component of the library's planning process. Meanwhile, the third essay cites some reasons why the role played by outside consultants is vital and valuable.

The article provides information on the value of partnerships between communities and libraries in the U.S. The Wilton Library, like many New England libraries, is actually a private association. For most of its 109 years it has operated via a partnership agreement with the town government. The Orland Park Public Library serves a growing community of 51,000 in southwest suburban Chicago. That includes fourteen schools that serve grades K-8. Mutually beneficial partnerships are significant to community progress. Librarians must actively get to know the people of their schools and local community groups. The Free Library of Philadelphia has programs that provide both informal education and some measure of literacy support. For example LEAP, its after-school program, operates at fifty-three libraries and annually reaches 85,000 children and teenagers. The La Crosse Public Library has worked in partnership with a variety of local, state and national organizations. Its first partners was the Wisconsin Humanities Committee. It started working with humanities scholars from the University of Wisconsin La Crosse and Viterbo University. The goals of the Bozeman Public Library for community service are embodied in the mission statement that developed from its planning process.

The article offers varied perspectives on the use of the terms patrons, customers, users and clients to indicate public library users. Marketing professional Laura B. Raphael thinks that the word patron is out of date and it brings to mind images of rich old Renaissance people. According to her, speaking of customers makes one reconsider what libraries are all about. Public library director Edwin S. (Sam) Clay comments that public library patrons is a nineteenth-century idea that no longer makes sense in twenty-first-century reality. While librarian Deborah Horowitz defined each term. For her, the word patron conjures up the image of a benevolent supporter. While a library customer is looking for value from a monetary investment. Customers demand satisfaction. On the other hand, clients of the library are the serious professionals with a problem seeking for the library's services. Clients appreciate and hold in high regard the specialized resources and services that are unique to libraries. Library users are the people who come in for what they want, find it, and get about their business. Adult services director Barry Trott argues that using the term customer creates a relationship that is not in the best interest of the library or its users.

The section discusses several issues affecting the operations and programs of public libraries in the U.S. which in turn influence the level of literacy. Literacy traditionally connoted a level of reading skill. The Workforce Investment Act of 1998 broadened the definition to an individual's ability to read, write, speak in English, compute and solve problems at levels of proficiency necessary to function on the job, in the family of the individual and in society. Teaching basic reading and English as a Second Language is just part of the literacy program at the Secaucus Public Library and Business Research Center in New Jersey. The Secaucus Public Library and Business Resource Center offers a variety of teaching tools as well as reinforcement materials with which the students can work on their own. The Hennepin County Library Outreach Department provides library service for people who live in forty-eight group residences. These include senior assisted or independent living residences, nursing homes and rehabilitation centers. Many public libraries across the country are on the front lines in providing basic literacy services as they coordinate various literacy programs in their communities.

Discusses the ideas, concerns and perspectives of library and information science students who were nearing completion of their master's program in early 2003. Challenges faced by Pam Harris, who obtained her master of library and information science degree in October 2003; Reason for the establishment of the first libraries in London and Boston according to Adrienne Lattin of the University of Buffalo; Importance of having a contact with other agencies in the community to public libraries.

Relates the perspectives of three public librarians on the funding crisis faced by libraries in the U.S. in 2003. Kent Oliver, director of the Stark County District Library in Canton, Ohio; John Richmond, director of the Alpha Park Public Library District in Bartonville, Illinois; Jean Ruark, communications coordinator of Mansfield/Richland County Public Library in Mansfield, Ohio.

The article discusses the North Dakota State Library's (NDSL) many services to state government, public libraries, and North Dakota residents. NDSL advocates on behalf of public libraries and is instrumental in formulating library policy and promoting library services statewide. The author discusses several programs carried out in North Dakota libraries, including the Statewide Catalog Development project, the Disabilities Services Program, the Dakota Radio Program, and the State Document Depository Program.

The article discusses the Illinois State Library (ISL), which functions as the official library and information center for Illinois government officials, and offers support and training to public libraries across the state. The author discusses ISL's statutory mandate on technological training and enhancing the professional capabilities of Illinois librarians. Other services provided by ISL include the Talking Book and Braille Service for visually impaired persons, and the Illinois Digital Archives project for state researchers.

The article discusses the role of the California State Library (CSL) in Sacramento, California. The author elucidates the functions of the CSL, which serves as a public research institution that produces library policy-shaping research and data reports for California legislators. The CSL also functions as a repository of Californian culture for residents and researchers. The author corrects the common misconception that CSL's "primary customer" is the California state government by presenting the wide range of services it offers to the general public.

This article presents an introduction to a series of essays in the May/June 2005 issue of Public Libraries regarding the library's role as a community center.