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From Mary Frances Cooper, President and Director, Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh and District Administrator, Pittsburgh District Library Center, CLP
Celebration to Honor Frank Lucchino
The event on May 2 to honor Judge Frank Lucchino for his service to libraries in Pittsburgh and Allegheny County was a huge success. Nearly 275 people were in attendance, and more than $250,000 was raised to support library services for children from at risk communities in Pittsburgh. For those who know Judge Lucchino, and those who may not, please take a minute to read some of his accomplishments and contributions through the years.
Implementing our Strategic Plan
In order to achieve the goals of our 2013-2017 Strategic Plan, staff at Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh are evolving the way in which we work together to meet the needs of our community. We invite you to take a look at these internal documents that outline some of these changes.
As part of the implementation of our Strategic Plan, CLP is establishing five Patron Experience Focus Areas (PEFAs), which are described more fully here.
We recognize that in order for our current strategic plan to succeed, we must change the way we work. By implementing the four actions listed here we can significantly affect our impact on our community and our staff members.
As noted in the last newsletter, CLP has devised a new way to share statistics with our board. The May statistics sheet can be found on our website.
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Teen Services
- LeeAnn Anna
LeeAnn Anna has recently accepted the position as Manager, Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh - Lawrenceville. She has had such a wonderful experience as Teen Services Coordinator and will miss working with all the great staff in the district libraries!
Please send any requests for additional materials for Teen Summer Reading to the Teen Summer Reading Co-Chair, Madeline Siegel at siegelm@carnegielibrary.org.
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Our Wired World - Sarah Beasley
There is a lot of research going on regarding children and eBooks. Because this is a topic with broad popular interest, articles, such as this one in NYTImes Motherlode blog, sometimes appear in the mainstream media, asking such questions as, "Could eBooks actually get in the way of reading?" Perhaps not surprisingly, the answer is yes and no.
As you might expect, the key to seeing a positive (or at least neutral) impact seems to lie in taking a thoughtful approach to the use of technology, eBooks or otherwise, with children. This is as true for libraries as it is for parents. It's particularly important to develop purposeful practices because the publishing industry views children (and their parents) as a consumer market. (Digital Book World, a trade organization for the publishing industry, has released several reports examining "the e-reading habits of children aged 2-13, and the preferences of their parents.")
At CLP we've developed guidelines for selecting apps and are in the process of building lists of recommended apps for our website. We also recently wrapped up a technology pilot in which a number of children's librarians explored the best ways to incorporate technology into our programming.
One long-term result of the pilot is the formation of a Children's Technology Committee charged with supporting and developing technology initiatives across Children's Services at CLP. Designating a group that will stay up-to-date with the kinds of research mentioned above -- and keep us all in the loop -- is one way we're coping with the ever-changing digital environment. For more information, contact Sarah Beasley or Coordinator of Children's Services Mary Beth Parks.
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Professional Resources
Tracking Stats at Newport News Public Library
Newport News Public Library, VA, has introduced a new open-source software Stat Base that allows staff to track and visualize data on circulation, patron registration, door counts, reference, acquisitions, instructor-led courses and more. According to Alexandria Payne, Digital Services Manager, "We had a strong need to change the way that we did our data gathering in order to get better results and more visible outputs. It's a system-wide effort that probably affects every staff member. For that volume of work, we just felt that our 20-year legacy of spreadsheets wasn't cutting it anymore." Learn the details from Library Journal.
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International Poetry Collection
CLP - Main (Oakland)
Ever have a patron who is looking for poetry beyond Dickinson, Frost and Collins? The International Poetry collection at CLP - Main was started, in collaboration with Dr. Samuel Hazo of the International Poetry Forum, in 1976. It is one of the largest collections of its kind in a public library nationwide with a circulating collection of 4,500 books representing countries from all over the world.
The collection is currently housed in a lovely room all its own on the second floor in the south wing of CLP - Main, facing historic Schenley Park. If you're looking for something lyrical, just give us a call in Reference Services at 412.622.3114, or stop on in. We'll be happy to help.
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Senior Activity Kits
The Senior Activity Kits Collection at CLP-Main includes 175 kits. Primarily produced by AARP and BiFolkal, Inc., the kits consist of slides, videos, activity sheets, program ideas and tactile activities that help trigger memories and discussion.
The topics include holidays or seasons, World War II, crafts, writing oral histories, vacations and many other subjects that might be of interest to older adults. These kits are meant for use in programs for seniors and can be lent to activity directors at senior centers, nursing homes and other institutions. Many of the kits are barcoded and can be located through the OPAC; but a full list can be found here. For assistance borrowing an item without a barcode, please contact Reference Services at CLP - Main at 412.622.3114.
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News and Reminders from Commonwealth Libraries
With EveryoneOn, patrons can find free computer and Internet training by typing
in their zip code.
Is your library information current for EveryOneOn?
Check this partner site to ensure the services you offer are listed. The user name to use is c2c and the password is literacy. Help share the EveryoneOn campaign with your community. Visit the resource page for free Public Service Announcements, including broadcast-quality TV files.
Explore EveryOneOn.org and discover what patrons will find: games, information on how to find a job, tutorials on Microsoft products, basic search techniques, world language assistance and more!
And remember to Check WebJunction Pennsylvania for funding opportunities, such as:
- Disaster Health Information Outreach and Collaboration - June 19
- Investing in Education Fund - June 24
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