July 2007
Volume 28 No. 1

State Library Initiatives
The State Librarian, Susan Hildreth, in her June 19 webcast, updated us on the statewide reference model project, online homework help, Early Learning with Families (ELF), kits for PBS' The War, and more. You can watch the webcast or download her presentation in a PowerPoint, PDF, or Word file at Infopeople's webcast link. The Word document has live links to all the sites mentioned in the webcast, compressing a one-hour webcast into about 10 minutes of your time.

Gale's Librareo Contest Launches Monday, July 16, 2007
If you missed entering or winning Thomson Gale's "I Love My Library!" video contest, you have a second chance. Details are on Gale's Librareo site. To see all the videos, go to the Librareo site on YouTube. For more on National Library Week contest with a link to a local submission and to view library videos found with other search terms, see this month's webliography, Libraries on YouTube.

Reference Picks and Pans
Reference Book Review from a Reader
Annemarie Meyer, Head of Reference at the Alameda Free Library and pioneer guest columnist, leads off an occasional guest review series. When answering our invitation to write a reference review for Search, Annemarie volunteered, saying that writing reviews helps her to maintain her professional analytic and writing skills. Below is Annemarie's review. If you would like to write a review for Search, please contact Mary Beth Train. (Thank you, Annemarie!)

Origin of Everyday Things by Johnny Acton. 978-1-40274-302-3
I had hoped to write a glowing review of a book that promised fun and useful information for trivia buffs. Unfortunately, the book that contains this quirky piece of information on the origin of pretzels as “[t]he treat that nearly finished off George W. Bush…” (pg. 196), falls far below par when objectively reviewed as an information reference source. The only entry for “X” is x-ray—what will those curious minds who want to know about the origin of Xanax do (Prozac is listed under “p” after all)? This work contains neither a table of contents nor an index. Origin of Everyday Things doesn't live up to its hype as a credible information seeking tool.

Libraries on YouTube
Libraries are posting videos on YouTube to offer virtual library tours or explain how to use the library's resources for research.

The Texas State Library's TexShare video is a comedy featuring the depth and breadth of the offerings of the library's Database Program. The outreach page for the Database Program has not only has links to the video and screensavers by Proquest, but a screensaver from EBSCO. Proquest's video maker, "timproquest". has posted several database and searching videos on YouTube.

The Williams College Library videos by Nick Baker spoofs popular entertainment. The Otis video is formal and serious. When Redwood City, Montalvo Arts Center, and Mission College teamed up for a Big Read in March, the college's New Media Center students created an animated web site.

Does your library have a video or screencast on YouTube, your library's web site, or elsewhere on the Internet? Would your library be able to have a college media student intern prepare a video or screencast?

We have posted some member libraries' videos on the System Reference Center's web site. If your library's screencast isn't among them, please email Mary Beth Train to get your library's video posted.

Note: TRT = Total Running Time

Library Videos with a Light Touch

• Williams College Library - Library Mystery Tour - 2006 The library's first welcome video spoofs old movies, TV ads and game shows. TRT 02:09
• Williams College Library - The L-Team - Introduction to Reference Librarians - 2007 Spoofs action movies. TRT 01:48
• University of South Florida Tampa Campus Library - Though in need of editing for content and length, the videos about the Tampa Campus Library by David Ariew, age 21, are funny and informative, especially Databases!
• Databases! - Story format starring Richard Sly, The Library Guy, a superhero who solves a student's research problems. Comedy with solid information about searching online databases. TRT 06:32
• The Chronicles of Libraria - An appreciation of Tampa Campus's librarians. Two reluctant patrons get help from the The Library Guy after agonizing for the first half of the video. TRT 05:22
• Youtube, Librarians, and Me - David details his Tampa video project. TRT 08:33

Research Library Videos

• Otis Teaching Learning Center - Introduces library staff, with testimonials from faculty and students about the library's many services, from Otis College of Art and Design, Los Angeles. TRT 04:24
• DePauw University Library - The reference department has produced two videos on finding primary sources in the library's catalog and searching LexisNexis.

• TexShare Databases - Library Databases - Encourages you to find an array of articles on almost any question in the comfort of your own home, courtesy of your library. Versions for public and academic libraries. TRT 02:25

Searches on YouTube with the terms "library", "@" and a month and year brings up these Kentucky public libraries.

• McCracken County Library, Kentucky The library's television branch, MCLIB-TV, using the YouTube screen name, circulating, has posted 575 videos. With grant funding, the library purchased equipment and now the staffers also create, produce, and host programming on the a local cable TV channel. Videos cover library events and services, including a feature of monthly happenings @ the library, e.g. December 2006.

McCracken County Library also has a blog, checking out and checking in. You can read about its YouTube outreach and the recognition it has received in apost by "circulating" on June 6, 2007.

• Kenton County Public Library also produces its show, Off the Shelf, on YouTube. Like McCracken County Library, Kenton showcases its events and services.

Gale Library Video Contest Videos on YouTube

More than 175 public, school and academic libraries submitted videos for the "I Love My Library!" video contest which kicked off on April 15 during National Library Week. The contest was part of the launch of Thomson Gale's librareo (www.gale.com/librareo), "an online community for libraries and the people who love them" according to the press release.

SVLS member library, Santa Clara City Library, submitted a spoof on a Mac/PC commercial (TRT 01:54). The Mac is played by Erin Ulrich, Library Program Coordinator-Youth Services. The PC is played by black-suited Justin Wasterlain, Circulation LAII. Hilda Lopez-Ayala, Mission Library LAII, is the Spanish-speaking patron.

The winner, Library Code (TRT 01:59), by Dozier Middle School and the Main Street Library, was announced at ALA on June 24. Winning was a tremendous achievement for the school-public library project, for nearly 40% of the school's students are "economically disadvantaged," and the school struggles with low test scores . In an article in the local paper reporting on the school's prize, the reporter describes how the school's video program has resulted in improved student behavior.

You can see all the "I Love My Library!" video contest entries on "librareo's" page on YouTube.

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Questions and Answers

Quarterly and Yearly Statistics
In answer to requests, here are the statistics on the number of second-level questions received from each system last quarter, with some numbers for comparison. Whenever you have difficulty finding the answer to a question, consider sending that question to the System Reference Center. Our researchers may have more time and resources, or perhaps a different strategy. Contact Mary Beth Train whenever you and your supervisor are uncertain if sending the question on would be appropriate or to learn more about sending in questions.

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News from our Members

SJPL's Blogs and Wikis
San Jose Public Library staff members' completion of the Learning 2.0 "23 Things" inspired the creation of many blogs and wikis for staff training and news. Here a selection from the several that Joan Bowlby, SJPL's Manager, Reference and Web Services, sent to Search.

• CSI San Jose: Collection Selection Information - Joanne Crowthers, Elise Tavells, and Jeanne Nix post to their blog about twice a month. Notice the Collection Development links both on the staff Intranet and open Internet.
• Ned's Notes - Monthly posts by Ned Himmel, the Assistant Director, started May 2007.
• sjl-ebooks - ebook wiki by Brian Fowler. Database Librarian. Brian includes articles, annotated links to news and commentary, training information for staff and public on e-books, FAQ's, and statistics with monthly and moving-average trends. Moving-average trends, which even out monthly usage spikes and troughs, are useful for longer term collection management.
• Almaden Branch blog and opening day photos on flickr - Maintained by Mana Tominaga, Ed "oboes rule" Koetitz, and  Barbara "Peanut" Gilbert. Mana posts library and neighborhood news about every other day.

Palo Alto City Library's eNewsletter and eBook training
Palo Alto City Library is repeating its popular e-book classes. As part of its publicity for the June eBook classes, the library's May/June issue of its bi-monthly newsletter, Hot Off the Shelf, is about the library's ebooks, featuring how to get a list of them and how to download them. The library's Kathy Shields has been writing and publishing the library's e-newsletter, Hot off the Shelf, for a year. The July/August issue is about personal finance.

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