Nutley Public Library
93 Booth Drive, Nutley, NJ 07110
973-667-0405
Essex County Library Directors' Reciprocal Borrowing & Lending System (ReBL)
Essex County Member of the Bergen County Cooperative Library System(BCCLS)

“Give Me Money: That’s What I Want,” 10/31/2008 – Old Bridge Public Library – Michael Maziekien

On Friday, October 31 2008, I attended an NJLA Urban Libraries Section workshop at the Old Bridge Public Library, entitled “Give Me Money: That’s What I Want.”  The speaker, Peter Pearson of the Friends of the St. Paul Public Library, discussed numerous strategies for increasing private funding for libraries. Pearson’s organization maintains a $14 million endowment fund for the St. Paul Public Library.

The program focused on practical solutions and issues faced by libraries during the fundraising process.  Among his major topics of discussion:

• The importance of setting up a 501©(3) foundation to handle fundraising activities, and the need to clearly delineate responsibilities for foundations, friends groups and library staff.

• The types of library services which are best suited for supplementation through private funds (outreach, cultural and children’s programming, technology)

• The possibility of pursuing corporate sponsorship and the decline of anonymous philanthropy.

• The need to organize a board of influential trustees with training and interest in actively securing funding.

• The pros and cons of event fundraising: low profits, high visibility.

• The process of conducting a capital campaign to raise money for construction projects.

Pearson’s presentation included clear, concise ideas (for example, have your Friends group organize a membership drive for early summer, then solicit contributions around November and December, reminding members that donations are tax-deductible).  His commentary was insightful, especially when discussing the benefits of finding the best candidates for your board of trustees: “They can talk to people who would never talk to me.”

A truly terrific set of handouts capped a highly informative and timely session.

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Focus: Achieving Your Highest Priorities workshop

The leader, Vicky Gilmore reviewed the following aspects of time management:  

• The Four Quadrants of Productivity and how to divide your work into the proper quadrants to prioritize your duties
• The Productivity Pyramid starting with a base of your governing values and moving up the pyramid to setting goals, planning weekly and planning daily
• How to keep track of your tasks using an integrated systems of planning devices, such as, a planning book, a computer system and a PDA.
  

We also broke off into groups to discuss the biggest obstacles/problems encountered in the workplace that interrupt our daily tasks and goals. I found the interaction with other class members kept the class lively and fresh.

I will utilize the time management information Ms. Gilmore shared with us in both my library work day and my personal time. The seminar was well worth attending and the information will be used in my everyday life.

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NJLA, Spring Conference, 4/30/2008, Long Branch, NJ by Megan Kociolek.

       On April 30, 2008, I attended the NJLA Spring Conference at the Ocean Place Resort in Long Branch, NJ.  The most noteworthy workshops that I attended were:

*“Student Film Festivals @ Your Library”

• This program was sponsored by Ocean County Library system and the Princeton Public Library.
• Princeton Public Library was the first library to sponsor a student film festival.
• Typically the age range for the student film festival was 13 to 18, but a few libraries extended the age to 24 to include college students.
• The library then creates the guidelines for the Festival;  the length of the movie (typically no more then 59 minutes), the length of time given to make the movie (3 months), and the library having the right to judge and screen the material submitted

*“Oral History Programs in our Public Libraries”

                        1. This program was sponsored by StoryCorps and Plainfield Public Library.       
                        2. StoryCorps is a national initiative to record people’s stories throughout   
                            the United States, and preserve and share them with the public and
                            future generations.
                        3. StoryCorps worked with Plainfield Public Library to set up a recording studio at the library, where twelve Hispanic immigrants from the Plainfield area recorded their history.

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Wilson Web Training, 2/20/2008 - Online Class - Michael Maziekien

On February 20, I took part in an online training session for WilsonWeb CX Edition.  Dan Firrincili was the instructor.  The training took place using a shared browser window; Mr. Firrinicili controlled the mouse pointer onscreen, while describing his actions in a telephone conference call.

Most of the discussion was centered on aspects of the Wilson OmniFile Full-Text database, an all-in-one resource for information on a wide variety of subjects.  The Art Index, with images of thousands of famous art objects, and the Biography Reference Bank, a comprehensive index of full-text biographies, were also discussed.

 OmniFile: This index looks very powerful, and the simplicity of the Advanced Search screen certainly rivals other databases in the field.  The instructor spoke at length on the ability to receive e-mail alerts as articles on a particular subject are published.  I have seen this before (EBSCO has it), but it could be very useful to patrons who regularly access the database from home.

 Art Index: This database would be of great value for academic study and provenance research, and would be well-suited for an academic, museum or art library as such.

Biography Resource Bank:  In this database, the strongest features are not showcased up front, but in the “Advanced Search” function.  Typing in the first letter of a profession or location brings up a drop-down menu of suggested terms (much like Google toolbar), while ranges are allowed in searching for birth dates and death dates.  While these allow for more powerful searching, they are not evident at first glance, and are more likely “stumbled upon” by the user.

 To me, the most outstanding element of the WilsonWeb interface is the use of persistent links to free resources on the Web.  So, if an article is listed in OmniFile, but is also available on the Internet, a link to the article’s location is given. This type of indexing is very helpful for remote reference, in cases where a patron is unable (or does not know how) to access articles in a database.

While I do not have regular access to all of the databases discussed, this training gave me some insight into the technology Wilson provides, and a basis of comparison for the databases to which we currently subscribe.

BCCLS Talk It Up! /Speak Out! session, 3/7/2008, New Milford Public Library, NJ - Megan Kociolek

On March 7, 2008, I attended the BCCLS Talk It Up/Speak Out session at the New Milford Public Library in New Jersey.  The following topics were covered by Carlie Weber:
The program will start the week of July 7^th and will end the week of August 10^th.  The groups will meet one evening per week, from 7-8 p.m.

1. Talk It Up/Speak Out is a six week book discussion program for young adults. Teens entering grades 7-9 attend “Talk It Up!” and those entering grades 10-12 attend “Speak Out!”
2. Carlie Weber explained the division of responsibilities between BCCLS and the host libraries.
3. The purpose of the program is to promote social programs for teens, YA books for teens, and a welcoming place at the library for teens.

Franklin Covey Seminar on Time Management, 3/10/2008 - Karen Gray

      Our instructor, Vicky Gilmore, led us through the three areas of time management

developed by Mr. Covey:

 The Time Matrix — a box grid that divides all tasks into four quadrants:

        a.  Urgent and important

         b.  Not urgent and important

        c.  Urgent and not important

        d.  Not urgent and not important

The Productivity Pyramid — the use of the pyramid allows one to identify values.

      The four levels of the pyramid are:

        a.  Plan daily

        b.  Plan weekly

        c.  Set goals

        d.  Identify values

The last part of the session was devoted to showing participants how to use

      planning materials to maximize time management.  These included planning diaries,

      PC software, and electronic devices.

Karen A. Gray

Franklin Covey, 2/26/2008, Edison, NJ - Megan Kociolek

On February 26, 2008, I attended the Franklin Covey Workshop in Edison, NJ.

The speaker at the workshop went over the following points:

The Time Matrix and the importance of items that fall into the four quadrants:  the first quadrant is necessity, the second quadrant is productivity and balance, the third quadrant is deception, and the fourth quadrant is waste and excess.

1. The Productivity Pyramid covered the need to plan daily, plan weekly, set goals, and identify values.
2. The third part of the workshop discussed the creation of a planning system that includes the use of a planner, a palm-pilot, and a laptop.

BCCLS Youth Services Committee, 2/4/2008, Dixon Homestead Library, NJ - Megan Kociolek

On February 4, 2008, I attended the BCCLS Youth Services Committee meeting at Homestead Library in Dumont, NJ. The following topics were covered:

There was general discussion about the 2008 Mock Awards. Books are chosen from starred reviews in Publishers Weekly, Booklist, School Library Journal, Kliatt, VOYA, Horn Book, Kirkus, and the nominations for YALSA's Best Books for Young Adults. The Mock Awards are given out every January.

1. The Mad Hatter Tea Party date has been set for April 1^st at the Dumont Library. The Mad Hatter Tea Party is a get-together for BCCLS youth service providers to inform everyone about the Youth Service’s Committee, the upcoming programs, and the Mock Awards.
2. The 2009 Mock Awards Committees were established.

On March 10, I attended the FOCUS: Achieving Your Highest Priorities
Time-Management Workshop, presented by FranklinCovey, in New York City. 

The workshop centered on improving the ability to effectively manage time, through organization, prioritization, reduction of procrastination and related tactics.  In addition, the presenter spoke on the necessity treating personal and professional goals with equal importance. We were also trained to use FranklinCovey planning systems in our daily activities, and given a hefty starter kit of day planning materials.

I felt that FOCUS was a rewarding experience, and that I will have many opportunities to utilize what I’ve learned in the future.  It was also an interesting to interact with members of the NYC business community, and note the similarities and differences in the obstacles we face.  Libraries may suffer from budget troubles, but we seem to be unmatched in organizational skills!

NJLA Reference Section: A. S. A. P. Library Collaboration Project, 3/11/08 – Michael Maziekien

On March 11, 2008 I attended an NJLA Reference Section event at the Columbia High School Media Center in Maplewood. 

The main topic of discussion was the A. S. A. P. Library Collaboration Project, a cooperative effort among Academic, School, and Public libraries in Maplewood and South Orange.

The event began with a tour of the School Media Center, given by Head Librarian Joe Fanning.  Afterward, participants in the A. S. A. P. project described the roles they played in providing unlimited access and improved service to library patrons. 

Speakers were Joe Fanning, Barbara Laub (Maplewood Memorial Library Head of Technology and Technical Services), Christine Crawford (South Orange Public Library Head of Children’s Services), Melissa Kopecky (South Orange Public Library Director), and Richard Stern, Martha Loesch and Anthony Lee (Seton Hall University Librarians). 

Under A. S. A. P.,  South Orange and Maplewood residents are able to access academic databases and collections through an extensive resource sharing plan. Students are encouraged to make use of all available library resources through cooperative programs between public libraries and schools.  A shared listserv allows school staff to notify librarians of upcoming projects and book lists.  In these ways, and others, A. S. A. P. provides a support system for patrons and staff alike.

 In the following Reference Section business meeting, Lisa Coats was confirmed as the next Reference Section President (replacing Paul Schroeder), and I volunteered to co-edit the Reference Section newsletter with Jenny Lichtenwalner of Scotch Plains Public Library.

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The Diversity Workshop Series sponsored by the Committee and Infolink will begin this month and has 6 registered libraries. An Outcome Based Evaluation is being prepared. If successful, the program may be implemented by the NJ State Library.Committee Member Ingrid Bentancourt, Newark Public Library, is one of the first presenters.

The Diversity Resource Page developed from the Diversity Conference of 2004 needs to be updated. Suggestions for making it simpler and more of a “Toolkit” and an interactive “Wiki” were discussed. Both the Workshop Series and the Diversity “Toolkit” serve the Infolink Strategic Plan for the Fiscal Year 2008.

Mi-Sun Lyu demonstrated the committee’s Wiki page and encouraged members to contribute and edit necessary pages. I will post the meeting minutes on this Wiki.