Thinking Outside the Book

Professionals in all areas of librarianship will find inspiration in the essays collected here—each of them innovative tips for increasing circulation, enhancing collections, and improving flexibility. With extensive experience in the nation’s top libraries and media centers, the 73 contributors describe what really works based on their real-world experiences.
Organized by subject, the essays offer succinct and practical guidelines for dozens of tasks. Topics include preparing and delivering distinctive presentations; forming a successful grant proposal; hosting a traveling multimedia exhibition; organizing effective community partnerships; writing blogs; hosting authors; creating cybertorials; preserving local culture—and many others.

A Michigan resident, Carol Smallwood has practiced in school, public and special libraries. Her primary interest is practical librarianship, and she is the author of journal articles and editor of numerous books.

Edited by Carol Smallwood
Format: softcover (7 x 10)
Pages: 285
Bibliographic Info: notes, index
Copyright Date: 2008
pISBN: 978-0-7864-3575-3
eISBN: 978-0-7864-8180-4
Imprint: McFarland

Foreword Joy M. Greiner      1

Preface      3

PART 1: THE FLEXIBLE LIBRARIAN

The Amplified Library: Grabbing Users by the Ears

Erika Bennett and Jaina Lewis      5

An Embarrassment of Riches at an Academic Library: Let Patience, Alertness, a Positive Attitude, and a Little Luck Work for You

Anne Marie Candido      8

Collaborating on Library Publications

Gwen Gregory and Mary Beth Chambers      11

Customers in the Driver’s Seat

Ruth A. Barefoot      14

Librarian as Author: Yet Another Thing They Didn’t Teach Us in Library School!

Kathy Barco      17

When Is a Librarian Not a Librarian? When She Is a Student, Professor, Fellow, Mentor

Cathy Carpenter      20

PART 2: DISPLAYS

Think Outside the Cases: Strategies for Developing Online Exhibits

Merinda Kaye Hensley      23

The Traveling Museum Exhibition: A Resource for Learning

Margaret Lincoln      26

When the Olympics Came to Town: The Rewards and Challenges of Creating a Large-Scale Exhibition

Connie Lamb and Russ Taylor      29

PART 3: PRESERVING LOCAL CULTURE

Libraries and Literary Clubs: The Perfect Match

Lisa A. Forrest      33

The Life Stories Project: Collecting Oral and Written Histories

Diana Brawley Sussman      36

Local Hero

Stephen Fesenmaier      39

Teaching and Outreach Using Archives and Special Collections

Sharon Carlson      42

PART 4: THE INTERNET

How to Start Your Own Blog

Nicole C. Engard      45

Me Publish? I Don’t Have a Clue: How to Get Published Online

Melissa Aho, Erika Bennett and Susan Wakefield      48

Outreach and Information: Blogs in the Academic Library

Diane L. Schrecker      51

Setting up a Quickie Wiki

Nicole C. Engard      55

Webmaster 101: Building a Personal Web Site

Jennifer Johnston      58

PART 5: VISION IMPAIRED

Seeing Through Others’ Eyes Grant Project

Bob Blanchard      61

Technology for Visually Impaired Patrons

Bob Blanchard      64

PART 6: HOSTING LIBRARY EVENTS

The Art of the Picture Book Conference: Partnership Beyond Library Walls

Diane L. Schrecker      67

Breathing Life into Your Library: Hosting the Perfect Author Event

Jennifer Johnston      71

Weekly Coffeehouse

Lee Johnson      74

World Building: A Comic Collaboration for Academics and Sixth Graders

Diane Colson and Travis Fristoe      77

PART 7: THE CURRICULUM

CONNECTing for Collaboration: How Six College Libraries Worked Together to Identify Common Information Literacy Outcomes

Pamela Hayes-Bohanan and Marcia B. Dinneen      80

Librarians and Educators in Partnerships: Instigating the Teachable Moment for Information Literacy in Core Education Courses

Anita Rao Mysore and Elizabeth Chadbourn McKee      83

Teaching and Librarianship: A Winning Combination

Darby Orcutt      87

What Is a Curriculum Developer Doing in Special Collections?

Anita Rao Mysore      90

PART 8: GRANTS

Grant Writing

Loriene Roy and Sara Albert      93

Grant Writing and How One Grant Turns into Two

Victoria Lynn Packard      97

PART 9: PRESENTATIONS

Ace the Presentation, Win the Job

Robert P. Holley      100

Presentations: Tools and Tips

Ann Marlow Riedling      104

PART 10: WORKING WITH YOUTH

Booktalking: Wicked Cool Advertising for Your Library

Jill S. Carpenter and Christen A. Caton      107

Attracting High School Students

Alexandra Tyle      110

Innovative Programs for Teens

Ivy Miller      113

Looking through the Eyes of a Child

Pam Nutt      116

Multimedia Story Time

Robin Bartoletti            119

Read, Write and Rap: Connecting Teens and Tweens to Poetry through Hip-Hop Lyrics

Tamela N. Chambers      123

Splish-Splash Story Time

Sian Brannon      126

PART 11: PUBLIC RELATIONS

“El Día del los Niños/El Día de los Libros” Goes to College

Mardi Mahaffy, Susan Metcalf and Irene Shown      129

The Librarian as Marketing Director for a Small Press Publisher

Paula M. Storm      133

Why Publishing Is Good Both for You and the Profession

Judith A. Siess      136

PART 12: LIBRARY INSTRUCTION

Beyond the Blue Carpet: Simulating Reference Desk Activities in an Academic Library

John H. Heinrichs and Nancy Czech      139

College Information Literacy Assignments: How to Move

Your Lessons Out of the Box

Sandra E. Riggs      144

PART 13: REVIEWING

Professional Service and Rewards of Book Reviewing

Kathy Piehl      148

Tips for Reviewing Educational Media

Lori Widzinski      151

PART 14: GOING DIGITAL

Accessibility Beyond Our Walls: Using Web 2.0 and Podcasting to Teach Off Campus

Stephanie A. Thomas      155

Librarians as Indexers: Taking the Arkansas Publications Index from State Periodical Index in Card Files to Online Database

Elizabeth Chadbourn McKee and Mary A. Walker      158

Reading Programs with 21st Century Know-How

McKinley Sielaff      63

The Story of an Athenaeum Spider

Carolyn Davis      167

Using Technology to Reach Teens

Alexandra Tyle      170

PART 15: WORKING WITH THE COMMUNITY

Community Partnerships

Elizabeth M. Timmins       175

Finding Funding in Your Own Backyard

Pam Nutt      178

Modern Mobilization: Creating a New Library Community

Melissa Aho and Erika Bennett      181

School and Public Librarians Unite! A Case Study Showcasing Collaborative Programming between Parkrose High School and Multnomah County Library

Stephanie A. Thomas, Ruth B. Allen, Sarah Nelsen and Sara Ryan      184

PART 16: THE WRITING WORLD

Authors R Us

Rick Walter, Eileen O’Connell and Kathy Barco      187

Being Your Own Publisher

Judith A. Siess      191

Crafting a Cover Letter

Kathryn Yelinek      194

Newspaper Column: A Conversation Among Book Lovers

Gabriel Morley      197

The Poetry Sweepstakes: Beating the Odds of Getting Published

Lisa A. Forrest      200

Publishing an Article in a Scholarly Journal

Perry Bratcher      203

Showcase Your Writing with a Professional Portfolio

Gabriel Morley      206

PART 17: MANAGEMENT

Basic Staffing Study

Sian Brannon      209

Building the Dream Teen Space

Jill S. Carpenter      212

Connecting with Customers

Ruth A. Barefoot      215

I Play Two Roles at My Library

Elizabeth M. Timmins      218

Teens as Library Employees

Thayla Wright      221

Time Management Skills in Writing

Loriene Roy and Sara Albert      224

PART 18: DISTANCE EDUCATION

New Distance Education Librarian: Tips and Tools from the Trenches

Melissa Aho and Sommer Berg-Nebel      228

World Geography and WebCT

Victoria Lynn Packard      232

PART 19: LIBRARIANS HELPING ABROAD

The Mobile Librarian

Carolyn Davis      235

A School Library Media Specialist in Australia

Melissa Allen      238

Teaching Prospective Librarians as a Fulbright Scholar

Ann Marlow Riedling      240

PART 20: CONTINUING TO LEARN

The Digital Doctorate in Library/Information Science

Margaret Lincoln      244

Learning to Review, Reviewing to Learn

Darby Orcutt      247

National Board Certification as a Professional Development Opportunity

Melissa Allen      250

Sandynista

Stephen Fesenmaier      253

Still Eager to Learn: Outreach for Seniors

Rhonda Harris Taylor and Nancy Larson Bluemel      256

Training Cyberlibrarians: The New Skill Requirements

John H. Heinrichs and Nancy Czech      259

About the Contributors      263

Index      271

“A great resource filled with tips and tricks, something for everyone, from the novice to the guru!”—Mary J. Soucie, MLIS, Library Director, Wilmington Public Library District, Wilmington, Illinois; “Thinking Outside the Book is packed with practical tips for librarians in academic, public and school libraries. The ideas are fresh and full of twenty-first century cool while meeting the standards and expectations of traditional librarianship. This is a must read for librarians looking to bring renewed energy to their library.”—Kathryn Miller, JD, MAT, MLS, Certified Library Media Specialist, Associate Professor, National-Louis University, Chicago; “Whether you work with the general public, children, or college students, this book provides smart and practical techniques for improving your library and your career through chapters that are simultaneously innovative and practical.”—Lisa Bier, Social Sciences Librarian, Southern Connecticut State University; “Thinking Outside the Book is a fabulous compilation of skills librarians often are asked to perform, but have little experience with. A must need for those that ever think, ‘they didn’t cover this in library school.’”—Kristen Mastel, Reference Librarian, MINITEX Library Information Network; “The essays have sound, practical, and doable advise; with topics such as community outreach initiatives, Web 2.0 technologies for all ages, library-sponsored writing workshops, and cybrarian professional development.”—Carol Anne Germain, Networked Resources Education Librarian; “Thinking Outside the Book offers a refreshing variety of practical ideas for library professionals at any type of library. The authors speak from experience, offering inspiration for improving your library and refining your personal skills.”—Nancy Maloney, Electronic Resources Librarian, BP North America, Naperville, Illinois.