Viral Optimism

Infopeople Course on Change Management

George — Tue, 27 Mar 2012 15:31:47 +0000

There’s still time to sign up for the online course I’ll be teaching for Infopeople, “Libraries and Change: Skills for Successful Change Management.” It starts next Tuesday, April 3, costs $75 for members of the California library community and $150 for those outside the state, and runs for four weeks. You can find more information at http://infopeople.org/training/libraries-and-change.

–George

A Valentine for Book Lovers

joan — Tue, 14 Feb 2012 22:41:46 +0000

If you want a reason to smile today, have a look at The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore. You’ll see an academy award-nominated short film AND you’ll be reminded of the power of books to transport us.

–Joan

“Apple’s War on Amazon Begins Thursday”

George — Tue, 17 Jan 2012 14:40:50 +0000

Apple will launch a publishing tool to link textbooks and students, according to author Mike Elgan. Elgan sees this as the opening salvo in the war between Apple and Amazon to dominate and direct the publishing industry in the future. Best quote: “Publishing without a publisher is the future of publishing.”

The 12 Days of Christmas, Library Style

George — Sun, 18 Dec 2011 17:06:34 +0000

A bit of a Christmas lark…

On the twelfth day of Christmas, my true love sent to me,

Twelve percent cutbacks
Eleven angry voters
Ten clueless teachers
Nine drunken patrons
Eight bad MARC records
Seven stolen CDs
Six staff committees
Five long range plans
Four dead laptops
Three slimed book drops
Two subject headings
And a card catalog in the cloud.

Happy holidays from George and Joan!

PL Hackerspaces Noted on NPR

George — Sat, 10 Dec 2011 19:05:25 +0000

There was a great piece on public libraries using truly cutting edge technology (3-D printers, anyone?) on this morning’s Weekend Edition on National Public Radio. You can listen at http://tinyurl.com/nprhackerspace.

George

Wish we’d written this one…

George — Wed, 07 Dec 2011 05:32:57 +0000

Check out “A Head Teacher Writes…” a blog post by Steve Wheeler that had us laughing for hours. As noted above, wish we’d written this one!

George and Joan

Goodbye, Friends’ Book Sales?

George — Mon, 28 Nov 2011 17:57:56 +0000

Recently, we worked with a Friends of the Library group that wanted to know what else it could be doing to raise funds for its library. They have a very successful book sale, both through an ongoing shop and an annual event. But we asked them, “What will happen when you run out of stock?” Crazy? Not really. As a recent article in Geek World by Frank Catalano put it, “When eBooks attack, mass market paperbacks die.” The article describes the decline in that staple of the used book sale, the mass market paperback. EBooks now outsell paperbacks and hardbacks at Amazon, even as overall book sales have risen by more than 4% during the 2008-2010 recession, according to BookStats.

Mr. Catalano even notes in his piece, “Yes, there are downsides for consumers. No books to give, dog-eared, to Friends of the Library sales.”

Bake sales, anyone?

–George

Legacy

joan — Wed, 03 Aug 2011 18:44:55 +0000

I recently got word that Fay Blake, who was on faculty at UC Berkeley when I was there, has died. This news got me thinking. She was 90 years old, retired for many years, and there was no real surprise in her passing. Still, it feels like the end of an era. She was far and away the greatest influence/inspiration/impact of my time at library school, and a good bit of my part of the “this we believe” statement on our web site grew out of the questions Fay posed way back then.

Fay Blake challenged me to figure out for myself what it would mean for me to be a professional, not just a practitioner. She supervised my independent study, and spent most of our time together kicking my hindquarters to look further, to go longer – not just because that level of effort and commitment would be of service to others, but because I owed it to myself. It’s hard to articulate what that meant to me then, and what it still means today.

Fay was too feisty to rest in peace. So I hope that my memory, my gratitude, and my willingness to keep looking beyond the easy or obvious path are an adequate tribute. This really is work worth doing. I hope I can be as good an ancestor as she was.

–Joan

Outstanding Opportunity for an Intrepid Librarian

joan — Fri, 01 Jul 2011 18:03:54 +0000

In the glorious tradition of these fine recruitment endeavors, we are encouraging intrepid librarians (men or women, orphans given no special consideration) to apply for the position of County Librarian in Siskiyou County, California.

The deadline for applications is coming up fast, so if you’re interested, read on!

This job is being advertised like any other civil service position. However, this is not your average library director’s gig. Since this time last year, we’ve worked with elected and appointed officials, community volunteers, the State Librarian, a dynamic interim director (who will not be applying), and a small but unbelievably dedicated group of staff to bring this library back from the brink.

We don’t normally do recruitment, but this case is dear to us: we designed the new service and financial model that the County’s Board of Supervisors approved in June. We’re ready to help the new director make this a resounding success. But make no mistake: we’re moving into new territory, and this is a leadership challenge, not just a managerial job. Extensive experience is less important than an enthusiastic commitment to making library history.

Bonus: If you love back country skiing or rock climbing, or want to be within 45 minutes of the west coast’s best Shakespeare festival, this may be the job of your dreams!

If this sounds like your kind of opportunity, we’d love to fill you in on the details before you apply. Contact us NOW at hello@georgeandjoan.com.

–Joan and George

Forbidden Davos Questions…at the Library?

George — Mon, 31 Jan 2011 21:30:13 +0000

I often recommend that people sign up for the Harvard Business Review’s management e-mail newsletter. It’s free and you get a good tip nearly every day. Today, HBR sent out a link to a blog post by Umair Haque called “Ten Things You’re Not Allowed to Say at Davos.” It’s about the climate among the hyperrich at the annual World Economic Forum in Davos, but the ten things he identifies as needing to be discussed could just as easily make for a heck of a library conference.

My favorite quote? “Maybe, then, it’s worth asking whether we’ve got to get serious about the stuff that’s timeless, instead: passion, justice, connection, transcendence, discernment, to take on with a sense of reckless abandon not just the immediate questions of “competitiveness,” “business,” and “trade,” but the harder questions of what a rich, meaningful, productive life — for all — really consists of.

—George