Kankakee Public Library revisited

I love Kankakee Public Library. I've blogged about their library several times.

On my way back from IFLA 2008, I made a personal stopover in the city of Kankakee for a short visit to their library. It was nice to see Cindy (if only briefly, as she was on leave), Steve and Camille again.

Their library occupies three floors of this building, with a fourth floor being added.


Cindy (director) and Steve (assistant director) were so cordial and nice when I visited them in 2005. I remembered how they shared their vision for their library. They also asked interested questions about how we did things in Singapore. I also met Camille (in charge of Youth services) who was clearly enthused and passionate about her work.

This time I met Allison (head of Adult Services and active blogger at their staff blog), after corresponding with her over email for about two years

[Btw a belated congratulations Allison, for I just learned from your library website that you've been awarded winner of the 2008 Deborah Dowley Prelser Award by the Illinois Library Association.]


Allison, Steve and I had a brief chat in Steve's office.


Steve shared about their new plans for their library extension. The additional floor would have an auditorium. In the layout drawing that Steve printed, I noticed an area in the auditorium marked as "podcast/ vodcast room".

I said out loud, "This must be (planned) by Steve!" :)

The new floor will also have a room with the equipment for library users to create their own podcasts and vodcast. They have the option of letting the library use the audios and videos.

I asked how they would ensure the content is appropriate. Steve said the library wouldn't be obligated to use everything that users produce (makes perfect sense to me).

Their podcasts have 1,800 downloads a month (wow!). They make their podcasts available via iTunes, which was a clever way of making their podcasts more accessible.

Services to teens
I was particularly interested in their services to teens. Camille took time out of her schedule to meet me.

Camille (didn't take a picture with her, unfortunately) shared about how this book was the current favourite (something like 790 reservation requests, woah!).


She informed me about how the trend of crossover titles and authors (i.e. authors who typically wrote for teens were writing for the adult market, and vice cersa) encouraged teens to move into adult collections.

I noticed this poster on the table and asked about it. Camille explained that this was a programme by application only. It was specifically targeted at male teens. The application form even required parental consent (which I thought was a good way to engage the parents in the programme).

Basically, the participants (about 10 per programme) learn how to use Mac computers to produce content (visual, audio, video). I think they get to go on study trips too.

[I'll ask Allison if they can share more about this programme in their staff blog].

Camille showed me their Manga and Anime collections. The Manga collections were more popular than the DC or Marvel ones, she said.

From our conversations about YP collections, it's clear we share the same issues. It's interesting to learn how they tackle it. For instance, they also have parents who complain that some graphic novels seem violent and have scantily clad women.

Kankakee PL's response was to explain their collections policy (they remove the offensive titles if required). They'd post bookmarks and posters near the Manga section, informing parents that some Manga and graphic novel titles require parental guidance.

Here's a neat idea: Spa Night for teen girls!

Teen girls were introduced to topics like personal grooming and health. Related books and materials were also introduced.

I asked Camille if they have gaming in the library. She said they've introduced it for some time now, and they found it successful in attracting teens to the library (which they subsequently introduce related books as part of the event). Male teens is their primary target group.

She said the ALA now has an advocacy page on gaming in libraries (see this and this).

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I can go on with nice things to say about Kankakee PL.

But the best compliment may have come from my friend.

My friend lives and work near Kankakee. He isn't a librarian. He drove me to the library that day and he stayed to chat with Steve and Allison.

Later as we drove away, my friend said he was impressed with what Kankakee Public Library did. That their work was "uplifting" during this difficult economic situation they are facing (case in point -- that day's paper reported funding cuts for schools in their area).

I understand exactly what my friend meant by uplifting.

Kankakee Public Library, especially their staff, throws off positive vibes.

Kankakee Public Library's blogs

Slightly more than two years ago, I had a chance to visit Kankakee Public Library when I made a personal trip to Chicago. I have fond memories of the library tour. I remember the discussions with Cindy (Director of the Kankakee Public Library), Steve (the Assistant Director) and Camille (Youth Services Supervisor).

Hence, about two weeks earlier, I was pleasantly surprised to receive an email from a Ms. Allison Beasley, Head of Adult Services at Kankakee PL:

At the Kankakee Public Library, we’ve started some exciting new things that we’d like to share with all of you. Also, check out our new webpage logo :)

New RSS feeds/Blogs
She Said/He Said (Admin Blog) Director Cindy Fuerst and Assistant Director Steve Bertrand duke it out - discussing and debating the issues facing today’s public libraries.

Library Musings (Staff Blog) The opinions expressed on this blog are not necessarily the those of the Kankakee Public Library, its board, or the City of Kankakee. Now you want to read it, don’t you? :)

Kankakee Public Library News - KPL events, book discussions, closings and well…news.

Podcasts, Vodcasts & Streaming Media
You can download our new podcasts & vodcasts onto your iPod or MP3 player, or listen to them on our website as streaming media. We are launching our first ever vodcast (video cast). These are produced and edited entirely by KPL staff, even the music!

Photos
Flickr - Pictures of authors and speaker events, programs, and a fair share of embarrassing staff photos (don’t forget – Flickr is an RSS feed, too!)

I am particularly impressed by the seemingly holistic manner in which Kankakee PL has offered their blogs.

The one by their directors (the Admin blog) discuss serious issues, which is balanced by the more informal tone of the Staff blog; their podcasts (I liked their Teen Poetry Slam event, and the talk by comic-book artist Don Kramer); their flickr page -- all complimenting the more "traditional" and still relevant 'corporate' website of their library.

Reading Cindy's post, I get a better sense why they are doing all this.

I most enjoyed the Staff Blog -- Allison's confession, the photography bug that hit their reference team, yet another confession -- this time about Sweet Valley, or as (seemingly) plain as the Head of Circulation's background.

The pictures on some their events gave me a better idea what activities they've organised -- like this and this on "Grossology" (supplemented by this post that elaborated on why they organised something like that. Very cool idea, and something I'd bring back to my colleagues for consideration. Thanks!)

In this earlier blog post, I mentioned how Kankakee PL gave me the impression that they were motivated and enthusiastic about what they do. Judging from their blogs, the podcasts and flickr pictures of their events, it's even clearer just how much they've remained motivated and committed to their community.

I managed to dig up this photo taken on 5th Nov 2004, with Camille, Cindy and Steve (and the Kankakee PL Lion, which the Kankakee PL folks were really proud of).

When we last met, blogs was probably not at the top of our minds. I bet if I met them again, (with Vicki and particularly Steve, I suspect) we'd be talking a lot more about blogs and social media and their implications for library services.

To the Kankakee PL folks -- subscribed, subscribed, subscribed, subscribed! :)


Technorati Tags: library blog, library promotion, library podcast

Kankakee Public Library's Podcast: Interview with Michael Stephens

Melvin commented in the previous post that he was both "amused and impressed" by the music mashup from Vanessa and myself.

I found out from Vanessa that a few hours before she recorded the song, she'd mentioned to Melvin her intent, which she did. And within a few hours, I put up Mix 2. Maybe that's what Melvin found amusing. I wonder if Vanessa and I set some record for "fastest spontaneous mashup"?

Incidentally, our first mashup's here.

Which reminded me of this long overdue post about Kankakee Public Library using our song, White Nights, as the intro and fadeout track for their podcast interview with Michael Stephens, Instructor at the Graduate School of Library and Information Science at Dominican University, author of Michael one of the more influential blogs on librarianship -- tametheweb.com.

It's 45-minutes long, which took me a few sessions to complete (but that's the good thing about a podcast -- I choose how much I want to listen to, long after the event).

Highlights:
3mins 50sec: Discussion on how libraries Web 2.0. concept relates to Web 2.0.

12min 30secs: Why Michael got himself into Library Science academia, and why he wants to work with librarians.

15mins 49secs: Steve said, "We ran into a few people who were a little flabbergasted that we do something like letting our staff blog".

Interesting. So even among libraries in the US, they also have the same concerns and issues about blogging as what is faced in Singapore. I thought they'd face less resistance in the US. More of this at 23mins (Stephen shares how a young librarian told him "we want to blog but we're not allowed to" or "we have a blog but we're asked to turn off the comments"). In response, Michael said he was reminded about "the famous Poop post" and that "we need to hear the human stories about the library". We trust the staff to write what they know.

18min 18secs: A discussion on whether blogs, podcasts, music-downloads, gaming etc. are a passing fad. Stephen explains that "the tools will change, but the ideas of radical trust, transparency, encouraging conversations -- those aren't going to go away". Quote from Steve: "... the cultural change is not a fad... ... the whole cultural shift of 'I have a voice, and people may or may not want to hear it' -- that's not going to change".

20mins 05 secs: Allison mentions "why staff meetings are in Kankakee", where their staff are "all fighting to talk". I guess that's why their blogging efforts works!

25 mins 20secs: Discussion on Library Marketing.

Listen to Steve Bertrand, Allison Beasley and Michael Stephens, here. Catch Kankakee Public Library's podcasts/ vodcasts on this page.

I'm a fan of Kankakee Public Library's blogs. I like what Cindy and Steve have to say on library issues (serious stuff there). But they don't crack me up as much as some of their staff. I always show people these "classics" like this and this one. : )

Why is Kankakee Public Library going into podcasting? Steve explains at this post. I feel he's nailed it with this quote: "Think globally, act locally".

Notes from visit to public libraries in Chicago, Nov 2004

Congratulations to Ms Cindy Fuerst, Library Director of Kankakee Public Library for being nominated to the Movers & Shakers Class of 2005. I had the pleasure of meeting Cindy and her colleagues, Steve (Assistant Director) and Camille (Head of Youth Services) when I visited a friend in Chicago in November '04.

Extracted from the LJ article:

MOBILIZERS
It takes a special talent to sell a plan, mobilize enthusiasm for a new project, or create the right partnerships to get a new service off the ground. It might mean convincing a community that a vital library can create an economic renaissance. Or letting the world know what a wonderful career librarianship can be. Or persuading a profession that diversity is everyone’s responsibility.

Source: "Empowering Library Users" - By Francine Fialkoff, Editor -- 3/15/2005

Kankakee PL was one of the libraries I visited. I also dropped by Bradley PL, Bourbonnais PL, Benner Library (Olivet Nazarene University), as well as the Harold Washington PL in downtown Chicago.

Some thoughts from my visit:

Most, if not all, of their library staff have a clear "service/ customer-focused attitude" and services are adapted according to the needs of the community. This is really a given in today's context.

In terms of the (public library) collection & facilities, the differences could be huge, mainly because of the community they serve or are in (it relates to how they are funded & maintained). The differences between Kankakee, Bradley & Bourbonnais PLs were apparent. Kankakee was better equipped & had newer facilities; Bradley was very small & they said they needed an upgrading; Bourbonnais was expanding. A small community PL like Bradley was very quiet and low-key, as most of their residents work out of town and will only use the library on weekends.

How well the public library was funded depended a lot on their community's economic performance. Their PLs are funded by property taxes & state grants. In Kankakee PL's case, I learnt that Cindy, their Library Director*, lobbied hard with the mayor to get funding for upgrading the library. So I'm not surprised to know that Cindy is in the top 50 Movers & Shakers Class of 2005.

The people managing and working for the library was key. For instance, Kankakee PL gave me the impression that they were motivated and ehthusiastic about what they do. This was certainly evident in my meeting with Cindy, Steve and Camille. I was told that many of their staff put up with poor work conditions (prior to their upgrading) and did their jobs without complaints.

Singaporeans who live/ work overseas, as well as overseas visitors, tell me that Singaporeans don't know how lucky they are that our libraries are well equipped and well funded. Having had the chance to visit libraries in UK, USA, China, Philippines and Japan (all within the last 6 to 7 years), I can honestly say that in terms of the integration of IT, environment, facilities, services and collection, Singapore's public libraries can be safely ranked among the top.

Of course there are much we NLB librarians and library managers can -- and have to -- learn from our overseas counterparts. Generally speaking, there's much more individually-driven community initiatives by the overseas librarians, especially the US librarians. As NLB completes the infrastructure-building phase of the past 10 years, the logical step for the next phase would be the "software" aspects like community-linkages and collaborations. It's not that we have not done them in the past, but just that the emphasis would even be greater than before.

* Equivalent to our "Senior Manager", though it isn't an accurate comparison because of the difference in how US public libraries and Singapore libraries are structured.

Kankakee Public Library asks "How Wiki should our Wiki be?"

I've mentioned before how the folks at Kankakee Public Library (Chicago, Illinois) have consistently impressed me with their Web 2.0. forays like blogs and podcasts.

And now they (specifically Steve) have plans for a wiki:

Often, our reference and genealogy staff uncover some fascinating tidbit of information, only to have it sent off to the questioner, never to be seen again. I thought this an incredible waste of our talents: hence KanWiki. The question is how wiki should our wiki be. The coward's way would be to try to lock down and control every article, lest some online vandal write something unflattering in an alderman's article.

The main concern is about vandalism to the wiki entries. Read the rest of Steve's thoughts, here.

Steve may already be scouting for a wiki, or in the midst of creating one on their server. For while there may be skepticism about dealing with wiki-vandals effectively, Steve says their library is willing to try.

I left them this comment, citing my experience with the Singapore Social Media Directory.

I'll also add here that instead of worrying about vandalism to the wiki, libraries should assume there WILL be a minority who intends to do just that. And then prepare accordingly.

Perhaps recruit a pool of library volunteers who will help monitor updates to KanWiki. Provide the volunteers with tools and knowledge on how to monitor the wiki (e.g. RSS and/ or email notifications).

All that aside...

What's more important is that before starting any initiative (nevermind Web 2.0. or otherwise), its purpose and "Why" must be clear.

For the proposed KanWiki, it's crystal clear to me.


[Keyphrase: Kankakee Public Library]

Five Things about Ivan Chew (that you might not know)

When Filipino Librarian tagged me for a "Five Things" meme, I didn't really feel like taking it up. However, I realised that of the five bloggers he tagged, I was the only non-Filipino. I felt I had to respond (as the Chinese like to say, "Give him face").

I wanted to share how I didn't want a dog (but agreed to get one anyway); how I wanted to be an artist when I was younger; how I came to be a librarian -- but I seem to recall that this particular meme required me to share things that others do not know about me/ I've not blogged about yet.

Had to think for a bit (opened-ended memes are tough, but a good exercise in writing it seems). So here goes:

1) My first pet was a stuffed dog I named "Snow-paws". I know technically it's not a "pet". It wasn't alive. But I was only seven. It was real to me. One day I came home from school and couldn't find Snow-paws. Searched high and low. My grandmother said she threw it away. I cried and I screamed why. I hated my grandmother for that. For a day or two.

2) My first experience of death was when I was about 10. My grandmother passed away. I learnt what pain felt like. The kind that hurt really deep. But thanks to my grandmother, I also learnt how one could die with dignity. She had told my siblings and I that when her time came to pass, we should feel happy for her. That might have been my first philosophy lesson. We still cried anyway.

3) I almost drowned when I was eight or nine. Fell into a pond at Toa Payoh gardens. Couldn't swim. Saved by my father. He jumped in to rescue me. He lost his wallet. I couldn't stop crying. More out of embarrassment than fear. I remember a nice lady. She gave me some tissues to dry myself. They weren't enough. Mother bought me a set of dry clothes at OG (a department store nearby). A week later, my father took my siblings and I to the public swimming pool. To teach us to swim.

4) Three weeks into National Service. I was 19. Basic Military Training in Pulau Tekong. Family-visit Day. My parents came to see me. I cried. I thought I wouldn't, but I did. My Platoon Commander (PC) had warned that those who cried would sign 3-weeks of extra Guard Duties. My PC came over to meet my parents. He saw my tears, I was sure. At evening roll call, my PC asked the platoon if anyone cried. I kept my mouth shut. My PC didn't say anything either. I guess he was once a recruit too.

5) I've won some trophies and medals in my younger years. Sporting events and art competitions in school. The most memorable was one particular match, where I didn't win a medal. At a Karate Tournament. A sparring bout. Halfway through, I was two points down. Three points and I was out. I told myself the fight was not over. I thought I'd be nervous, but I wasn't. I fought back a point. And then two. I was even. Time was almost up. He came at me fast. Front kick. Training took over. No time to think. Block-sweep-counter punch. The match was mine. But I lost the next round to another guy. A black-belter. I was out of the tournament. No medal for me. Didn't matter. I didn't let myself down. And I didn't cry in this one.

Heh.

Who can I tag for this one? Let's start with Cool Insider (whose PC crashed so he can't blog)...

... I need four more people. OK, I had such a kick reading the recent posts from the Kankakee Public Library staff blog, so I'm tagging Mitchell Haug (who has something to say about televangelists), Vicki S. (who's raised on Saturday Night Live), Allison Beasley (who shows us just how much they value their IT guy), and Nick Garcia (who has a long post on Happiness).