Education

Poetry

Think before you speak...

Quote Images

I recently read an article about things non-profits can use to increase traffic on their facebook pages so I've started creating some quote images. Here are the most recent ones. Enjoy!

Nice Example

library signage, a photo by Michael Casey on Flickr.

This is a nice example of a sign in a library about cell phone use. Libraries, take note!

The Power of Library PR!

I had a great time a few days ago presenting at the SC Library Association's College and University Section's workshop, The Library Instruction Toolkit: Effective Teaching, Active Learning.  Below is my presentation on Slideshare.  Attendees had lots of great comments and really added to the session. I was really impressed with one attendee who said she makes it a point to meet with her assigned department on her campus once a week!  The group exercise went very well and all four groups developed some really great ideas for future workshops.

The Power of Library PR

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2011 SLIS Hooding Ceremony (Extended cut)

I just came across this on the USC CMCIS YouTube channel.  At about 11:00 is where my speech begins. Enjoy!

Reading Rooster Recommends April 11 2012

Watch this episode of the Reading Rooster Recommends to learn about great children's book titles about the Titanic and Cats and Poetry!

Know What You Want - guest blog post by Stephanie Vance

If you don’t know where you’re going, you’ll wind up somewhere else. Yogi Berra

Yogi Berra cracks me up (as does Yogi Bear, perhaps because he’s smarter than the average bear. For those who didn’t grow up with Yogi Bear, look it up).  And it’s true that you MUST know your goal before you get started.  You may need to reassess as circumstances change, but you won’t get very far down the road if you don’t have an idea of which road you’re on or should be on.  Or let me correct that. You certainly can go very far down the road, but in general it’s not going to get you anywhere near where you want to go.  I know this because I get lost a lot.

Tactics 1 through 5 in The Influence Game cover “knowing what you want,” specifically:

·         Your Effort is a Cause: Your cause may be getting a new job, gaining a sale or implementing some legislative initiative.  Whatever it is, remember that you are promoting a specific result over opposition, competition or potential objections.  That’s the very definition of a cause.

·         Know the Nature of What You’re Selling: I wrote several blog posts on this already, so all I’ll say is that you’ve got to know whether what you’re selling involves inertia or action, is controversial or easy, is a must-do or may-do decision or is short- or long-term.  If you don’t know the answers to these questions, you won’t be able to set a SMART goal (see the next tactic).

·         Set a SMART Goal:  SMART goals are Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic and Timely.  In other words, you must know what it is you want, when you want it by, whether you have the internal resources to attain it, whether the external environment makes it possible and what the timeframe is for a decision.

·         Know WHY You Want What You Want (Or Why the Other Person Might Want That): “You should do what I say because I said so” works only in parental situations and even there not so much.  I can’t even get it to work with my dog.  So you’ll have to have a good reason for why you want what you’re asking for.  And if that reason relates to what the decision maker may want, you’ll be far more effective.

·         Know What You’re Talking About:  While it’s totally appropriate to say “I don’t know, but I’ll get back to you,” nothing is more frustrating than having someone try to sell you a product they know absolutely nothing about, right?  In many ways your cause is a product and you’ve got to be familiar with its nuances if you’re going to convince others to get on board.

Another baseball player named Babe Ruth knew all this about knowing what he wanted.  He’s the one who, when he came up to bat in the 1932 World Series, pointed to a spot in the stands and hit a home run to that spot, which won the game.  Sure, there’s some controversy over what he was pointing at and what he intended.  The key, though, is that he pointed and the ball went there.  You need to do the same.

Stephanie Vance, the Advocacy Guru at Advocacy Associates, is the author of five books on effective advocacy and influence, including The Influence Game.  A former Capitol Hill Chief of Staff and lobbyist, she works with a wide range of groups to improve their advocacy efforts.  More at www.theinfluencegame.com

At the bookmobile exchange.

I had a great time presenting about the power of PR and everyone had lots of great ideas for promoting their outreach programs. I broke them out into four groups and here's what they came up with.

Reading Rooster Recommends March 28 2012

The Reading Rooster explores children's book titles about Easter, Passover, and the Environment.  Watch it today and learn about these great books!

Thank you notes are nice to get!

Today I received a nice thank you note for a presentation I gave last week at the Richland County Public Library.  Thanks Diane for brightening my day!

Reading Rooster Recommends for March 13 2012

Just in time for St. Patrick's Day, check out this episode of the Reading Rooster Recommends!

Does Social Media Matter?

Today I presented at our Young Adult Services Exchange and asked the question, Does Social Media Matter?  It was great to see so many comments and interaction among the attendees!  Here is the presentation and photos of the results of their group work.

Does social media matter?

View more PowerPoint from Curtis Rogers

Attendees were divided into four groups to address the following three things:
1) make a list of social media tools they are or should be using to interact with YAs
2) brainstorm on what could be some innovative uses for social media tools and working with YAs
3) Why does social media matter?