Reading Rooster READS The Crayon Box that Talked

Looking for a great storytime book? Watch this video till the very end :-) Enjoy!

Oconee County Public Library Staff Development Day

Yesterday I did a presentation at the Oconee County Public Library staff development day. I've been working through this presentation and think I finally have it they way i want it! :-) However, technology problems were crazy! Their county library operates in a very unique way - the county administration manages all of the library's IT. Needless to say, the Internet was down, an IT guy had to give me a small wifi thingie to give me internet access which was VERY slow. ..AND I was going to be showing YouTube and Vimeo videos. I ended up having to skip the IDEO video on The Future of the Book because of the internet speed but it can be found in the presentation below. I also was using one of their laptops that was so locked down that i couldn't even show youtube videos on full screen mode nor could I show my slideshare presentation on full screen and instead had to download it to that laptop just to get it on full screen... frustrating to say the least...

The library really needs to manage its OWN IT so that they can have control over what they do. They need to be able to hire their own IT person so they can do the things they want to and move forward on many different social media outlets. They really want to be able to do more with Twitter, YouTube, and other things. They have some great ideas for posting training videos, etc. However, because they cannot control their own IT, they are behind the curve. They really want to be able to do more but just can't and I could tell there is a lot of frustration among the staff about it...

We had a great brainstorming session after the presentaiton. Each group talked about what they want to be able to do with technology and social media.



Here are the high points of the brainstorming session:

• using YouTube to promote library services and provide training tutorials
• have multiple twitter accounts to communicate with patrons
• get more people involved with social media
• have a listserv or get a Constant Contact email marketing account
• use Flickr to post historical images
• have more control over the library's web presence
• have a manly book club for guys
• do a virtual book club
• create a blog that lists new library materials
• issues various types of press releases
• offer patrons the ability to sign up for a library card online
• use business cards to promote services
• and my favorite: find 5 things to stop doing that no longer work

Here is the presentation:

social media is changing libraries - how do you fit in?

View more presentations from Curtis Rogers.

THANK YOU again to the staff of the Oconee County Public Library for being so hospitable and for really putting a lot of thought into your brainstorming session!

The Lion's Roar - WorkSC.org

Here is our latest Lion's Roar about our WorkSC.org web site. Check it out and see how the SC State Library is helping libraries help people with workforce development.

YouTube Playlists

I don't know why I haven't played around with YouTube playlists before but they are simple and make for a great organizational tool! I made this playlist for The Lion's Roar.

Reading Rooster Recommends October 4 2010

Here is the latest Reading Rooster I produced. Watch till the end for outtakes! :-)

The Lion's Roar - SC Public Library History Project

Here is my latest Lion's Roar. Check it out so you can learn more about the SC Library History Project.

New ideas about non-linear interactive reading and shared reading!

Meet Nelson, Coupland, and Alice — the faces of tomorrow’s book. Watch global design and innovation consultancy IDEO’s vision for the future of the book. What new experiences might be created by linking diverse discussions, what additional value could be created by connected readers to one another, and what innovative ways we might use to tell our favorite stories and build community around books?

The Future of the Book. from IDEO on Vimeo.

Reading Rooster READS

Watch Helen Fellers, Coordinator of the SC Center for Children's Books and Literacy read It's the Bear on Reading Rooster Reads via the SC State Library's YouTube channel.

Steven Johnson: Where good ideas come from | Video on TED.com

This video got me thinking. How can libraries (public or academic) be centers of creativity and innovation. How can we create surroundings that foster innovation and creative thinking? Watch this video then discuss your ideas.

The Lion's Roar - CPM Projects

The SC State Library has a unique online collection: The SC Certified Public Manager project collection. Student final projects are digitized and added to the State Library's online catalog. Watch this video about how to access them!

Seth Godin: This is broken | Video on TED.com

If you have some "broken" processes or workflow issues in your library, then spend 20 minutes watching this video and discuss how you can improve your services.

Seth Godin: This is broken | Video on TED.com

Presentation for Oconee County Library Board of Trustees

Here is my presentation at the Oconee County Library Trustee Retreat. They all came up with some wonderful ideas during the exercise that is at the end of the presentation.

Oconee County Library Trustee Training on Prezi

Here is a list of what came out of the brainstorming session:

What do you see as the library’s future?

· “Go to” place for all county
· Oconee county develop Wikipedia/history
· Physical Google
· Involve the community with technology
· Resource for new comers
· Greater accessibility – more computers/hardware
· Location for all to come together to use technology/meeting place for technology
· Social interaction and going beyond that with technology/neutral place where this can occur
· Training center
· Check out a book/check out a library
· Hardware – look at what’s available and test it out

What are the partnership possibilities?

· Business industry group/plant managers – help drive infrastructure with broadband, etc.
· Schools/k-12/adult education – eliminate duplication and meet people where they are.
· Employment security commission – people coming in looking for jobs – getting email
· Economic Development – how to sell ourselves and selling technology and having the library as a recruiting tool (PR/Marketing)
· Chamber of Commerce – retail/service sector – more industry
· Foundations – non-profits – for fundraising – how can we get money?
· Higher Education – Clemson adult education (co-sponsor workshop on library resources)
· Arts Community
· Recreation/YMCA
· Heritage groups
· Legislative Delegation
· Youth in the Community (gaming – xbox wii, etc.)
· Diversity – bringing community together

What do you want to see happen by the end of 2011?

· Pilot project for technology iPads or kindles, etc.
· Groundbreaking for new library (Seneca)
· Center for the county’s outreach of technology
· Improved relationship with local government
· Video on library service
· More targeted to the community to let them know what the library does
· Determine how to get more money/funding

During the session when we were discussing what might be broken and how to fix them, I recommended they watch Seth Godin's "Broken" presentation: Seth Godin gives a tour of things poorly designed, the reasons why they are that way, and how to fix them.

We also took a look at the State Library's two new web sites: StudySC.org and WorkSC.org.

The Lion's Roar - DISCUS

Learn more about South Carolina's Virtual Library, DISCUS.

Reading Rooster Recommends September 13 2010

Bears will start hibernating and the fair is coming! Check out the latest Reading Rooster Recommends today :-)

Moving Boxes at the State Library

we got 44,000 family literacy calendars in at the state library and had to move them all to other locations! there are still more to come! many people pitched in :-)