Computers are moving!

We are changing the way we provide public computing here at Hutchinson Public Library. We are moving to the open space on the first floor under the mezzanine area! This does mean some upset and limited or no access during the move, but we'll be back up as soon as we can make it happen.

For years and years we have had a computer lab tucked away on the second floor of the building that served all our public-access computing needs. This was a great way for us to handle a large computing demand and provide some level of assistance in computer use.

We had 21 computers in the area plus a scanner and printing capabilities. There was a staff desk which was manned at all times when the lab was open.

The down sides to this method of computing were how tied the staff member was to the service desk, limiting their ability to help in some cases. Also, because the computers were in such a small space, there was no way to effectively "sit down and teach" a new skill when the lab was even moderately full. The real down side was the fact that the room itself could never be temperature regulated. Way too hot in summer and if the wind blew hard out of the northeast, way too cold in the winter. And let's face it, in the summer the space just smelled bad.

So, the new area is out in the open. This means that our staff (we'll still have a manned IT desk) will be able to get up and have space to help learn new skills. We'll have time-keeping and printing software to take that tracking burden off of the staff members. The computers will be wireless, thus easily movable. The climate will be under control. Basically, we hope that this move will be an improvement.

Those of you with a long memory know that the computers used to be on the first floor. I file this kind of change under the category "what's old is new again" in this case!

I hope you come in to see the changes!

BIG change ahead

Sometimes you see big changes because of the flash and glitter associated with it. Other times you notice things have changed subtly - but profoundly - around you. Over the next few months as HPL, there will be some of both. We expect the process to take a good portion of 2014 to complete.

What am I talking about? The library has contracted with a company called Bibliotheca to convert our collection management over to an RFID system. The changes will be both subtle and really, really slick and visible.

The subtle:

Our entire collection - from books to media to ephemeral items will be tagged with an RFID tag. These tags hold information about the item that allow us to more easily locate and manage the collection.

Our staff will have RFID readers at their stations to facilitate startlingly speedy, accurate check-out and check-in and other routine material processes. The upside to all of this is greater efficiency handling the mundane, repetitive tasks that staff must perform every day. This will allow more staff time to be devoted to actually helping people find what they are looking for during a visit to the library. It will also allow us to focus more on "helping" in general and less on clerical work.

The flash and glitter:

New self-check units for patrons. Not only do these units look nice, clean, and modern, we found them to work extremely well in real-world observation during our product research phase.

A new way of returning items you've checked out. This return looks like a regular bookshelf. Unlike a regular shelf though, when you bring your items back in to the library, this shelf unit checks your books back in for you! It will even alert staff when a "book on hold" has been returned. As an added bonus, patrons can then print out a receipt or check their account right there to make sure everything is returned.

Looking forward to 2013

I know, it's tiny.  See the photos up close at the library!

Now that we've made it past the "end" of the Mayan calendar with nary a single asteroid collision, continent-swallowing tsunami, rash of super volcanoes, or other civilization-ending apocalypse; we can focus on what's to come in 2013.

We're starting off the year with some terrific guests - Dave McKane's new photography exhibit opens January 3rd at 6pm.  Where his previous exhibit focused on clouds and the relics of farms past, this new show celebrates that glorious moment of deep blue found in the skies near twilight.  The photographs will be on display in the Library's auditorium.  Just after Mr. McKane's opening, we will have a visit from Kevin Williams, editor of the Amish Cook.  The Amish Cook columns appear regularly in the Hutchinson News.  Mr. Williams will be at the library on January 7th at 6:30 pm.  We will have some of his books available for purchase and autographing at that time.

Besides programming, we have many other things to look toward in 2013.  We will continue to make progress on our vision for the library "Technology Center".  As we save money for the project and attempt to raise extra funds for it, we will have professional drawings made to help make real our ideas.  Temporarily, we will add some seating in the area where the adult non-fiction 900s were once housed.

Lighting will be improved in the second floor stacks.  We're looking at a new telephone system that makes use of our upgraded network infrastructure, and there will be changes in the way public computer time is measured and monitored.  Phew.  Now I'm tired.  And that list doesn't even include the interesting ideas I've been reading about for defining our mission / setting our goals for the next couple of years.

Changes to our website

We have been working to improve our new (actual over a year old now) website for the Hutchinson Public Library.  As we create new content and make some changes, I hope you will send us feedback.

The first couple of changes we've made to the home page are circled in red in the picture below:

There is now a rotating book shelf (Newest Arrivals) that shows a selection of the newest acquisitions each week.  You can click the jacket art and go directly to the library's catalog to place requests for the items.  This tool is provided by Wowbrary!.  You can also sign up to receive a weekly Wowbrary! email newsletter that includes not only the items shown on the rotating shelf, but every new item added each week.

The other red circle is highlighting a feed from our HPL Reader Reviews website.  These are books reviewed by HPL patrons.  You can participate by sending in reviews of your own to me at gwamsley@hutchpl.org.  We would love to continue expanding this resource as a reader's advisory tool for everyone to use.

There is also a new repository for the latest press releases from the library.  Here will be a place to find detailed information about significant news, programs, and new services at HPL.  You can find it by clicking Programs & Services on the menu bar and looking under the Programs & Events list.

Please let us know what you think about the changes and give usany suggestions you might have!

New HPL app for Apple & Android

Great news!  The Hutchinson Public Library has an app available for iPad / iPod / iPhone and for Android devices that allows you to access our catalog, access your library account, and generally do everything you can from a traditional computer.  You can search the library's holdings, place holds, renew books, read reviews, and much more using a very clean, easy-on-the-eyes tool.

iPad bestseller list screenshot

To get started, go to the Apple App Store or to your Android store of choice (like Google Play) and search for:

OWL iLibrary

Download the app and once it is installed, open it.  The first time you open the app you choose your library (search by name, map, etc.)  Choose "Hutchinson Public Library".

Enter your library card number - the whole thing.

Enter your PIN.  Unless you have manually changed it, your PIN is the last 4 digits of the telephone number we have in our records.

Once this is done, the app will remember your settings and you won't have to do it again.  Then you can search away!


Here are some screenshots of the app on an iPhone:

Reviews

Search

Search results

Hold Request

Accessible Broadband...for real

There has been a lot of talk about access to broadband Internet connections in rural areas here in Kansas.  Mainly because virtually all of Kansas IS a rural area.  The farther west you go from the Kansas City-Topeka corner, the less likely you are to find any ability to connect to a true "high-speed" Internet connection unless you live in the limits of some reasonably sized town.

Now, we can argue until we're blue in the face about why and about who is responsible, but the bottom line remains that the Internet is to modern life what the rail system was to 1890's life.  That is, if the railroad didn't come through your town, your town died.  Plain and simple.  The Internet functions the same way.  Business and opportunity in the information age follow the bandwidth.

I just finished reading this article.  It presents a solution to the very problem outlined above.  It likens the Internet to the system of roadways for which government is usually responsible.  Why not treat the Internet the same way we treat roads?  For institutional customers like us, a public library, this makes especially good sense.  For attracting business to a state like Kansas that struggles at times to compete with neighboring states, the appeal of access to exponentially greater bandwidth might entice people to move here.  After all, in a world that includes easy access to fast Internet, you can live just about anywhere, right?

Technology Survey

Please help us choose the correct path!  We are at a cross-roads with our laptop check-out program here at HPL.  It is time to replace hardware and we want to make the best purchases we can in order to meet the needs of our patrons.

We have been circulating (in house) laptop computers for about 3 years now and those machines have served their purpose.  What we want to know is what do people really want from this type of service.

The survey HERE is very short, but any comments you can make will help us decide how to make our next batch of circulating electronics purchases.

The Hunt for New Ideas

Mediasurfer iPad self-check

Laptop self-check

I went to the ALA Midwinter meeting Exhibits Hall in Dallas over the weekend with a long wish list.  Big meetings such as that are great for networking and learning new things, but they are also GREAT for finding out about how to meet patron needs through new products and services.

Are there really any new ideas out there?  Has everything already been done?  Maybe.  But some people are taking ideas and running with them in pretty cool ways.  Take the idea of checking out laptops or other devices to library patrons.  HPL has checked out laptops for 3 years now.  They are used in-house only and circulate from the adult circulation desk.  But what if you could automate this process?  Sort of a Redbox for electronics?  Two companies have done just that - Mediasurfer and LaptopsAnytime.  The Mediasurfer kiosk dispenses tablets (iPads, specifically) only, while the LaptopsAnytime device can be customized to dispense laptops and netbooks.

Imagine being able to just walk up to the machine, scan your card, and go sit down and start computing with a clean, fully-charged device.  When it comes to return time, no waiting in lines, no fuss, just put the device back in whichever empty slot is available.

I'm looking for new ways to serve our patrons as we work to re-imagine the library technology center.  Another HUGE time drain we struggle with here at HPL is assigning public computers and dealing with printing.  I spent a lot of time looking for solutions there and I think I found at least one good option.  Something that will allow us to provide wireless printing, print control and login/registration on public computers.  This will help us to free up key staff members who can then share their expertise and help patrons solve their technology problems.

It is somewhat hard to describe, but the kernel at the core of our re-imagining is not to provide new technology, but to help people interface with the library and its resources.  As I sift through the information I gathered at ALA, I will share more and continue to write about where we're headed with technology and which new/old ideas we are going to implement.

eBook Puzzle

After listening in on another rah-rah session about 3M's Cloud Library, I'm beginning to wonder if there isn't an even better solution out there.  Don't get me wrong - I think 3M has a great plan and idea, I'm just not sure that they aren't going to be a stepping stone to other things in the world of ebooks.  I am tired of hearing about it rather than being able to at least see how it works in real life.

As my colleagues pointed out at the webinar I attended, there is not so much a lack of content out there (ebooks) but a lack of platforms to distribute the content.  After all, public libraries have been circulating content in the form of paper, tape, vinyl, polycarbonate disks, canvas, cardboard, downloadable files, etc. for over 100 years.  In all forms save the last, we've been able to devise systems on our own.  With electronic files, librarians are largely held back by lack of computer programming degrees.  It's hard to devise a system if you don't have the expertise to develop a robust, flexible tool.


The more I think about it though, something else that was mentioned after the webinar is really puzzling.  Why haven't the companies that provide libraries with automated circulation systems jumped into the ebook arena?  They have already created highly sophisticated systems that check in and out materials, keep inventory, track users and the material they have out, track purchasing and receiving, and a myriad other tasks.  Why can't a library purchase an ebook, store it on a server somewhere, and circulate it through these sophisticated systems?  In fact, every third party ebook lending system I've seen uses the library's automation system to authenticate users of the ebook borrowing system.

Why is this thing so hard to grapple with?

There are smart people out there in the library world and in the library automation world.  While I've largely given up on my flying-car-that-folds-into-a-briefcase, I want to know:  Where is my automated library system that can circulate ALL my library's materials?  (I'm looking at you, Polaris.)

HPL website changes

A few months ago we rolled out a new website for HPL.  Since that time, we have received training for a number of our staff members in order to keep it updated.  You will begin to see changes to the site and the addition of fresh content with much greater frequency.

The calendar is one of our favorites so far, allowing us to provide easy-to-access information about everything that goes on here.  You can find the calendar from the "Find an Event" link at the bottom of the home page or by clicking "Programs & Services" on the navigation bar and then clicking "Calendar of Events".

Events on the calendar are color coded and the legend is located at the bottom.  If you only want to see certain types of events, click on the event type in the legend at the bottom and the calendar displays only that type.  Also, you can hover your cursor over an event and a small pop-up will give you more information about that event.  In the picture below, I was pointing at the first TALK book discussion for this fall.

As you can see from the picture, you can also check to see what non-library sponsored events are going on.  If you have a meeting coming up and you don't know when or where it is scheduled, just click "Meeting Rooms" and find all the details.

Another great feature is the search box in the upper right corner.  This can be toggled to search the website or to search the library's catalog.  You can also log in to your library account from here to check holds lists, or find other information.

As we continue to add more to the website, I will feature the changes here.  I am excited by the possibilities afforded us by this new tool and I think it will become a trove of information useful to all.

An insider's view of ebooks

The other day, information about a series of interviews conducted on the BBC came out across a library email list I belong to. The bits that caught my attention were from Victoria Barnsley who is the Chief Executive of HarperCollins UK.  Here are a few of the things she said:

• 50% of their fiction to be digital within 2 years,
  
• eBooks will replace paperbacks,
• hardbacks will improve in quality to be the books people keep.

 Hardbacks will improve in quality!  Wait...what?  You mean you think there will still be a market for ...(GASP)...paper books?  OK, while I might mean to sound a little sarcastic here, I would like to think that the opinion that I and many others have held for a while now, might also be a consideration in the publishing world.  Paper will not be going away any time soon. The ebook format lends itself well to replacement of paperbacks and fiction titles.  Paper copies will also be wanted and even preferred in some cases, and ebooks for lending will help libraries expand their collections, patrons discover new authors, and ultimately purchase more e- and regular books.

Of course, HarperCollins has also made the controversial decision to make their loanable ebooks to libraries "wear out" after 26 checkouts thereby requiring the library to purchase a "new" copy.  While I don't think it is unreasonable for publishers to make these sorts of requirements of libraries, I think 26 circulations is a pretty low number.  Apparently HarperCollins needs to improve their hardback quality now if all they think we can expect from their products is essentially a year's worth of checkouts!

eBook update for mid-July

The ebook landscape continues to change as HPL moves closer to deadlines for decisions regarding what tools to use to provide our patrons with the best reading / usability experience we can.  A recent article from Market Watch discussing 3M's new library ebook system shows just how rapidly things can change.  For what little it is worth, I can say with confidence that this is a system to watch.  OverDrive, the market leader in library-lending ebook systems should take heed.  Having seen a demonstration of the 3M system, OverDrive's way of doing things pales in comparison.

It remains to be seen if 3M can add the content, but I have no real doubt that they will.

Kindle book lending site!

I find this fascinating - someone has set up a website to borrow and lend Kindle books.  The site is called Lendle and you can read about how it works here.  The site's FAQ makes it pretty clear that what they are doing is taking advantage of the fact that Amazon allows you to share books with friends.  That sharing is pretty restrictive, but if you were to scale it up, as Lendle is trying to do, you could create a borrowing library of some substance.  In the end, however, the problem remains with this statement from the FAQ:

How many times can I lend my book?

Unfortunately, Amazon only allows each owner of a book to lend it once.

The scale will have to be quite large, in terms of copies of each title, in order to make the service work for very long.  I think the time is coming to hash out what will become of the "printed" word.  The idea the Lendle represents is what most of us recognize as at least an interlibrary loan (ILL) system, something libraries everywhere already do with paper material.

The issue seems to be whether or not people will pirate all the ebooks if the publishers relax their rules just a tad.  Will that happen?  Maybe.  Certainly, to some degree there will always be copyright violations - there always have been.  But libraries buy a lot of books.  Libraries will continue to buy a lot of books in paper format for the foreseeable future.  We want to continue to make the published word available to everyone, including those people who won't buy an ereader or will not be able to afford to buy one and the books to read on it.

There's always print-on-demand too.  How cool would that be?  Patron checks catalog...oops!  The Library doesn't own that one.  "No problem!" says the librarian, "Have a cup of coffee and I'll bring you your copy in a few minutes!"

One of my favorites...

While Halloween can be lots of fun and Christmas can fill you with good cheer (or not, depending on your stress level), I find Thanksgiving to be one of my favorite holidays.  I really resent the way it gets passed over in favor of Christmas shopping though.  In the past, you could at least count on a nod, but commercially this year everyone seems so desperate even Halloween got buried in red-and-green merchandising.  OK, enough grousing.

November at HPL was filled with great and fun activities.  December is starting off the same way.  Once again, our friend, Dave McKane, is coming to Hutchinson and HPL and leading digital photography workshops.  The first is on December 3rd from 6:30-8:30 PM and the second is December 7th from 9:15-11:15am.  Both workshops will be held in the Library's Auditorium on the second floor.  Find more information here at his site.

If you are looking for a way to support the Children's Department AND get some shopping done, we will be holding a Scholastic Book Fair from December 6th through the 12th.  Profits from this activity will go towards new materials for the Children's collection.

Time for a teaser - looking ahead to early next year, I can't wait for The 2010 Project.  This program is "...a ten-week, self-directed technology exploration program starting in early February that you can work on from home or here at the library."  The goal is to complete the ten-week, self-paced course and learn about new technology.  There are some great incentives for completion as well.  This program has been used in libraries across the country but rarely, if ever, for library patrons.  HPL's version will have a program for staff AND a program for patrons.  Read about it here and sign up for information as it becomes available here.

The Return of the Self -Check!

I know I have been using a lot of exclamation points lately, so I apologize for my reckless enthusiasm. In my defense, there has been an avalanche of things to be excited about. Not least is today's arrival of our new self-check machines. Here are a couple of pictures of the new machine over in the adult area:

We will install the second unit in the Children's Department after our big summer reading program kick-off celebration this Friday.

These machines are very easy to use with simple, touch-screen instructions. Besides checking out items, you can log in to view your account status using your PIN. Next time you are in, give them a try. Please do not hesitate to ask for help should you need it!

Technology Training Lab

As of May 12th the new lab has been officially opened!

What a great evening we had, and look at the crowd! OK, so it was a little warm, but the air conditioning problem turned out to be an easy fix and it is now cool and comfy in the new lab. Tuesday evening was our big kick-off for the new training lab space and we had 72 visitors come through. Kristine, our computer trainer, showcased the new series of classes she's designed. We all got to see the fruits of not only her labors, but the results of all the hard work put in by our great IT and maintenance departments.

I could not be happier with the results. It was a long, hard road to get to this point and many unexpected turns were taken, but we now have a facility dedicated to technology learning. What that means in practical terms is that the public computers will be open to the public all the time now - no more closings for training classes. This reduces headaches for staff and patrons alike. It means more flexibility for times when training can occur, including weekends. It offers the possibility for better hands-on training for staff as we add new tools to make the library better.

If you are interested in learning more about your computer, its software, the Internet, or free online tools check here to register for upcoming classes.

New Service - Wowbrary

The Hutchinson Public Library will offer a new service starting May 20th.  In partnership with the library service company "Wowbrary", patrons of HPL who have an email account can sign up for a weekly newsletter showing the new items added to the collection for the past week.  The Wowbrary service is provided by libraries all over the country, such as the San Antonio Public Library and the New York Public Library.  Samples of what the newsletter looks like can be found here (SAPL) and here (NYPL).

One of the best things about the service is that the newsletters directly link you to the HPL catalog.  You see something you want, click the title and you are sent to the library catalog to place a hold.  It even includes links to Amazon reviews if you want to see what other people have to say about the title.  Another great customization feature is that we will be able to provide links to upcoming library events as part of the newsletter.

If you are interested, you can read more about it here in Wowbrary's FAQ.  If you like what you see, please sign up.  I think this will be a great tool for HPL to showcase the many great new books, CDs, DVDs, etc. that we add to our collection all the time. 

Librarian Fight!

OK, so maybe that title is a shameless and no doubt lame attempt to hook you into reading this, but hey everyone does it, right?  I'm looking at you, TV News.

I am fascinated by this sort of commentary on the social aspects and problems we all encounter as new information tools appear, practically on top of each other and clamor for our attention. This is an area where I think librarians get overlooked for their contribution. Librarians are often among the first to jump in and try out a new tool and look for ways to make it useful in the information business. But as Mr. Crawford points out in his blog entry above, it is easy for anyone to be discouraged when you are told that you are "doing it wrong".

I had a similar experience myself a few weeks ago while discussing library catalogs with a fellow librarian, of all people.  As my spouse and my friends will attest, I am a BIG proponent of all sorts of technological advances (read: I love new gadgets).  I spend lots of free time exploring new software, web tools, electronic gadgets, etc. because I find it fun.  As you might guess, I try my best to stay on top of library-related technology as well, since it combines two of my favorite pursuits.

This is where the whole idea of "Ur doin' it wrong" came to me firsthand.  Essentially, I was "doin' it wrong" by contracting with a big company for HPL's catalog system rather than jumping on the open-source bandwagon.  But here is the rub:  Sometimes it is simply impractical, if not monumentally difficult to adopt a new tool, let alone try to learn every one that comes down the pike.  This was the case for HPL and our catalog system.  We have fantastic IT people - two of them - who work very hard keeping our electronic ship afloat.  However, neither of them are software engineer or web developer types, so we opted to trade the flexibility of open source for the support of outside help in the form of a company with its own software developers.  So not only did we choose to NOT try a new thing, we fell back on an "old" model tool that ... wait for it ... works for us.

So, while I urge everyone to find out about Twitter, join Facebook, or try an open source operating system, I urge you with equal fervor to keep the tools that work for you even if they are old and do not be discouraged if you've found a use for a tool for which it was never intended.

Return of the Self-Check

It seems like it has been forever, but it has only been a bit more than 12 weeks since the self-check machines nearly simultaneously gave up the ghost. When you are looking for a tool that costs anywhere from $10-18,000 per unit, you want to take your time. The main thing we wanted to do when it came to replacing them was to find reliable machines for a good price. I know that we have done the latter, since we are getting two machines for the price of one of many other brands. However, for the time being we will have to wait and see on the former. All indications point to a good solid machine with good support and repair turn-around time. Here's a drawing of what they'll look like:

They are much smaller than the old self-checks, and use a touchscreen for input. They will have a small printer attached for receipts, but beyond that they are barely larger than a 19" LCD monitor. One of the best features is that they connect directly to our new Polaris catalog system so that you can access your patron account directly from the self-check.

We will have the machines set up in the next few weeks, in time for the upcoming summer reading programs.

Polaris - A Guiding Star?

The Hutchinson Public Library is in the midst of quite a big transition. You wouldn't know it necessarily, unless you tried to put a book on hold in the past few days, or tried to renew an item on line.

What we are doing is changing what has become the very foundation for every modern library, our "automation system" or from the user's perspective I suppose, the "computer catalog". This is the computerized system that allows us to do everything from keeping track of our new book orders to cataloging, finding, and checking them out to you, our users.

Our trusty old system called "Horizon" had fallen prey to the same situation as Microsoft's Windows XP - it was no longer slated for improvement, rather it was slated for replacement. The new system we have chosen is called Polaris. Polaris offers many searching improvements and a strong staff-use component and is backed by a company committed to serving public libraries specifically.

We hope that you will like the new Polaris system. I hope you will bear with us while we switch over. After March 5th, please ask any of our staff members for a "tour" of the new system or just give it a try, Polaris is quite user friendly!