Blogs for Elk Point, Alberta
It seems simple enough: you get to the right age, you go to school a teacher coaches you through phonics, or memorization, or whatever method happens to be in fashion at the time, and by the time you graduate you are a fully literate person. Except, that doesn’t always happen. Take my younger sister for example. When she started school, some bright young thing with a freshly polished ed. Degree began teaching at our school. She promoted (... More...
Friday January 20, 2012 09:08AM - 0 Comment(s)
Partnerships! Partnerships! Partnerships!
Know Your Community
Developing partnerships to ... More...
Thursday December 15, 2011 09:24AM - 0 Comment(s)
Get Facts Fast: Ready Reference.
Just when it looks like providing reference is going the way of the dodo due to lack of use, I see an sudden influx of questions coming through Ask A Question, the online reference service sponsored by The Alberta Library (TAL). Before the time of online reference services, there was the humble librarian: eager and willing to answer all your inscrutable questions (or perhaps not so eager and willing, hence the ... More...
Monday November 07, 2011 09:12AM - 0 Comment(s)
The Return of the Blurb
Just as the major TV networks are busy resurrecting your favorite television series from hiatus, so we at Northern Lights are brushing the dust of the Blurb and starting to create new “episodes.” We are returning to the series on Library Service Responses, the 18 item list of “what a library does for, or offers to the public in an effort to meet a set of well-defined community needs” (Nelson, 46). ... More...
Friday October 21, 2011 11:46AM - 0 Comment(s)
Sharing is a good thing. From the time we enter kindergarten, we are evaluated on how well we play with others and how well we share. The meaning is simple: allowing others to enjoy something that we own or have created. In the world of fine arts, the bigger and broader the audience we share with, the better; think blockbuster movies, best-sellers and Twitter followers measured in the millions.
When we create something, and are proud of the a... More...
Friday June 03, 2011 03:44PM - 0 Comment(s)
Express Creativity: Create Content
Those who have heard me give the training on Strategic Planning for Results may remember hearing me refer to this Library Service Response as the “dangerous one.” The reason for this is because Expressing Creativity: Create and Share Content can be one of the biggest money drains on often already limited financial resources. Also, which activities a library chooses to host may not actually meet the... More...
Friday May 20, 2011 10:29AM - 0 Comment(s)
When I first came out to Elk Point, I began a conversation about the town: “I presume there are elk in Elk Point.” When I received a negative response I was a little confounded, but continued: “Is there at least a point?” I was informed that an early settler to the area liked the spot as it reminded him of where he had come from, and so named it after his hometown. I liked that idea.
Moving to a small town where everyo... More...
Thursday May 05, 2011 11:09AM - 0 Comment(s)
Discover Your Roots: Genealogy
The other day I received an AAQ request for a family tree for a specific person, and I wasn’t able to do it. Unless the person is famous and historians have already traced their roots, local library staff cannot be expected to provide this type of information: it requires too much research, often months. It also requires dedication and access to a wide variety of resources. Tracing your own family tree tw... More...
Wednesday April 27, 2011 02:48PM - 0 Comment(s)
Create Young Readers: Early Literacy
Very rarely will you find a public library that doesn’t have some sort of early literacy program offered to young ones who squirm around on carpets, interrupt with a story of their own, or burst into tears for seemingly no reason at all. This is the bread and butter of public libraries, the most obvious place to start: get them reading when they’re young. We’ve got the books, the space, th... More...
Thursday April 14, 2011 03:07PM - 0 Comment(s)
Connect to the Online World: Part 2
Yesterday I heard a radio commentator sounding off on the fact that in Canada the large internet service providers, like Bell and Rogers, are allowed to meter internet usage and charge for overages (also referred to as Usage Based Billing). While this decision by the CRTC (Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission) has come under public and political assault, and is currently under review to r... More...
Monday March 28, 2011 02:49PM - 0 Comment(s)
