Train Your Brain at the Mary Livermore Library

Libraries will always fit into that "third place" category for many people; first and second typically being home and work respectively. Third is somewhere like the bar or the gym or another favorite "other place to be." For many students the third place must be the university library, but a lot of people choose to make the place they enjoy spending their time the Library.
Typically, the Library is known to welcome self-study or group study; but there is another mode of self-improvement going on at the Mary Livermore Library that motivates students, staff and community member's alike to reach outside of the normal comfort zone and learn about something entirely new!
This program is called Train Your Brain and it is a new program provided by the myself, the instructional services librarian at the Mary Livermore Library of UNCP. My main job is to provide classroom instruction to classes to show them how to use the Library's resources. Other times I am allowed to be really creative and do something like this! So far the Train Your Brain program has had two GRE Preparation instruction sessions attended by UNCP students, staff and community members, the purpose of the one hour evening session was to provide basic information about preparing for the GRE, how to go about registering, study tips and introduction to the free resources available.
The feedback was excellent and the most frequent suggestion for improvement was to "have more like this." So I listened and there will be another Train Your Brain session on April 14 to recognize national "Money Smart Week," for which the topic will be educating people about investment resources such as titles by popular investment experts such as Suze Orman, exploring free government savings website guides, free online calculators and budgeting tools, plus introduction to free NC Live databases like the Morningstar Mutual Fund Database.
For the installment following that, we will have a series in May that covers basic computer training. There will be two rounds of Introduction to the Internet, Introduction to Microsoft Word and Introduction to Microsoft Excel. This series will begin in May, when most of our UNCP students are off campus, but who knows? Maybe the community will come visit us in full force? I certainly hope to see you there!

Great Literary Figures Impressions of Newspaper Reporting

Did you know that Emily Dickinson read newspapers from all over the world everyday? She sometimes responded to the topics she read about in her poems. She was looking for higher meaning in the news, which I think many of us can related to.
Dr. Mark Canada delivered a presentation at the Mary Livermore Library today that blew me away. He was presenting on his new publication titled: Literature and Journalism in Antebellum America: Thoreau, Stowe, and Their Contemporaries Respond to the Rise of the Commercial Press, To be released on April 12, 2011.
Nathaniel Hawthorne was also a "news junkie." Poe, Thoreau, Melville, all writers I enjoy, had strong love/hate feelings about the daily papers and the sensationalism of news. Dr. Canada told us a lot about this and I plan to read his book to find out more. There was no television at this time, so these great literary figures did not have the opportunity to be completely outside of society by not watching television, (like myself)-- but I question if they would watch television. Probably not! I'm giving myself a huge compliment here, but I tend to believe that Henry David Thoreau would not be watching "reality TV." I suspect he would be a rabid NPR listener!
James Fennimore Cooper sued newspapers over controversies. Herman Melville had a critique of newspapers within his great novel Moby Dick. Mark Twain and Edgar Allen Poe used news (such as hoaxes) to create fiction and science fiction.
What is the importance of news and news reporting then and today? How does this affect our literature and our society? Is there a zeitgeist related to new methods of social networking and will this bring in a new age of literature? I'm sure it will, but I would like to see the "science fiction" of it to know what it means to us.
Dr. Canada did address "What's Next" for journalism, I feel that the story is writing itself as we hold on to every gesture of Newt Gingrich as if it were really worth the time.

Disaster Planning in Literature

In Dr. Barbee's Organizational Behavior class we have discussed some of the ways that societies attempt to prevent, prepare for and contend with disasters. Ernest Hemingway had been witness to many traumatic scenes in his time as a war reporter in the First and Second World War and in the Spanish Civil War.
Hemingway's writing and adventure have always appealed to me, but this story in particular has made me wonder what Hemingway's idea of emergency preparedness was. This being a work of fiction, he is likely using the character to allude to many notions, I am thinking Hemingway feels that adventure leads to many unpredictable events, some tragic. His character seems to not have used good judgment on this particular incident, but does that show that he did not plan well on the whole?
The protagonist is dying due to a thorn scratch that he got on his knee that in the course of several weeks of hunting in Africa turned gangrenous and (spoiler alert!!) killed him.
In his last day he is reminiscing and speaking with his life partner about various aspects of "why did this happen to me?" They are at once speaking literally and figuratively, which appeals to me because I am somewhat philosophical and also interested in emergency preparedness.
Summarily- if the main character and his life partner/travel and hunting companion were truly prepared for an African adventure they would know to keep a wound such as this clean. He admitted that his thorn prick did not seem worth bothering much over when it happened, but it is the straw that broke the camel’s back. If they were taking all proper precautions they would have attended to this injury at the first. But as we see in the story he and his partner are serious alcoholics that make a lot of risky decisions and stumble around harming themselves and others. In planning for organizations and in personal decision making, you want the people who are in charge of travel plans, strategic plans and especially emergency plans to be someone who pays due attention to detail, such as treating a small wound and protecting it from infection.
This measure of planning and prevention is entirely necessary in all decision making and definitely needs to be a part of organizational emergency preparedness. Organizations that do not make long-term, strategic decisions are headed for inevitable decline. Hopefully decision makers will look at the all possibilities and look at the big picture when making decisions. Otherwise they could experience a fate such as the man in Hemingway's story dying early from a thorn puncture.

http://books.google.com/books?id=QjgiXnMHHtIC&lpg=PP1&pg=PA23#v=onepage&q&f=false

Dostoevsky and Kafka, friend of the people

Far from being an actual public servant, each of these famous literary figures have played some role in the zeitgeist of the working man. Dostoevsky and Kafka (Russian and Czech respectively) were the sons of upper middle class parents who were able to provide a basic education, which puts them each in a position to be hard-working middle class themselves.
The confused and tortured lives of these proletariat have always intrigued me, in addition to being existentialist fiction writers, they have a penchant to look out for the little guy. The primary contributions and explanations I have are:

1.) Dostoevsky's novella "Notes From the Underground" seems to grasp public servitude and the possible misanthropic feelings or malaise that would accompany retirement. He hit the nail on the head for me when I was 20 years old or so and working only part-time in a public library.

2.) As an insurance worker, Kafka did advocate for workers in some capacity. He is known to be the inventor of the contemporary hard hat, used on construction sites today.

I don't know of any other great authors who have made any impact to the workers of the world, I haven't been able to stomach Ayn Rand, but I get the idea that she has something to say about the political economy... There is a lot of reading left for me to do. Suggestions are appreciated!

Self-Reflection follow-up: feedback results

I chose to execute a feedback form instead of conducting 10 personal interviews or email requests. I sent the question out at 9p.m. last night and by 12noon today I had nine results, which is enough for me! They are quality responses to this very touchy subject.
I am bold enough to post the results here for your perusal, I'm putting it all out there! As if it really makes a difference, these are obviously the 9 nicest people I've worked with.

9 responses

Summary

What is Melanie like at her best?
She exhibits a postive can do attitude that brings up others around her.Energized, creative, fun to be around. Cheerful and energetic. Fresh, original, energetic. Melanie is very outgoing and personable. She is a good person to work with here at the Mary Livermore Library. She is thoughtful and attentive. She takes charge when needed.Melanie is very entusiastic. She always tries to assist patrons in whatever she in finding needed information. Fun. Customer comes first mentality. Always upbeat. She is enthusiastic and fun to work with

What are Melanie's strengths?
She is exceptionally service orientated and a valued team member.Practicality, creative thinking, personability, engaging. Enthusiasm!Her energy, her enthusiasm. Good communication skills Tries to get students to understand content Goes the "extra mile" to assist library patrons (including going with them to the stacks to locate materials)organization and thoughtfulness. Her enthusiasm for her work, her willingness to help people. Fantastic sense of humor. Very driven to help the customer. Open -minded. Willing to learn new things and is willing to ask for help if needed. She doesn't seem afraid to ...

How does Melanie communicate when at her best?
She communicates best when she is excited and motivated which is most of the time.Well, thoroughly Quickly...:)When she had an instructional tool, like I hand out or a brochure to go over She gives instant feedback. Slowly. Melanie has a tendency to talk too fast occasionally.By sending emails, by calling in person and telling you what she is doing.She is very approachable and extends help. Doesn't wait for questions at the reference desk, seeks out students to help - very proactive. She asks questions if she doesn't understand something

How does Melanie seize new opportunities and ideas when at her best?
She is very willing to try new things. In our library her outreach efforts would be the best example. Conciously and deliberately She is always looking for opportunities to connect the Library with the students and the community at large.She jumps at the chance to network and share information I can't answer this question. She begins new endeavors and plans for them. She asks for the opinions and critiques of coworkers.She goes forward, reaching out to be the best she can be.Is open to new ideas but a bit reluctant to dive into new technologies.She tries it out and shares with others how it wen...

When faced with adversity, how can you expect Melanie to react?
She is very calm and focused. She handles stress well.with determination and a smile. Usually calm if she feels confident - sometimes harried, but that happens to us all from time to time.Be quiet at first,Don't know.I think she will rise to the challenge.I expect Melanie to look at her situation and see how she can move forward to make things better in the long run.Will always offer options and new ways to solve problems. Very positive.

Given a problem-solving challenge, will Melanie perform to a level that benefits the organization?
Absolutely.Yes. I believe so. She has only been here since summer, but from what I have seen, she is willing to analyze problems and come up with solutions and is accepting of the solutions of others.Yes I think that Melanie values the importance of libraries and will do what it takes to make sure the organization as a whole succeeds.yes. If needed she will ask for assistance.I think Melanie would perform at a level that benefits the organization.Yes, she is willing to work with others and is very open to new ideas and ways to solve issues.

Can Melanie be relied on?
Consistently Absolutely. Yes.Yes Yes.Yes Melanie is very reliable. Yes. yes

How does Melanie work with and help others when at her best?
She is patient and upbeat She is always willing to help She is a team player. She doesn't feel that she has to be in the limelight. I like that about her.She brings knowledge and energy to projects From what I've observed, Melanie works closely with students to make certain that they succeed. She also works closely with faculty to ensure that they get the bibliographic instruction classes that they request. Melanie works well with others.She offers her opinions and listens to what other have to say.She takes time to assess a situation and will then work through things. She will work with people ...

Is Melanie a team player?
Absolutely. We miss her!Yes See above, but yes. I really like the look of this survey. I need you to show me how you created the banner. Hope this helps. Michael.Yes I believe so.Yes Yes, Melanie is willing to help others on the team Yes, with good directions given. yes

Library Zombie Policy

I had a long, feverish illness last week that allowed me to have a dream that addresses a policy that most libraries have not yet covered. With the Library Bill of Rights under consideration (see ALA: http://www.ala.org/ala/issuesadvocacy/intfreedom/librarybill/index.cfm)Namely, Part I Books and other library resources should be provided for the interest, information, and enlightenment of all people of the community the library serves... And Part III A person’s right to use a library should not be denied or abridged because of origin, age, background, or views.
I'm talking about zombies here, but you get the idea. Probably because I felt terrible myself and was too ill to go to work for 3 days I felt some compassion for a person who has fallen victim to the flu or even a brain altering craving for human flesh, either way, the librarian must serve the community and the information needs therein.
Probably because I loved Zombieland, I created some rules and policies of my own, in my dream. Any patron will need to stand 3 feet away from the librarian during the reference interview. If the person, zombie or not steps toward the librarian, the librarian stops, raises her hand and announces that the boundary is being crossed. If the patron persists in the invasion of space, then a warning dart is administered. If the patron is clearly out of control, AKA a Zombie, then there is a gruesome procedure required. I will leave this to the policy manual writers for detailing, but let's just say that Game-Over Graham probably addresses this in his book "The Black-belt Librarian."
Feel free to use this policy, or a version of it in your next revision of a library policy manual. I hope you don't need it, but you never know.

Reflecting on Self-Assessment

In the Organizational Behavior class I am taking right now, we are talking a lot about "reflection." Using reflection to gauge the success or shortcomings of an event, performance or other job related activity is very helpful to coming to the best possible outcome. We have studied this in a case study of a woman who was dealing with some really large problems in the NYC juvenile justice system. I have also experienced this in real life. Of course, when you have a problem, mulling it over is a great way to work out the kinks. Even if the work issue isn't a "problem" per se, reflecting is a great way to ensure the best outcome in a scenario, to minimize risks and to avoid "decision debacles" as it is phrased in our textbook.
I have been using reflection or journaling for a long time now, I don't know that I would have made it out of my teens without it. Using self-reflection to monitor growth and changes in behavior or environment is a great way to get ideas out and to come back to look at them later. Professional reflection is kind of new to me, but I realize that we all practice it everyday, when you consult with a colleague, when you ask for the advice of a mentor-figure, when you call your mom on the phone and run a work-scenario by her for an outside opinion.
Of course all of these are biased in their own way and it is really difficult to push away the bias that we have in ourselves and that held by the others around us. What we have read about in our text book, "Managing Human Behavior in Non-Profit Organizations by Denhardt, Denhardt and Aristigueta is that to be a productive civil servant, especially a leader, one needs to be self-reflective everyday and know ourselves well enough to be a good judge of how our reactions effect others, how we are perceived and we perceive ourselves.
To begin on this self-reflective journey, in the second chapter of our book, we completed several personal assessments, the results of which can be interpreted and used in various ways to figure out what we need to know about ourselves, so we better understand our roles in our organizations. Here is a list of the 5 different assessments we took:

* Reddin's Personal Values Inventory
* Fundamental Interpersonal Relations Orientation (FIRO)- Behavior
* Locus of Control
* Career Orientation Inventory
* Emotional Intelligence



These are all related to our wants and needs in our careers and personal lives. I always knew that I was more of a nurturer, but these quizzes have really revealed to me that I am not a hard-nosed manager type, which is just fine with me, that is not why I'm enrolled in the MPA program. In fact, it always amazes me that power-hungry people want to run a library, there doesn't seem to be very much gratification in that, but perhaps it is satisfying to push around book worms? I digress.
A lot of these outcomes are open to some interpretation, but they are based in scientific psychological methods, so they should be a fairly useful guide. Many people do rely on this self-reflective information for decision-making.
Here is my one-line summary for each test:

* I am human oriented, rather than power, achievement, industry or financially oriented.
* For FIRO, I scored a 14 for wanting to be included, I scored a 2 for wanting control, I scored an 11 for wanting affection. There you have it!
* I have an internal locus of control, meaning if I did not do well on an exam I do not say "the poor grade on the exam was the result of the teacher not explaining the material." I would fully take responsibility for my grade.
* Career Orientation: Highest score in SV and EC.
* I stay in control when under attack.


This is great stuff, but it is a little biased because it is my own self-reflection. The really neat thing about this class is that our first big assignment is to send a survey to our current and former colleagues to ask them what they think about the same aspects of our personalities. Dr. Barbee is having us ask the questions in a "positivist" manner, but you never know what kind of responses we will get?
I'm very interested to see the results! Though I haven't refined the quiz yet, I want to keep it short and sweet, but it may be too short. Here are the questions that I will post to the blackboard site to see if my classmates can help me work out the questions.

The purpose of this brief, six question, survey of my professional colleagues is to compliment a self-assessment study for a course in the UNC Pembroke Master of Public Administration Program titled "Organizational Behavior."
If you know of any other colleagues that can speak to the questions below, do not hesitate to send this survey to them.
Please try to remain anonymous, if possible; but please also try to be as candid as possible, providing detail. Accuracy is more important to the results than anonymity.

1. What is Melanie like at her best?
2. What are Melanie's strengths?
3. When faced with adversity, how can you expect Melanie to react?
4. Given a problem-solving challenge, will Melanie perform to a level that benefits the organization?
5. Can Melanie be relied on?
6. Is Melanie a team-player?

I will report in on another journal entry when I get some survey results in and begin writing my self-reflective paper!