NSW Readers Advisory Working Group meeting minutes
28 May 2010,Bowral Library.
10.30 am - 12.30 pm 1. Attendees:
- Fay Gilliver (Bankstown)
- Maureen Brackell (Lithgow)
- Ken Klippel (Marrickville)
- Jenn Martin (Auburn)
- Ellen Forsyth (SLNSW)
- Helen Cowen (Wingecarribee)
- Jane Broadbere (Mosman)
- Virginia Ghezzi (Camden)
- Therese Scott (Ashfield)
- Amy Heap (Wagga)
- Melissa Shriever (Picton)
- Kim Ryan (Picton)
- Debra Nettle (Nowra)
- Cher Murphy (Nowra)
2. Apologies:
- Vassiliki Veros-Elliot (City of Sydney)
- Cathy Johnston (Grafton)
- Jenny Nicholson (Kogarah)
- Sue Leverington (Port Stephens)
- Carolyn Burke (Fairfield)
- Jane Greville (Ryde)
3. Reading challenges Online Reading challenges on the Readers Advisory wiki are going well. Remember that it’s not too late to start reading something outside your comfort zone for each month of the year – you can start late without having to back read – just start filling out your list on the wiki page from whatever month you start from. Also, remember that it’s not essential that you actually finish what you are reading, even by dipping in and trying something you are broadening your reading experience!
Library Staff need to join the Readers Advisory wiki and apply to be a writer to participate. Once you are a writer, you can contribute to this page, where you update your own reading list: http://readersadvisory.wikifoundry.com/page/2010+Librarian%27s+Reading+Challenge.
Please remember that there is a space for commenting at the bottom of the page, in the forum section (please don’t comment directly in the challenge list).
Thinking about how to evaluate the Reading Challenges: has this exercise changed how we approach Readers Advisory in our Libraries? Forward Looking: How can we shape a Reading Challenge for next year to encourage more professional development for Library Staff (this will be at the next meeting in Auburn in September)
4. Bookbinge - the merchandise
The RSIG group is creating and selling tshirts on Redbubble (http://www.redbubble.com/people/nswrisg/t-shirts/). RSIG makes no profit from tshirts. They are reasonably prices, and are print on demand – you can select your own style, colour, size etc – the site lets you build your own t-shirt. Register on the site to get 10% off. If someone has a brilliant idea for a design, email Cathy at catherine.johnston[at]clarence.nsw.gov.au 5. Stock quality health check
- a research project
There is potential for NSW libraries to start a Fiction stock quality health check research project in the near future. A similar project was started 5 years ago in the UK by Opening the Book (Rachel Van Riel). The UK project explored the question of how to analyse the breadth and depth of library fiction collections, trialing a number of methodologies and testing them in UK libraries. An Australian project would probably need to work slightly differently, as our reader profile is different – it may be that we have less literary fiction and more Australian fiction in our collections.
A NSW stock quality health check project has been approved by the NSW State Library research committee. It would be a large scale collaborative research project and would need people across libraries in NSW to contribute. Ellen recommends that it would be an excellent project for the RA group to become involved in – as it is a great practical application of the kind of work that the group is already doing. Title checking may be able to be automated using Libraries Australia, but someone still needs to come up with the list of books or genres and types of fiction that will be used as a guide.
The State Library is still looking at options for how to undertake the project. We can use UK program, but would need to pay for analysis of results, which is not ideal. Alternatively, staff from across NSW libraries could be recruited to help brainstorm and select categories to test, and titles within these categories. If we did this, we would also need to build our own formula, based on our categories. Hopefully this project will take place in the next financial year (2010-2011). When more is known there will be an email, probably on PLN, but specific people may also be targeted. Will probably be looking for a representative cross section of NSW public libraries to contribute (rural, multicultural etc.)
What are the benefits for local libraries and for the RA group? One outcome will be hard data that lets libraries decide how much movement, growth and adjustment they need to make to their Fiction collections. This will be useful for collection development staff and for strategic and longer term planning for Readers Advisory services and programs in individual libraries.
6. R U Game online 2010: Readers advisory work and games.
How to participate in the 24 June seminar – including a demonstration by Ellen Forsyth.
There is a Gaming and Libraries seminar at State Library on 23rd June. The next day, on the 24th of June there is an online version of the seminar being held in World of Warcraft. The seminar will be taking place through a chat room within the WoW game and there will be groundrules for the day - because this will be a new experience for the presenters as well.
The aim of the online seminar is to see if this is an environment we would consider using for other library conferences and events etc. If you are feeling overwhelmed by the gaming aspect of the conference, just consider WoW an online environment which provides a particularly useful functionality (although you might actually find it fun as well!).
Hopefully the seminar will begin an ongoing discussion of RA possibilities within this type of online environment.
If any problems on the day, or leading up to the seminar, please email ellen forsyth at her gmail address: ellenforsyth[at]gmail.com.
Ellen has prepared step by step instructions for what you have to do to set up and prepare for the online seminar. They can be found at http://www.slideshare.net/ellenforsyth/r-u-game-online-2010-getting-ready.
Brief Summary:
If you would like to attend the online seminar, you will need to pay a small registration fee (about US$34) and will have to do some pre-seminar preparation.
Set up a Battlenet account, subscribe to WoW for one month (this will cost about $34. If you register for the seminar, you can write it off as a tax deduction).
Download software or find a local Internet cafe that has the latest WoW software – you can still register on your own computer and then go to an internet cafe to actually play, but make sure you test beforehand.
Saurfang – lots of servers so it will be easy to all be on the same team.
Join a particular guild – all seminar attendees need to join this guild in order to all be able to be present in the same chat space as a closed group.
Let Ellen know when you are online and you can join the guild – ‘Where is the Library’
After registering and making sure you have access to the software, set up a new toon.
The fastest way to start playing WoW is to select ‘human’ as a race (humans are part of the Alliance) – Starting as a human allows you to start playing in a place that offers different means of travel and experience. Note: if you are testing in advance, you can play until you reach the location of the seminar, and then log off - then you will not need to travel at all on the day of the conference – you will be in the right location and ready to go.
There are maps to help you find your way. On the day (or beforehand), you need to make your way to Stormwind Keep. Practice beforehand, just in case you get lost!
7. Any follow up from the Readers advisory seminar in March
Good feedback received this year. Ideas for next year’s seminar? Fantasy has been proposed. If you have any other suggestions, please email them to Ellen and she will pass them on to the steering committee.
8. Wiki membership and writers - who and where
Library Staff are encouraged to join the Readers Advisory wiki. If you apply to be a writer, you can contribute to the wiki. http://readersadvisory.wikifoundry.com/
9. An update on Readers Advisory for Home Library Service
- a collaboration
This project is a collaboration with the Home Library Service Working Group. RA and Home Library Service staff reviewed 30 Libraries Home Library Service Selection Profiles – noted that they didn’t address Appeal Characteristics. Have created an interview sheet to be used with homebound customers, followed by a summary sheet to be used by Library Staff. A group of homebound librarians have been collaborating with Ellen on these documents via Google Docs following an in person brainstorming session in which they decided what needed to be asked when meeting new homebound customers. The interview sheet is still to be tested in the field by Home Library Service staff. Has fairly clear questions and prioritised. Longer than an A4 sheet, but has check boxes and is designed to be easy to use and refer to. A lot of it is prompts used if they tell you something that you would like further information on.
Ultimately, this doc will be attached to the RA wiki, but will be in transition for a while (and may not suit everyone). But will hopefully save work for people across the state and improve the service we provide to homebound customers. 10. Preliminary work for strategic planning for 2011?
What do you like about the work being done by the readers advisory group? Are there gaps?
Staff at the Meeting put their ideas down on post-it notes and we broke them down into the following main areas.
Ideas for Collection Development; Collaboration, Support, and Networking – Ideas for Collaborative projects.
More Readers Advisory Training would be useful – especially a refresher for those who have done the Rewarding Reading program. Learning how to inspire other people, ontraining your own staff, gaining support in your own library and getting other people to come on board.
Finding new ways to promote reading; Professional Development opportunities; Children’s and YA RA; RA Resources; Getting staff to talk and think about Readers Advisory and Reading every day.
New Approaches to RA (from now on this will be a standing RA Meeting agenda item).
Tips on getting visiting authors – There’s already a wiki page but perhaps organize someone to speak at the next meeting?
Potential for collaboration with other State groups – eg ACT – Ellen will email Janice Biggens (spelt?) and ask if ACT wants to collaborate with us.
Are there key issues that people want on the Agenda for the next meeting? If so, please email to Jenn Martin at jenn.martin[at]auburn.nsw.gov.au
11. Other business
Planning for Book Clubs – Starting Book Clubs – is there a list of what libraries are running what type of book club?
We can set up a list of which libraries offer what sort of book group on the Wiki and ask staff to update their own libraries details. The wiki page could contain a template for collecting information about who runs the book clubs, and what reading model is used. Would be useful for Libraries wanting to start book clubs who want to see what models are working nearby, in similar suburbs eg. Multicultural Libraries etc.
12. Round the room on what everyone is reading.
- Ellen – New Scientist
- Amy – Purple Hibiscis
- Kim – Poisonwood Bible (Book group choice, and a reread)
- Melissa – The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
- Virginia – If This is a Man by Primo Levi
- Man’s Search for Meaning – Viktor Frankl
- Maureen - Letters of Patrick Leigh Fermor (also writes travel books)
- Ken - Picture of Dorian Grey by Oscar Wilde
- Jane – Lose your Middle Aged Middle
- Too Much Money by Dominick Dunn
- Debra – The Map of Love (travel memoir about Egypt?)
- Fay – Janet Oke In Time for Christmas
- Therese – The Hand that First Held mine by Maggie OFarrell
- The Danger Game by Kalinda Ashton
- Jenn – Under Heaven by Guy Gavriel Kay and Blackout by Connie Willis
- Helen – the Third Stieg Larsson and Major Pettigrew’s Last Stand by Helen Simonson.
Meeting dates for later in the year:
Thursday, 9th September, Auburn Library – 10am-12pm