COUNCIL ON LIBRARY/MEDIA TECHNICIANS

1999 Annual Conference Report
Council on Library/Media Technicians (COLT)
(Reported by Joyce Nielsen, Public Relations Chair)

STANDING AT THE CROSSROADS
April 7-10, 1999 -- Detroit, Michigan

If you missed the 1999 Annual Conference of the Council on Library/Media Technicians (COLT), you missed some really good programs. Detroit in April was a great place to meet, especially with Canada south across the river. (Just look at detailed map of Detroit and Windsor if you want to see why this is so.)

Wednesday, April 7, the Executive Board met, accepting minutes of meetings and receiving reports from various officers and committees. This information was summarized for the members in the Business Meeting on Friday. The traditional Pre-Conference Reception Wednesday evening gave everyone a chance to meet friends, both new and old.

What happens outside the formal programs is what makes conferences memorable! Our lunches and the Awards Banquet were held on the top floor of the hotel with a spectacular view of Detroit and Windsor all around below us. The meals were also excellent. Eating in Greektown, riding the People Mover, seeing the ACRL exhibits, visiting the casino in Windsor, going on the tours in Detroit and in Canada-- these are the fun things. (A couple of our group actually left the casino with more cash than when they came in!)

KEYNOTE ADDRESS
Dr. Maurice Wheeler gave Thursday's keynote speech, "Meeting 21st Century Challenges: Professional Development for Library Support Staff." Dr. Wheeler, who just recently became Director of the Detroit Public Library, spoke about the value of staff development that "provides not only the necessary orientation and training, but also prepares staff for greater challenges and new responsibilities."

"As libraries are re-shaping their missions, so must each staff member recognize the importance of professional development. Staff development is a two-sided coin. On one side is the library organization; on the other, the individual. Each side bears some responsibility for staff development and training.

"Each staff member must assume ultimate responsibility for his or her professional development and growth. This means that each of us must determine what our training and development needs are and then identify those opportunities."

Dr Wheeler gave some practical advice for support staff who have "resistant" administrations. "Explain your interest and desire to contribute to the library's mission. Gather information from other libraries with solid development programs and share it. Look at creative collaborations with other organizations, which may expand your opportunities. "Administratively, we must shape organizations that value, encourage and support lifelong learning. Frequently we - support staff, librarians, administrators - are waiting passively for someone else to determine our development and training needs. We must continually identify and seek out opportunities to make ourselves better. No one else can do this for us."

Dr. Wheeler's message is as important to other library administrators as it is to staff. You can find the full text of his speech on the COLT homepage to share with your library supervisors: http://colt.ucr.edu/

CERTIFICATION: PRESENT[ING] POSSIBILITIES
Dorothy Morgan, of the Liverpool Public Library in New York, presented an overview of the movement to certify library support staff. She has become a national authority on staff certification through her work with various library related organizations. Morgan is a member of the American Library Association and its Support Staff Interest Roundtable and is Chair of their Task Force on Career Ladders. In addition to being a member of the New York Library Association and the New York State Library Assistants' Association, she is the Northeast Regional Director for the Council on Library/Media Technicians and also the Vice-Chair of COLT's Certification Committee.

Morgan makes the story of how the New York State Library Assistants' Association (NYSE) developed their Certificate of Achievement into an exciting narrative. She helps us all understand what kinds of credentials are presently available and why more will be available in the future.

Y2K
James Johnson, of the Wayne State University Computer Service, gave a funny, informative talk about the infamous year 2000 computer bug. Yes, it's real: his university is spending two and a half million dollars to correct the problem on their campus. No, it won't cause great, world- wide catastrophe: much of the world is not computerized, and it can effect only computer applications that need to deal with dates. "The media has found a public interest. Politicians have picked up on it." Johnson pointed out that technology use does not grow uniformly or always rapidly. "It took thirty years for the overhead projector to move from the bowling alley into the classroom."

Major computer users are taking care of their problems. Banking, one of the first to start work on it, will be in good shape. Power companies, because of the power-sharing grid and the reduced use of power by industry during the holiday, will be fine, but power surges could be very real local problems. Everyone needs to be prudent, just as they would if a storm were predicted for their area. It is wide- spread panic behavior that could cause trouble. "Contingency plans are needed since, no matter what preparations are made, something will go wrong."

RESUME WRITING
Bryan Rawlings is a Senior Human Resource Specialist at the American Association of Retired Persons with special emphasis on career development. His presentation provided information on writing resumes. He has 14 years of experience in the Human Resource arena, which have been focused in the areas of employment counseling, training, and development.

NEWSLETTER GUMBO
Missy Anderson of the Medical University of South Carolina gave a very informative recipe for a great newsletter. A newsletter gives printed "information about events and happenings related to a specific group or topic. It is often viewed as the most versatile of all print media." When you start a newsletter you need to know just what you intend it to do. Libraries need both internal newsletters for their own employees and external ones for their customers. These need to be different publications to do the best job.

Anderson listed these practical start-up suggestions:

• Get support of your administration: explain the reasons for doing your newsletter.
• Organize a small staff; a newsletter helps build teamwork.
• Establish the goal of the newsletter.
• Determine who your audience is and how you will distribute the newsletter to them.
• Decide on computer/software and copying means for production.
• Determine the size; 4-6 pages at first.
• Agree on content; establish features.
• Select a title that is consistent with your goal and audience.

Most newer computer word processing programs include templates that make formatting a newsletter fairly easy. Anderson demonstrated the Word template that she uses, and it really did appear to do a great looking job easily. Of course, someone still needs to do the articles and drawings. But, following Anderson's advice, you will have recruited a few talented staff members to help you.

Her general design tips suggest balance, proportion, sequence, emphasis, and unity. For children's newsletters she adds some other tips that would probably be good ideas for any newsletter: make it lively, use short articles, add cartoons and clip-art, include puzzles (with answers on the back page or in the next issue). These all sound like great ingredients for anybody's newsletter!

HISTORY OF PARAPROFESSIONAL ORGANIZATIONS (Reported by Geri Nynas)
As an instructor in a new AAS Degree program for Library/Information Technology, I have to admit I am more interested in the future of paraprofessionals than in their past, but I know that in order to effectively plan for the future we must know where we came from. It was for this reason and the fact that I wanted to get to know Linda Owen after reading her posts on LIBSUP-L for two years that I attended her presentation.

I met Linda Owen while registering for the conference and immediately told her how much I enjoy LIBSUP-L and her posts. She told me she felt like she was the 'kiss of death' on the listserv lately because every time she posted a response, the discussion died. I thought about that and decided that if it is true the real reason the discussion dies is because everyone recognizes she is a person of intelligence and authority, so what more do you need to add? She proved what an authority she is again in her presentation.

Owen outlined the history of the COLT organization as it traces its roots back 32 years when it was developed to promote recognition and acceptance of library employees. Paraprofessional organizations have increased in number to 46+ today organized to meet the needs of the members who are in a profession which is undergoing constant change. Owen went on to discuss these changes including the fact that there are fewer and fewer librarians more paraprofessionals. She outlined the changes in duties and responsibilities with boundaries diminishing between the librarians and the support staff, increased responsibilities and new technologies.

Thirty years ago duties were primarily clerical and now paraprofessionals are moving into all aspects of librarianship including management. They have also moved from the back lines to the front lines and are often found in positions with direct patron contact and assistance. Owen emphasized the changes in how paraprofessional staff receives training now compared to in the past. From in-house training of the past to more and more opportunities and demands for continual training. Education now comes from several sources today ranging from in-house, off-site, and within associations.

Owen went on to review the studies of support staff from the early 90's. The studies ranged from the American Library Association surveys, focus groups to the California Library Association study of 41 paraprofessional organizations from 17 states. The California study was unique in that it asked people why they joined an organization. Their response was often that they wanted to participate in decision making in the areas of literacy, freedom of information, wage parity and library funding. All of the studies had two common elements that they recognized as being of concern to paraprofessional organizations: Education/Continuing Education and Recognition/Respect.

Owen continued by describing the types of organizations. Ranging from the national level organizations such as COLT with affiliation with ALA to independent state organizations and round tables. The concerns of all of these organizations again centers on education and recognition which has sometimes lead to development of certificate of achievement programs in some states to the movement for national certification.

Owen stressed that the benefits of joining an organization are many. Individual benefits such as the opportunity to learn, to contribute and to network with others and organizational benefits derived from having a source of new ideas and perspectives. The library always benefits because the paraprofessional brings new skills, enhanced leadership ability and an expanded view of libraries because of their participation in these organizations.

Owen concluded with her own two cents worth which was that paraprofessional organizations have been formed because of need, and they have become a pro-active response to change that benefits individuals, libraries, and the associations.

I am glad to have had the opportunity to participate in Linda Owen's presentation. I know it has given me an opportunity to learn from our past and given me an expanded view of library support staff and their role in today's libraries.

OH NO, NOT TODAY! TROUBLESHOOTING YOUR PC
Everyone who uses a computer could use the advice of Robbie Weaver, Medical University of South Carolina, when things won't work right. Some of his reminders are obvious, such as checking that the power cords and surge protectors are firmly connected and plugged into live wall outlets. If checking these things doesn't get your computer to work, call for trained help.

If your monitor won't display anything, check the power to the monitor and the green or amber light, reseat the monitor cable, check the contrast and brightness knobs just above the keyboard, or--the old stand by--restart the computer. If your CD won't mount, make sure the label side is up and reseat the disk. (Certainly you didn't mistake the CD drive for a coffee cup holder?) If your disk is stuck in the drive, do NOT force it out. A small metal part could fall into the drive and fry it!

If your mouse won't work, check the connection, check for dust, and clean your mouse. Weaver showed us all how to do this easy bit of maintenance. To clean the keyboard, use air spray to blow dirt from the side, not down into the keyboard. He suggests that all the computers in your workplace need to be cleaned on a regular schedule, inside the processor and its fan, as well as outside. This is another of those times when you will want to ask for help or training from your computer specialists.

GENERAL MEMBERSHIP BUSINESS MEETING
First thing Friday, President Diane Welsh presided over the 1999 Council on Library/Media Technicians general business meeting. The agenda, the minutes of the last meeting, and the treasurer's report were accepted. Treasury records are still being transferred to the new treasurer.

Resignations of three members of the Executive Board were announced: Central Region Director Annamarie Erickson, Constitution Chair Barbara Eastland, and Vice President/Conference Chair Barry Harvey. Diane Welsh acted as Conference Chair this past winter, and Linda Owen will be Interim Conference Chair for the planning of Conference 2000.

Membership Chair Julie Ree reported that membership is down to 252, but that she expects many just need a reminder to send in membership dues. Members received the current directory in August and will receive update pages later this summer. She applauded the efforts of committee members in recruiting new members.

Public Relations Chair Joyce Nielsen reported that the winning entry for the design contest was sent in by Beverly Butler and Kathy LeLievre of the Northern California COLT Chapter. You will be able to buy shirts with the new design at the Chicago conference. The survey of members last year showed that many of you wanted a COLT tote bag. The new burgundy tote bags have sold very well in Detroit and will also be available in Chicago,

Education Committee Chair Margaret Barron reported on the plan to offer a Continuing Education Unit (CEU) course in conjunction with Conference 2000. If you are interested in participating contact Margaret at: Margaret.Barron@tri-c.cc.oh.us

Northeast Regional Director Dorothy Morgan reported on her many presentations concerning COLT and certification. Some preliminary planning has begun for a regional conference in Pennsylvania. Chapter presidents, Canadian visitors, and our webmasters were also recognized.

LIBRARY MOSAICS: HOW TO WRITE FOR PUBLICATION
Publisher Ray Roney and editor Charlie Fox turned this program into a writing workshop for LIBRARY MOSAICS. They gave us a list of contributions they like to receive. They gave us a short list of questions that helped each of us analyze what makes writing seem difficult for us. Then they showed us how easy it could be by having each of us write about the work we do in the library. As you read LIBRARY MOSAICS during the coming year, you will certainly see the results of some of this program in print.

BEHAVIORAL INTERVIEWING
Bryan Rawlings, a Senior Human Resource Specialist at AARP with special emphasis on career development, presented this program. Before coming to AARP he was responsible for the design and implementation of Behavioral Interviewing training programs in Maryland's county government. His program helped members deal with interviewing situations.

PUBLISHING WITHOUT PAPER (notes from Sherri Anderson)
Lisa Schultze, a library systems consultant at the Medical University of South Carolina, gave a quick course on creating a webpage. First she explained what a webpage is and how to access one through its Uniform Resource Locator (URL). Next Schultze demonstrated HyperText Markup Language (HTML). Her handout showed the HTML code on one page and how the browser translated it on another. She listed some of the authoring tools we can use to help with HTML and page building

"Brain storm ideas, plan, construct, test and revise, upload/transfer to the server, promote/link": these are the steps to creating a good webpage Schultze pointed out. She especially elaborated on the subject of design considerations in planning. We need to consider content, audience, ease of reading on different browsers, placement of important information at the top, aesthetics, graphics, links, technical, privacy/security, and copyright.

THE COMBINED HELP DESK
Many academic libraries are considering some sort of one-stop service desk where patrons may receive help with both research and computer problems. Valerie VanBilliard described her experiences with the implementation of such a service at Lehigh University. She gave us some background information about the library and the university so we could understand the magnitude of the task this Information Resources team faces. The library is currently undergoing some administrative and staffing changes which may mean improvements for the combined desk.

The concept of the combined help desk seems to have merit, but implementation and staff training are major challenges. VanBilliard and her teammates can write the directions for implementing such a plan from the flip side of their experiences. First find staff members who have real interest in the project and in this intensive public service. Then provide pre-service training that gives staff sufficient skills to be able to solve the patrons' problems. Always have one computer tech person and one library research person staff the combined desk together so they can learn from each other as these technologies evolve. Select and maintain equipment well. Create policies that are supportive of the Information Resources team. Phase in the program so it and the staffing team enjoy success as they grow.

CERTIFICATION: THE REALITIES
Margaret Barron is a Librarian/Associate Professor for Information Science at Cuyahoga Community College. She has been very active in COLT, holding several national offices including President and Membership Committee Chair. Currently she is Chairperson of the Education Committee and the COLT Certification Committee.

Barron clarified that certification "requires passing a skills test to gain a certification credential," while a certificate of achievement is a means of recognizing an individual's experience without an examination. "Certification is a credentialing opportunity with education as a strong component." It shows your co-workers and manager that you are serious about career advancement, and that you are committed to self improvement. It makes you stand out among job candidates, and makes you more mobile in job searching.

The national, renewable certification plan that Barron envisions would have three levels, depending on educational attainment. Each level would require passing an exam. Study guides for each level would be available at cost. Continuing education units with curriculum developed by managers of library/media technical training programs would also be available to prepare students for exams.

Developing the procedures, application forms, study guides, and exam materials is still under way. COLT plans to present a Continuing Education opportunity in conjunction with our Conference 2000 in Chicago. This is an exciting development!

BANQUET SPEAKER
Paulette Feld, Management Information Technician at University of Wisconsin Oshkosh, is the current president of the ALA Support Staff Interest Round Table (SSIRT). She described her road through library staff work, beginning with her high school yearbook theme: "Give a damn. Dare to care."

In college Feld earned a fairly unusual degree, a bachelor's in library science. She has worked for 18 years in her current library, becoming active in the union and in state and national library groups. She has always dared to care. Early on she fought a proposed move of serials to more vulnerable location. Then, when a new work schedule was imposed on her working group, she volunteered to try to improve it. She "listened to the needs and worked it out for the good of all." These experiences led her to become active in the union representing clerical and technical workers. She took opportunities to work on campus-wide committees. These activities became a way of directing her own career and of developing her leadership skills.

Feld has worked on conferences for library support staff in Wisconsin and for national groups such as COLT and SSIRT. These groups are all working on related issues. "This work can make a difference". There is more than one path to a goal," Feld says as she encourages all of us to become involved. "I've changed, but I've dared to care."

ANNUAL AWARDS
Publisher Raymond Roney and Editor Charlie Fox presented the major awards which each include a cash prize and a plaque. Each of the recipients responded with a short message of appreciation.

Meralyn Meadows is the winner of Library Mosaics' and the Council on Library/Media Technician's 1999 award for Outstanding Support Staff. She is Administrative Assistant at Stanly County Public Library in Albemarle, North Carolina. The award is presented annually for noteworthy service by a library support staff member.

Meadows created, researched, compiled and maintained the annual edition of the ALA SSIRT National Directory: Library Paraprofessional Associations. This also has included coordination with the Web version (on the LSSRC).Also she has been a speaker at numerous paraprofessional conferences around the country on such topics as paraprofessional leadership and team building.

Edward T. Gillen is the winner of Library Mosaics' and the Council on Library/Media Technician's 1999 award for Outstanding Supporter of Support Staff. He works for the New York State Education Department, Albany, New York. The award is presented annually for outstanding service to library support staff.

Gillen was selected for his dedicated work on behalf of support staff. Among his foremost accomplishments, he was involved in the New York State Library Assistants' Association (NYSLAA) from the very beginning and for several years held the office of recording secretary. He also served on the committee that created NYSLAA's Certification of Achievement Program. As president for his regional group, Capital District Library Assistants (CALA), Mr. Gillen promoted, and is largely responsible for, the forming of many other groups since the NYSLAA.

In April 1996, Mr. Gillen pitched the "Day in the Life of Library Support Staff" as an issue of Library Mosaics. This eventually led to a worldwide celebration of Library Assistants Day on April 17, 1996. He also developed the idea for the creation of an electronic journal for library staff, out of which was born ASSOCIATES-L.

President Diane Welsh presented thank-you gifts to a number of COLT members for their help in making this 1999 conference a success. Now all of us are looking forward to Chicago, July 5-8, 2000.