by Karen Helde
This blog post made me think about the way we talk to each other. Many of us who have been around a while think of the LLOPS email list as our primary form of group communication. It’s quick to create a message (if I’m at work, it’s a given that email is open on my desktop), and we can expect our intended audience to receive it almost immediately. Responses are similarly easy to create and can be sent to the list or to the individual as appropriate. Apart from sign-up and postpone procedures which seem stuck in the technological dark ages, what are the the downsides of email lists? First, some lists and list archives are public and a query or announcement may require a little more discretion. Second, we’re all deluged with email, and it’s easy for one message to get lost in the shuffle. Third, list archives are generally not too user-friendly; we’re mostly dependent on our own personal email filing systems for storing information we want to keep.
Continue reading 'Talk Talk'»
Think you are rusty now on regulatory research, well just wait until there are fewer regs to love. Gallagher Blogs recently posted a story about Governor Gregoire limiting rulemaking through the end of 2011, due to budget issues. Of course there are a lot of exceptions, so it may not make a huge difference, but what a way to save a buck!
We’ve all heard the news by now, broadcast across multiple blogs this week, that West has laid off several of their Library Relations Managers, including our own, Craig Griffith. It is lamentable, not only that West is making a statement that their librarians are no longer important as liaisons to law firm librarians, but that we will no longer be the beneficiaries of Craig’s great presentations, cheerful demeanor and advocacy for our needs. How are we going to get updated on new products and enhancements to existing ones? Please don’t tell me it will all be via webinar. I’m yawning already.
Craig, you will be missed!
by Kristine Lloyd
First, how many emails are currently in your inbox? If there are more than about 25, you failed the test. I can’t lie, right now I have 196 items in my inbox. I know; I’m a mess!
If you missed yesterday’s special program led by Michael Saint-Onge with Lexis’ Library Relations Group, you missed out on a lively presentation, chock-full of good tips, and a good Zen koan: Be The Pond.
Imagine this: you are a pond and each rock dropped into your pond causes ripples, the circumference dependent on the size of the rock. You must deal with the ripples and return to your homeostatic still pond. Or something like that. If we remembered nothing from the session, Michael emphasized, we should remember the pond. It’s all about dealing with stuff as it happens, not procrastinating and putting things in an ever-growing to-do pile (note to self: hide to-do pile). Continue reading 'Let's Get Organized'»
by Kristine Lloyd
As a librarian, I actively try to avoid succumbing to any of the stereotypes out there, you know, the sensible shoes, calf-length skirts, support hose and elaborate bun, so I resist the notion of getting reading glasses. Thankfully, I don’t need them quite yet, but I may sooner rather than later thanks to Lexis’ new interface. What size is that font? 6 point?
Lexis has also changed their colors. We all need a little change now and then, perhaps a new “color analysis,” and the red, tan and black scheme was getting pretty tired. The new color palette, primarily red, blue and white is much more patriotic, but the vast white spaces make the minuscule font even harder to read. Continue reading 'New Lexis Interface: Get Reading Glasses'»
And who said libraries were all about reading? Apparently, besides studying, coffee-drinking and socializing, frolicking in your tighty-whities is another activity that can be added to the list thanks to Diesel’s recent ad showing a couple of models in the brand’s lingerie, fondling in a pile of books. For some reason, the dean of Brooklyn Law School is not happy over the ads, after having agreed to rent their space to the company for what they assumed would be a jeans ad. Hopefully the Brooklyn Law spokeswoman who was supervising the shoot can find a new job with Diesel.
by Amy Eaton
At the last LLOPS Happy Hour, I found myself on the receiving end of a Rock Bottom t-shirt. I received this shirt because I own the Rock Bottom Mug Club card and had completed 35 visits. I initially requested the Mug Club card because you get a large beer for the price of a regular, and I am always ready to be upsized. But here I am, 6 years later, with a Mug Club hat, logo pint glass and a t-shirt. What has possessed me to continue to eat at the same restaurant regularly when there are so many fabulous places to dine downtown? I don’t even drink that much beer. Continue reading 'I Can Be Bought'»
by Amy Eaton
“Everything should be made as simple as possible, but not one bit simpler.”
Albert Einstein
Have you ever done the S-T-P? No, I don’t mean the Seattle-to-Portland bike race; I mean the Situation-Target-Proposal method for solving a thorny problem or gaining team alignment. I recently had the opportunity to attend an all day session on Change Management led by Jevon Powell of Scontrino-Powell. The session was offered to our Seattle office management team as a way for us to develop tools to help deal with the upcoming changes related to our office renovation project. One part of the seminar focused on effective problem solving and featured the STP method as a way to work through a problem.
STP is best used by a team working collaboratively. Put up white flip boards in a conference room and gather your group together. Use the flip board to write down your thoughts as you work through the process. Continue reading 'Situation, Target, Proposal'»
by Philippe Cloutier
The iPhone and the iPad are largely designed to consume media. They are unparalleled when it comes to an all-in-one portable that offers music, videos, the web, news, blogs, books and more. They make other tasks efficient and quick too: navigation with maps and GPS, e-mail, social media use, keeping up with sports scores and even requesting and staying up-to-date with library requests (Seattle Public Library app). Continue reading 'Legal Research on the iPhone'»
by Philippe Cloutier
In a previous LLOPSCited post, the private company, Library Systems & Services, LLC (LSSI), is highlighted and questioned. That post concludes by questioning the prospect of the government bedding down with for-profit libraries.
No less than a month after the New York Times’ LSSI piece comes worry over Santa Clarita, California City Council’s venture into a 5-year $19-million private library contract. A news article details a local nonprofit’s, Save Our Library, quest to uncover the truth. The Santa Clarita City Council may have violated California’s Brown Act, “by discussing and making a decision to take over the libraries in closed-session meetings”; moreover, requests for all government records concerning the library have been met with road-blocks.
Lastly, a private library system contracting with the government may actually violate the California Constitution and other privacy laws. An additional Santa Clarita article details a lawsuit against the city, amid privacy concerns.
During times of economic disparity, public trust in government tends to decline. The same can be said of public trust in big business. To be certain, LSSI isn’t a mom and pop library start-up either: they are majority-owned by a Boston private equity firm, Islington Capital Partners. The citizens are rightly wary of this marriage, but hopefully, government, business and the people can all negotiate a satisfactory outcome.
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