Sutherland Shire Libraries Staff News

Sexy & Sexier?

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Multicultural News

Kaye and I attended the Working Groups annual general meeting. My last meeting and Kaye's first as she takes on the role of multiculural services for Sutherland libraries.

There were a few things from this meeting that were worth everyone being aware of, in order to help our multicultural clients.

• As mentioned in a previous blog, LIAC has their Find Legal Answers page. What you may not have realised is that under the tab for Public Libraries, on the right hand side, is an option to see resources by Language. http://www.legalanswers.sl.nsw.gov.au/public_libraries/ Over 40 community lanaguages are represented and have links to either their own or other quality publications on the web. They will be sending out new Multilingual brochures to alert customers to this, with the new Discrimination Hot topic.
• Multicultural Health Communication Service http://www.mhcs.health.nsw.gov.au/publicationsandresources/publicationsresources.asp also has links to over 450 publications in 45 languages. They keep to a 3 year cycle of checking the material for accuracy (Asking the publishing body to do this as they are the ones with the expertise) if it is accurate it is removed immediately.
• The request is still out for trade manuals YA fiction , non-fiction, magazines and all sports titles for donation to PNG Lihir Island Literacy project.
• LERNI is a new website with emerging language learning resources on it for free. Arabic (african dialect) Assyrian, Burmese, Dari, Dinka, Farsi Karen, Somali, Swahili, Tamil, http://www.lerni.net.au/ Resources include how to use a computer, internet introduction, searching and email. There are also links to course information. The English version is mirrored in each language.
• 1400 Newspapers in 40 languages from 80 countries available through Library Press Display. http://www2.sl.nsw.gov.au/databases/?subject_id=94&search_type=both Join the State Library (online & free) for access.
• State Library card – individuals can join online. http://www.sl.nsw.gov.au/system/forms/selfreg.html I have joined Sutherland Library up so we can use the Library membership number on the TAC network for access to even more databases than we have. They are sending out a card, to our residential address, so watch out for that one! Do not give this out to customers, show them how to join themselves. Do have a look at the list available to our customers via this avenue! http://www2.sl.nsw.gov.au/databases
• Reminder about the Multilingual Glossary if you are thinking of signage in other languages. http://www2.sl.nsw.gov.au/multicultural/glossary/

Staff reading list- genre of the month

Hi Everyone,
Here’s THE list, (see staff blog “so many books, so little time”). Now’s your chance to grab your favourite genre, or challenge yourself to something outside your comfort zone. It would be great if you could post a review about your read, or alternatively make a comment on the blog and I’ll compile a staff suggestions post for “checkmeout. blog” ( I have emailed a copy to each branch to enable you to print it out).

Month Genre/Theme/Format
December, 2010 -Christmas themed
January -Australian
February -Romance
March -Biographies
April -Humour
May -Chick lit
June -Mystery
July -Fantasy
August -Classics
September -Adventure
October -Horror
November -Thriller
December -Family saga

Thanks in advance to everyone who has chosen to participate. I know that being a librarian involves much more than a love of reading, including but certainly not limited too: Good research skills, reference skills, ability to organise information, being technologically savvy, programming and most importantly, customer service skills. However, although we all know it’s just a myth, there are certain customers that that believe we sit around reading books all day. There is also a community perception that we, as librarians, know something about books, since the library is full of them! Apart from the fact that all branch staff would do some readers advisory as part of their role in the library, here are some other reasons to participate and read.

• Books and reading are a big part of our business, and if it's in our collection, we should at least know about it so we can share it with customers, whether as part of a display or a suggestion.
• Readng books can help us to provide better service to our customers when they come in wondering what to read next. We can offer suggestions and guidance about this.
• It is good professional development. - to quote Dr Seuss “The more you read the more things you know, the more you learn the more places you will go.”
• Being knowledgeable about books allows us to better promote reading in our community.
• Reading a variety of genres, themes and non fiction, allows you to better understand and relate to customers when they are describing books they have read and enjoyed.
• It opens your mind as to what’s out there to read, and you might even surprise yourself and find some new favourite genres and themes.
• As different staff members read different kinds of books and are passionate about different genres and know them really well, this is a great opportunity to share the love!
• Reading is informative and entertaining for all. (A bonus for us!)

I hope you find some good reads to share and maybe even some new favourites. Don’t forget Novelist – a great resource to find good reads.

Happy reading,
Monique

Elderly Chinese Group Library Tour

Accessing legislation online

The State Library have revamped the Find Legal Answers website.
All legislation and cases are now under the Legal Research tab.
http://www.legalanswers.sl.nsw.gov.au/research/
The first page links to online Acts for NSW, Commonwealth and other states, as well as court reports.
The State Library's holdings of printed legislation and cases are also listed.
They will be gradually adding more material to it such as parliamentary papers and government gazettes.

Booko - The perfect place for online book shopping

For those of you who have discovered the addictive pleasures of shopping for books online, try Booko, an Australian site that compares prices for a particular title across a huge range of retailers, from giants like Amazon and Book Depository down to local shops like Abbeys and Big W.

Simply enter the book title in the search box. The results are listed by price (all in AUD), cheapest first, with links to each retailer. Booko even factors in freight charges!

It was through Booko that I also came across Better World Books. This online book store (with great prices) is a for-profit business, but also manages to help out with literacy projects worldwide. I recommend you take a look at some of their initiatives, such as diverting ex-library books into literacy projects. Their driving philosophy is to find new homes for unwanted books. As a last resort they recycle whatever they cannot find homes for.

Merry Christmas

With Christmas approaching, it's the season to get reading! As a Christmas gift to you all, the first book you read for "genre of the month" is your choice of genre…but it needs to have a Christmas theme. So here’s a Christmas list of twelve genres (well some genres and other groupings to help you find books you like). Just click on the genre link you like to find a title to suit.
Twelve: Romances
Eleven: Mysteries
Ten : Short stories
Nine: Crime, scary and thrillers
Eight: Chick Lit
Seven: Family Sagas and stories
Six: Series
Five: Humour
Four: Adventure
Three: Fantasy
Two: Classics- original and revamped
One: War
Why don’t you give yourself a Christmas gift and set up a gmail account. This way Karen B can send you an invitation to become an author on “checkmeout” and you can start spreading the Christmas cheer with suggestions of great Christmas reads for all.
Merry Christmas
Monique

Did you know...?

Did you Know… Ref Rap
Did you know…
46% of Australians aged over 18 years visited a library in 2006.
Libraries were the second most attended cultural venue or event in 2006. The most popular cultural and leisure activities enjoyed by people aged 18 years and over in 2006 were: going to the movies (69% of persons when reporting all activities enjoyed over a 12 month period); visiting libraries (46% of persons); visiting zoological parks and aquariums (41%); and visiting botanic gardens (40%).
Almost two-thirds (65%) of Australians aged 15 and over who had visited a library during the 12-month period 2005-06 had visited more than six times during that period, including 25% who had visited more than 20 times.
Females were more likely than males to visit a library - their attendance rate was 41%, compared with 27% for males.
55% (1,467,500) of children visited a public library outside of school hours in 2005-06.74% (1,984,000) of children read for pleasure in April 2006. While 80% of girls read for pleasure during the same period, only 69% of boys did so.
These are just an example of the interesting and informative facts you can find on the ABS website.

A short while ago I attended a training called “ABS website made simple”, and thought I’d share some of the ways you can navigate and search this treasure trove of information.
Search Box-You can use the search box to simply key in a few keywords describing the information you are looking for.

Navigation menus- There are two navigation menus from which to access information. These are the “Left hand side navigation menu” which has shortcuts to the major statistical indicators, key services and products, and the “Global navigation menu” which runs across the top of the ABS Home webpage. The global navigation menu includes a number of headings that link to the different areas of the site you may wish to investigate. These include:

First visit link – This tab is set up as an index, providing links to information and services available from the site including an overview of the site, tailored information portals to meet specific information needs, training and tutorials.

Statistics link-If you already have the appropriate information, you are able to use the statistics link to search by catalogue date, release date or the title of the document.

Census link- There are (now less than) 280 days until the 2011 census! If you need census information before then, you can access this via the census link. There are six online tools you can use to access this data in a format most useful to you. Two popular online tools are Quickstats- A summary of key Census data for a chosen area benchmarked against Australia, and Community Profiles- a collection of various tables showing Census data in detail, for a chosen location.

Topics at a glance-A relatively easy way to find an overview on a particular topic is to click on the ‘topics at a glance” tab to allow you to browse through a wide range of topic areas grouped under five main headings.

Methods and standards link- This link is self explanatory, and includes outlines of the methods used to collect and analyse statistics as well as research reports.

News and media link- This link features the ABS in the media, publications, release dates of key statistical information, and resources for reporting statistical information.

Educational link- this link has resources for teachers and students to bring data to life in the classroom. There is also fun stuff for students. Simply click on games and puzzles link to play and learn about statistics.

Help link-A useful link if you get lost or need further instruction on navigating the site.

Finally- Did you know the ABS also have a free help line 1300 135 070, available during business hours, (alternatively you can send an email) to enable you unearth those elusive statistics.

Happy data hunting
Monique

Hot Topic - No. 73 Young People and Crime

"Young people are dealt with separately from the adult criminal justice system. However, increasing numbers of young people in NSW are being held on remand in juvenile justice centres. This issue examines the 'juvenile justice' system including interaction with police, court, diversionary schemes, bail and remand. It covers issues such as disadvantaged groups, fines and group offending, and includes a timeline of policies and legislation from the 1800's to 2010."--State Library website.
This new resource is available for lending and reference at all branches.

So many books, so little time

So many books, so little time
Over the last nine months some staff have been participating in the 2010 Librarians Reading Challenge set up by the NSW State Library. It was surprisingly fun, challenging and eye opening, as we were encouraged to try read genres of books outside our comfort zones. Have a look, it makes interesting reading! So now I thought we should try an adaptation of this in our library service. The idea is to feature a different book genre/theme each month in the library. Each branch of the library nominates a staff member to write a book/ movie review or annotation/s of the featured genre of the month. This gives everyone the opportunity to share their favourite reads with everyone. It also means that the busy, reserved and shy ones amongst us need only contribute 3-4 times over the twelve month period. I will email out the list of the proposed selections for the next 12 months, to each branch, so that you can find your favourite genres and get reading! You may even like to challenge yourself and read outside your comfort zone. The genres initially included are those which the library have identified and created genre spine labels for. Of course, anyone is welcome to write a review of a book/ movie or add a comment to the checkmeout.blog at any time.

With the holiday season approaching now is the optimum time to get reading. So
here are some tips to help you to read more.

1. Get a good book. Follow Nancy Pearl's Rule of 50 which states “If you still don’t like a book after slogging through the first fifty pages, set it aside. If you’re more than 50 years old, subtract your age from 100 and only grant it that many pages.”
2. Turn off the T.V. The ratings are over until February, 2011 anyway, do you really want to watch those reruns…again?
3. For the library students, finish TAFE/Uni first, then read as much as you can before the next semester starts.
4. Listen to an audio book. This way you can maximise your time and multitask.
5. Join a book group. This way you will read at least one book a month, and may be inspired to read even more.
6. Write a list of 12 books you have been meaning to read, but haven’t. With the holiday season approaching, now’s the time to set a goal of getting them read.
7. Ask Santa for an e-reader or an i-pod. (Sony e-readers are compatible with Overdrive) and download as many books as you can. Then read them.
8. Have a set reading time, even if it’s only 15 minutes before you go to sleep.
9. Make it a habit to carry a book (or e-reader) with you everywhere.
10. Make it a New Years resolution to write a blog on “checkmeout” about some of your favourite titles. This way, you are letting everyone know that you committed to reading, and letting them know what you’re reading.
11. Don’t reread old favourites, find some new favourites.
12. Read new books, old books, fun books and make-you-think books. Read more than one book at once.

Happy reading
Monique

Sue S is back in Canada again and almost on the way home

Hi all from Victoria, the capital of Vancouver Island. Mark and I have had an absolutely wonderful time, but we're looking forward to seeing our family again soon.

I've visited libraries wherever I could - they've mostly been much larger scale than ours and just wonderful to see. Here's a couple of pics to prove it!

This is San Francisco. They are big on atriums in North America.

Re: Help for The Rock Central School

Dear Mr Viano

Most of the children's YA books that are taken out of our collection are either damaged or old and may not be of use to any other library.

I will however ask the Children's Team Leader if they have anything that could be of use.  

Monetary considerations for donations are controlled by Council and the library has no discretion to donate cash.

Thank you for your email
Regards

Angela Livingstone
Information Services and Outreach Coordinator
Postal address
Sutherland Shire Libraries
C/O Sutherland Shire Council
Locked Bag No 4004, PO Sutherland 1499 Australia
Tel: 61  2  9710 0346
Fax: 61 2 9710 0236
Email: alivingstone@ssc.nsw.gov.au
Library web: http://library.sutherland.nsw.gov.au/
Council web: http://www.sutherland.nsw.gov.au

(Important: This email and any files transmitted with it are confidential and intended solely for the use of the  individual or entity to whom they are addressed. If you have received this email in error, please delete it and notify the sender via return mail.  You must not disclose the contents of this email to any third party without the consent of the sender.)

Library Sent by: Dianne Ollerenshaw 03/11/2010 09:10 AM

To "emviano" <mvi31403@bigpond.net.au> cc Subject Re: Help for The Rock Central SchoolLink

Dear Mr Viano ,

Thank you for your enquiry.
Your request has been forwarded to the relevant department and will be answered as soon as possible.

Regards,

Sutherland Shire Libraries
Locked Bag 4004, PO
SUTHERLAND   NSW   1499
AUSTRALIA

TELEPHONE 02 9710 0351 FAX 02 9710 0236

library@ssc.nsw.gov.au
http://library.sutherland.nsw.gov.au

"emviano" <mvi31403@bigpond.net.au> 03/11/2010 07:08 AM

To <library@ssc.nsw.gov.au> cc Subject Help for The Rock Central School

To a Librarian,
 
Dear Sir/Madam,
 
Would it be possible for our library to consider some assistance for
The Rock Central School's library whose books were lost in the recent flood.
 
Thank you,
 
Regards,
 
Michele Viano

**************************************************************************************

Important: This email / fax and any files transmitted with it are confidential

and intended solely for the use of the individual or entity to whom they are

addressed. If you have received this email / fax in error please notify the

sender via return mail. You must not disclose the contents of this email / fax

to any third party without the consent of the sender.

**************************************************************************************

Wild Cards - Interpretations from Sylvania

Wild Cards - Sylvania's response




Culture:  Emergence of a truly post-literate society


Technology has advanced to the point where the ability to read and write is no longer necessary. The term "post-literate" appeared as early as 1962 in Marshall McLuhan's The Gutenberg Galaxy. The written word is replaced by CDs audiobooks, radio, pictures (JPEG) and television, film, video games, virtual reality, and so forth. Reading/writing are needed only to facilitate manipulation of the other media. By 2030, society is "post-industrial" where there is no longer a manufacturing-based economy, but a structure based on the provision of information, innovation, finance and services. The library is ideally suited to this. The librarian is the knowledge navigator. Library 2.1 has shown the direction. We must make sure however that we don't drown in a sea of information, overload, multi-tasking, too much to see and do, connectivity addiction, increasing hyperconnectedness. The Library must remain the leveller, the civilising influence and community builder.


Society:  The cost of ageing promotes the return of the extended financial family


The extended financial family (EFF) is a group of family members living in the same home for financial reasons. This phenomenon has become familiar because of inadequate pensions, rising debt and the high cost of property in the developed world. Added to this are high childcare costs, student debt for young adults, increased life expectancy, and high cost of residential care. The nuclear family which resulted from industrialisation is supplanted by linear groups (grandparents/grandchildren), collateral groups (aunts/uncles, etc) or affinial groups (linked by marriage). Such family groups can provide support during illness, sharing of chores, sharing of finances, utilities, space, and childcare, among other things, and it works well in other cultures.
Libraries already cater to a certain extent for all these age groups. The library environment is seen simply as a safe and peaceful haven from all the family clamour; a quiet escape for study or browsing; more children's progammes need to be scheduled; author talks and specialist talks on, say, health of the elderly, or child-rearing are regular events. Even knitting/craft groups now offer an escape. Most importantly, library resources such as books and DVDs must reflect the need for re-education; on how to adapt to changed living styles, more complex financial planning due to reduced overall finances, and so forth. The public library has become a library hybrid, sharing space with community centres.
Library is an Urban Hangout? Info Hub? Oasis? (three descriptions from the State Library media release 23/04/2010).


Politics:  Boundaries between nation states disappear as globalisation becomes truly global


Benefits are not  evenly distributed, though globalisation boosts economies in general, advances technologies by cooperation, and improves daily lives. The best ideas are spreading over the world, which has become a large interactive village. The individual power of a country is reduced, and we share resources. There is interdependence and integration. More libraries have benefactors and need to network with libraries in other countries. We already have the technology in place. At the same time public libraries stand for structures that support and consolidate local communities. Libraries work in tandem with other agencies, to assist integration of migrants, by providing current community information.
On the downside, would it be a case of user pays, as money is siphoned off for infrastructure, roads, railways?


Nature:  The Arctic becomes ice-free during summer months


As predicted since 2000, this has now happened, as greenhouse gas emissions continue unabated. By 2040 only a small amount of sea ice remains along the north coast of Greenland and Canada. Polar bears who rely on ice as a hunting platform need to seek food elsewhere. New shipping lanes are opened up throught the Arctic region, especially by China, which had been preparing for a long time for a piece of the action, in the race to exploit newly exposed resources. The cost of travelling the old route to Europe via Suez has increased tenfold because of high insurance premiums generated by piracy. Shipping routes from Shanghai to Hamburg are reduced by 6400 kms during summer. Across the Arctic is China's gateway to Europe. National boundaries are altered; there are new geo-physical disputes.
With such an important and far-reaching change in global weather, populations world-wide need up-to-date information on all aspects of climate change, and expect libraries to offer this, over and above newspaper articles. Because of the serious long-term implications of the vanishing ice-cap, people are more environmentally conscious and want information. The library hosts regular discussion sessions and visiting guest speakers. Extreme events bring disease and stress as well as deaths from heat. In 2003 there were 35,000 deaths across Europe caused directly by unprecedented heat, as people were not prepared, and buildings inadequate. Again libraries are in the forefront of the education process.


Technology: Robot wars break out in the Middle East


The Middle East has oil, other nations have an abundance of water - will these issues cause conflict? There is a current feeling that any hostilities in the Middle East are to be fought robotically. Already, robots are used to dismantle landmines and roadside bombs, but a newly developing generation are designed to be fighting machines. One bot, known as swords, can operate an M-16 rifle and a rocket launcher. Some robots are as big as a motorcycle, some can fit on a person's little finger, all can be operated remotely and be used to patrol land borders and oil wells.
Robots have no compassion, take no prisoners.There is a new type of battlefield, an unprecedented view of the battlefield aided by robotic drones and sensors. Massive food supplies  are not required and commanders conduct warfare in relative safety.
How does this affect libraries? Libraries are affected in two ways.....firstly there are the newsbods who enjoy up-to-date action on the screen and secondly there is another group of people who seek sanctuary in the library to "get away from it all".


Joker: Flu pandemic kills 500 million worldwide


Influenza is an infection caused by a non-living organism that can only survive by entering the body of another living organism. It is more lethal in the young and the elderly. Annual influenza epidemics are challenges - some worse than others, no matter how well prepared we are there is always death. Unpredictable factors largely determine the outcome. We are still using the 1950s egg-based technology as a basis for vaccine. Urgent needs include basic research on the ecology and biology of influenza viruses, risk assessments, development of cell culture technology for a vaccine to replace the egg-based process. To produce 300 million doses of vaccine more than 350 million chicken eggs are required and the time-frame is six months, including isolating the new strain. As the world has a dense and mobile population a flu epidemic has engulfed the world in six months. People are contagious for 24 hours before symptoms appear. For some time, many airports around the world have had a scanning gate which picks up above-normal temperatures and fevers. Healthcare systems have done little planning. There is no way of urgently increasing the production of ventilators, masks, antibiotics. Library staff are particularly vulnerable, and need to be vaccinated early, wear masks, scrub hands regularly and discard handtowels into enclosed bins. Libraries become a hub for people without access to Internet and mobile phones, as hospitals and health departments find it necessary to keep the public up-to-date via Twitter, Facebook, mobile alerts instantly.


Ideas: Last landline service is abandoned


Communications experts show the landline telephone is dead; use is plummeting as demand for mobile technology booms. Current statistics in 2010 revealed 90% of the 60-69 year age group have a landline and 74% of 18-24 year olds own a mobile phone. However, more than 50% of the 60-69 age group also own a mobile phone. Primary and high school children are also buying mobiles at extraordinary rates. As a result, these generations have no use for a landline because new wireless services are more sophisticated. Landlines do not drop out and the battery does not have to be recharged regularly. The qualities of a mobile are far more beneficial - they are portable throughout the world, text messaging is instant, they consume less energy, in a share house each person is responsible for their own bill, parents can keep in instant contact with children. Landlines have been abandoned as the humble "blower" has not kept up with technology, with handsets not having the features of mobiles. As the last landline service is abandoned regulations are enforced to ensure no-one is worse off, there are many economical deals available. Libraries have point-of-sale kiosks and conduct "how to use your mobile" classes subsidised by telephone companies. Predictably, the younger generations do not need these classes.


Economy: Tigers toothless as Asian economies collapse


The Asian financial collapse is a truly extraordinary event, its origins being exchange rate depreciation, decline in stock prices or an oil crisis. The domino effect has created panic and it has become evident that globalisation has a downside. The economies of Thailand, Malaysia, South Korea, Taiwan and Indonesia are  the "toothless tigers", with China holding its own, as it plays a significant role in the world economy. China's economic growth and trade liberalisation facilitates domestic changes in agriculture because of the transfer of farm workers to better-paying city and manufacturing jobs. China imports large amounts of timber, exporting it as furniture. The vast amount of imported energy and mineral products continue to boost China's economy, but send other Asian developing economies into decline. Asian nations cannot ignore the "rising dragon" and allow themselves to be "toothless tigers", they must rethink restructuring and education and not rely on the tourist dollar. Developed world governments are expected to send more aid to these poorer nations, resulting in a financial downturn in government assistance. Libraries do not receive increased funding, but are expected to finance ESL classes, financial advice, community aid, employment and resume assistance.