Minnesota Newspaper Database Available from Home!

Hello!

The Minnesota Newspapers database is now available to patrons from home. The announcement is on the homepage.

Melissa.

Government Publications You Should Know

Hello!

Here're a couple of new Government Documents you should know about.

"Be Food Safe During Emergencies: Power Outages, Floods & Fires," USDA, A 110.2:F 73/10. Here's the electronic equivalent, though there's no link in our current record (that may change): http://www.fsis.usda.gov/Fact_Sheets/keeping_food_Safe_during_an_emergency/index.asp

This is a little flipbook that gives good information on temperatures and times and food safety; for instance, "Discard opened mayonnaise, tarter sauce, and horseradish if they were held above 50 F for over 8 hours," removing odors from the fridge, and ways to tell if food is safe after a flood or fire.


"Digest of education statistics," National Center for Education Statistics (NCES). Previous to 2005: ED 1.326:, 2005 and later: ED 1.140:. We own 1995-2006, minus 2004. 1990-2006 on website: http://purl.access.gpo.gov/GPO/LPS6878 (link in record)

If you have a question relating to education in the US, this is a very good source packed with information, including some you might not expect.

"It's primary purpose is to provide a compilation of statistical information covering the broad field of American education from prekindergarten through graduate school. The Digest includes a selection of data from many sources, both government and private, and draws especially on the results of surveys and activities carried out by the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES). ... The publication contains information on a variety of subjects in the field of education statistics, including the number of schools and colleges, teachers, enrollments, and graduates, in addition to educational attainment, finances, federal funds for education, libraries, and international comparisons. Supplemental information on population trends, attitudes on education, education characteristics of the labor force, government finances, and economic trends provides background for evaluating education data."

The 2006 edition is a large book - 703 pages - so it offers some information down to a local level - the Undergraduate section has tables by state, by educational institution (U of M Twin Cities enrollment figures are there - 4th biggest in the nation at over 51,000), and by degree program, for instance. There are also less obvious statistics like violence in schools, teacher salaries, and grades and test scores.

Check them out!

Melissa

Copying Scores on Letter-sized Paper

Hello!

I think I've figured out how to copy scores onto letter-sized paper relatively painlessly.

Hit the following buttons:

Application
Image Adjustment
Center Zoom
Enter
Basic

Once you put the score on the copier, it should read the size of it and reduce automatically. (This might happen after you ask it to copy once. I don't really remember.) The last score I copied reduced to something like .964. I did have to figure out how to place the score on the glass to get everything, but there is a handy ruler on the side of the glass which you can use to duplicate the placement, and this at least takes the guess work out of the reduction.

Finally, I think we've figured out the proper purpose of one of those mysterious and annoying extra functions! Yay!

Melissa.

FOUNDATION CENTER NETWORK DAYS

The Foundation Center is located in New York, NY. They also have five regional offices (ours is in Cleveland). Their mission is “to strengthen the nonprofit sector by advancing knowledge about U.S. philanthropy”. They connect grantmakers and grantseekers, but do not give grants themselves. I attended their annual conference in New York. They also have training events at the regional centers, at library conferences, and will sometimes train staff on-site.

If a patron is just starting out in the area of grants and foundations, the Foundation Center’s web site is the place to start. It contains resource guides for different type of grantseekers, short online courses (some free with registration), grant application forms, grants and grantmakers statistics,foundation-sponsored reports, their e-newsletter Philanthropy News Digest, and their catalog of materials at their libraries, the Catalog of Nonprofit Literature. Some searching of foundations can be done, but the online database has more information. The frequently asked questions section has useful information such as the difference between a grant and a business loan. If that doesn’t work, a question can be submitted by email.

Foundation Directory Online is four databases in one: grants, grantmakers, companies and 990s. When you enter a database, it is best to click on the search field heading to bring up the index on the left-hand side and browse through those. Browse by alphabet, then click on the most relevant one to have it appear in the search box. Clicking on more than one type of support or field of interest will create an “or” search, not an “and”. You can add a term to the keyword box to create an “and” search. One thing to note: “Grantmaker State” may not be the same as “Geographic Focus”. They may be located in one state and give to another. 990s are forms that nonprofits are required to file by the IRS. They list who they gave to and how much. If you are not having success with your search in the other databases, try a full-text search of 990s. What the foundation’s profile says they support may not match what their past giving says they support, or there may not be a complete profile in the database yet. Search results can be printed, emailed, or saved as an Excel file.

Foundation grants to individuals are a very small percentage of grants (5,000-6,000 out of 90,000). Most of these go to artists or higher education. Most foundations prefer to give to nonprofits rather than individuals because of the paperwork involved. In a few cases, nonprofits will make a legal contract with an individual to help them receive grants. This is called “fiscal sponsorship”, and the nonprofit receives a fee of 5%-10%. In the future, the Foundation Center will allow Foundation Grants to individuals Online to be available at all branches of a cooperating collection. For more on inflated claims of free money to individuals, see this web site .

CCNet is a special web site for institutions with cooperating collections. It contains scripts and presentations for classes, sample brochures and logos, a link you can put on your web page, online ordering of materials at a 40% discount, an events calendar, archives of past training materials, registration for free courses, and an online message board to which one can submit questions. If you are doing training at a remote location, you can ask for a temporary (one week) password for the databases.

The Foundation Center itself has an impressive library which uses its own cataloging system. Most of the books are familiar, but what I noticed was the enormous collection of periodicals. The Foundation Center will fax articles and chapters of books, but they do not lend out whole books or videos. Anyone can go to the centers to do research, but staff will only do research for fee-paying members, and then only to a certain extent. One of the librarians has a blog describing new titles added to the library.

Handouts, notes and other supplementary material are available in the FYI basket in the fourth floor workroom.

TEEN READ WEEK 2007

In spite of the rainy weather and parking issues, Central’s Teen Read Week 2007 was a rousing success, with a total attendance of 107 people for 6 programs. Our team of Karen, Jennifer, Carl and me created two themed days of 3 programs each.

Thursday was “Scary Day”, with a make-up effects professional, a forensic scientist, and the movie Poltergeist. The teens really enjoyed doing the hands-on portion of the “CSI Teenstyle” where they viewed evidence and solved a fictitious crime. Our new DVD and TV set-up and projector really made the movie experience more “theater-like”. Books and booklists on the topics were also displayed.

Friday was “Graphic Novel and Animation Day” , with teens from the Open School showing how to make animation with free software, a panel of 4 graphic novelist and artists talking about their work, and the anime Naruto the Movie : Ninja Clash in the Land of Snow. The teens really hung on the words of the graphic novelists and some even brought their art for the panelists to look at! They also enjoyed the authentic Japanese treats like Pocky, which went fast. Some of the movie crowd had seen the movie before and chuckled at familiar scenes and lines. They even dressed up as the characters, rather like The Rocky Horror Picture Show, but fortunately not as rowdy. Two lucky teens got gift certificates for the best costumes.

All in all, we had a lot of fun, and we made contacts for future programming. The presenters said they had a good time and would be interested in future events, whether teen or adult. We also created booklists which could be used by other branches or for future displays.

Thanks to everyone who assisted us, especially Therese, Sheree, Paul, Phyllis, Marcus, Alayne, John L. and Doris.

More pictures here.

--Andrea

2008 Proposed Goals for Central

In order to give our collective genius a jumpstart for the 2008 Goals discussion on Staff day, we have compiled a list of ideas that have been suggested. Some of the suggestions so far have been:

I. Customer Driven Services:
a. Approach our potential customers outside the building, i.e. going to
businesses to talk about how to use our databases; going to the Senior HiRises to discuss starting a book club; taking our booktalks "on the road"

b. Create an outreach plan to identify downtown groups that might be
interested in our services and develop strategies to meet their needs.

c. Get a change machine in our lobby

d. Find a place for, and begin using, the concept of a "Popular Library"

e. Could we do some sort of "curbside service" since we cannot change the
parking situation

f. Move (Shift) the reference collection so that it "reads" from left to right

g. Develop a consistent outreach program with the Latino community

II. New and Emerging Technologies:
a. Find a projector or flat screen tv or other means to publicize events of the
day in the lobby and outside

b. Investigate a touch screen map/guide kiosk in the elevator lobby

c. Install new shelving for the songbooks on the mezzanine in the NIC room

d. Install and train staff and the public on the new self check units and
investigate a way to have patrons check in their own materials as well



III. Service to Children and Youth:
a. a graphic novels panel or festival? Bring in some big names to attract
teens to the program

b. movie festivals for kids

c. Get a Wii playstation for Skinner room? Or other technology for games

d. Work with teens to re-energize/decorate/reconfigure the Skinner Room.

e. Promote Blastoff to Kindergarten program.

IV. Collaboration:
a. Contact all cultural institutions in the downtown St Paul area; we should
have at least 2 cultural programs per month at Central

b. Collaborate with local arts organizations or an arts high school to have a
mural painted on the premises.

c. Collaborate with appropriate agencies to promote the resources of the
library and to promote civic awareness prior to and during(?) the
Republican National Convention.

V. Communication:

a. Use our existing public address system to notify staff of events of the day
prior to opening each day

b. Use passive reader's advisory (on the web, in bookmark form) to suggest
titles to patrons

Look over the 2007 goals and marvel at the success we achieved with them. So, what do you think of these goals for 2008? Let us know by replying to the posting which will appear on the Central Loop blog. Please choose 3 of the above goals that you believe should be implemented, and feel free to comment on them.
AND, if you have other ideas, let us know about them as well.

Zingerman Experience (Condensed)

The workshop was called: The Zingerman’s Experience Seminar (Chef’s sampler version). And indeed, it was condensed from what is normally a 2 day workshop. It was taught by the co-founder of Zingerman’s, Ari Weinzweig, and the managing partner of Zingtrain, Maggie Bayless.

We began the day getting an overview of what is now referred to as ZcoB, a community of businesses which began with Zingerman’s Deli in Ann Arbor Michigan in 1982. The community now consists of 10 related but separate businesses, all based in the Ann Arbor area.

The trainers then described how they had gone from 1 small deli to 10 very large and productive businesses. In a word, vision. Follow up that vision with a mission statement, systems that cater to that mission statement and point toward the vision, create a culture that values the principles espoused by the people leading the company (which need to be written down, by the way), and work incredibly hard. That’s all. Right. (I was confused about the difference between a mission statement and a vision, until it was clarified. A “vision” is what you want down the line at a specific point in time in the future, a picture of what success looks like. A “mission statement” is a statement of what your company aspires to do on a daily basis. As a working definition, those two are actually quite good, and utterly distinct.)

When your guiding principles are shared by the workforce, ( through judicious hiring and training,) you hope to end up with a group that is pulling in the same direction. For Zingerman’s, their guiding principles include great food, great service and a great place to shop and eat. After those three come solid profits, a great place to work and strong relationships. The final two are a place to learn and being an active part of their community.

TRAINING:

By the end of the first orientation meeting for new employees, the Zingerman employee knows about the mission, guiding principles, the three bottom lines (Great Food, Great Service, Great Finance)and their impact and has agreed to the Zingerman training compact, which entailed several interesting innovations. While we already do the first part of the training, I found the compact and their ways of using that tool very interesting.

The compact itself is that the trainer agrees to

a)document clear performance expectations,

b)provide training resources,

c)recognize performance, and

d)reward performance.

The trainee agrees to take responsibility for the effectiveness of their training.

This is broken down into 4 training plan questions;

1. what is expected of the trainee-and by when,

2. how the information will be made available,

3. how will each party know if the expectations are being met, and

4. what the rewards/consequences for success/failure are.

While we are doing much of this, the one new component that I believe we should consider adopting is what the trainers referred to as a “Training Passport”—a booklet which is carried by the trainee and can be signed by other employees/supervisors when an action has been taken or an idea has been grasped.

It is the trainee who is responsible for maintaining and getting those signatures. I have a copy of the one used by Zingerman’s in the notebook, which would need to be modified for use by us, but might be an idea worth pursuing.

CUSTOMER SERVICE:

To begin the discussion on great service, the trainers asked us “why we should give great service” and conversely “why is it so hard to find?” Many of the answers provided were the standard, eg because it feels good, and happy customers come back for the first question, or because of lack of competition or poor feedback for the second one.

Zingerman’s has formulated their own three step guide to great service. First, figure out what the guest wants, second get it for them accurately, politely and enthusiastically, third go the extra mile.

In order to find out what the guest wants, you need to engage that customer in conversation. Pay attention to what they are asking about and listen actively. Ask questions to ensure that you are getting to the heart of the matter.

While getting them what they want, do so accurately (no fudging on amounts or sizes), politely (with a smile on your face) and enthusiastically (no mental eye rolling). And, when possible, go that extra mile, do something that will put a smile on the guest’s face. The expectation of the company is that the customer should leave believing that they were the best thing that happened to you (the server) that day.

Zingerman’s uses a couple of interesting forms, which might be useful in our line of work as well. They are called the code green and the code red. These are not incident forms. They are more casual, and are filled out by the employee who first makes contact with the person who is either complaining or complimenting the staff. While the staff at Zingerman’s was slow to adopt these forms, they are now a regular part of doing business in all of ZcoB.

Copies of the forms are in the notebook as well, along with the five steps they use to effectively handle customer complaints. While the steps are mostly common sense (an attribute which Ari doesn’t actually believe exists…he calls it rare and unusual sense)

they do cover all the bases. First acknowledge the complaint (do not excuse or explain…listen). They recommend either “oh” or “wow” (or both if called for) as replies when first notified of a complaint. Secondly, sincerely apologize for the mistake with a clear and unqualified “I’m sorry” or “I’m really sorry”. Third, take action to make things right for the guest (each employee at Zingerman’s is empowered to do exactly that---including refunding money, and replacing product if necessary). Fourth, thank the guest for giving you the opportunity to correct the problem, and finally document the complaint.

IN the question and answer session that followed, a question was asked about motivating existing employees, and getting them to accept changes. The Zingerman trainers also do an all day seminar on Bottom Line Change and they believe that commitment to each other =success in the workplace and that caring confrontation is necessary when there is serious resistance they outlined for us what their steps are to implement change in the workplace:

1. Document reasons for the change (these must be honest and compelling)
2. Get the leadership to “vision” what success will look like if the change is implemented.
3. Get a microcosm of the company (all affected players) together to plan out
1. who needs to know?
2. how should we tell them to get them on board?
4. Officially role out the vision and create and action plan to implement the change.
5. Create a positive setting in order to make the change the “path of least resistance”.

If anyone would like to see their handouts, they are residing in the FYI basket in Ref - 4^th floor.

--Doris

Some Federal eGovernment Websites

Hello!

I got this from my Government Documents mailinglist, and it looked like something that might be generally useful.

Melissa.


1. Forms - forms that can be e-filed or forms that can be filled out online then printed

a. FEMA
Apply for assistance online.
http://www.fema.gov/assistance/register.shtm


b. IRS
All online tools with the exception of E-file.
http://www.irs.gov/help/article/0,,id=143687,00.html

To e-file taxes.
http://www.irs.gov/efile/index.html


c. FAFSA
Online tools within boxes #1, #2, #3 include online PIN, saving and working on saved forms, checking the status of a submitted form, and others.
http://www.fafsa.ed.gov/


d. U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services
To register for a customer account with the USCIS.
https://efiling.uscis.dhs.gov/efile/

Links to forms that can be e-filed.
http://www.uscis.gov/portal/site/uscis/menuitem.5af9bb95919f35e66f614176543f6d1a/?vgnextoid=f3fe194d3e88d010VgnVCM10000048f3d6a1RCRD&vgnextchannel=9059d9808bcbd010VgnVCM100000d1f1d6a1RCRD

Links to forms that can be filled out online (need to download first).
http://www.uscis.gov/portal/site/uscis/menuitem.eb1d4c2a3e5b9ac89243c6a7543f6d1a/?vgnextoid=db029c7755cb9010VgnVCM10000045f3d6a1RCRD&vgnextchannel=db029c7755cb9010VgnVCM10000045f3d6a1RCRD
To make an appointment with local USCIS offices.
http://infopass.uscis.gov/index.php

To check the status of a case online.
https://egov.uscis.gov/cris/jsps/index.jsp

Electronic filing for immigration benefits.
http://www.uscis.gov/portal/site/uscis/menuitem.eb1d4c2a3e5b9ac89243c6a7543f6d1a/?vgnextoid=9059d9808bcbd010VgnVCM100000d1f1d6a1RCRD&vgnextchannel=9059d9808bcbd010VgnVCM100000d1f1d6a1RCRD

To change your address online.
https://egov.uscis.gov/crisgwi/go?action=coa

Naturalization Self Test.
http://www.uscis.gov/portal/site/uscis/menuitem.010cab8025677e19631ef89b843f6d1a/?vgnextoid=9ff98424f8304110VgnVCM1000004718190aRCRD&vgnextchannel=9ff98424f8304110VgnVCM1000004718190aRCRD
On USCIS website in subject tab "Education and Resources."


e. Department of Veterans Affairs
To register for a customer account with the DVA.
http://vabenefits.vba.va.gov/vonapp/main.asp

Links to forms that can be e-filed.
http://www.va.gov/onlineapps.htm

Forms that can be filled out online; will need to know form # or do a search first.
http://www.va.gov/vaforms/


f. Social Security Administration
To register for a customer account and password with the SSA.
https://s044a90.ssa.gov/acu/IPS_INTR/main.jsp

Links to all online services.
http://www.ssa.gov/onlineservices/


g. Forms.gov metasite
Links to forms that can be filled out online for most federal agencies (their goal is to provide 100% of forms for all federal agencies, so this is a good website to know regardless of e-government needs).
http://www.forms.gov/bgfPortal/citizen.portal


h. Bureau of Economic Analysis ASTAR system
This is an example of an "online business transaction" tool that business owners use to communicate with government agencies. There are others. The majority of the links listed in this handout are "online personal transactions" tools; this is an exception.
http://www.bea.gov/astar/


i. U.S Department of State
Passports applications and renewals, current status of applications, forms.
http://travel.state.gov/passport/passport_1738.html
NOTE: website does not work properly in Netscape.


2. Medicare Part D Prescription Drug Finder
http://www.medicare.gov/MPDPF/Public/

Formulary Finder
http://formularyfinder.medicare.gov/formularyfinder/selectstate.asp

Lower your Costs During the Coverage Gap
http://www.medicare.gov/bridging-the-gap.asp

Learn More about Plans in Your Area
http://www.medicare.gov/MPDPF/Public/Include/DataSection/Questions/SelectState.asp?version=default&browser=Netscape%7C7%2E2%7CWinXP&language=English&defaultstatus=0&ViewType=Public&PDPYear=2007&MAPDYear=2007&MPDPF%5FMPPF%5FIntegrate=N


3. Post Office
"The Postal Store" to buy stamps and other mailing supplies.
http://shop.usps.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/TopCategoriesDisplay?storeId=10001&catalogId=10152

"Shipping Tools" - see online "Tools" on right of screen.
www.usps.com/business/shippingtools/welcome.htm?from=home&page=shippingtools

"Mailing Tools" - see online "Tools" on right of screen.
www.usps.com/business/mailingtools/welcome.htm?from=home&page=mailingtools

"Receiving Mail" - see "Change of Address" and "Mail Forwarding" and others.
www.usps.com/all/optionsforreceivingmail/welcome.htm?from=home&page=receivingyourmail


4. U.S. Patent and Trademark Office's "Electronic Business Centers"; and Library of Congress' Copyright Office
For patents.
http://www.uspto.gov/ebc/index.html

For trademarks.
http://www.uspto.gov/ebc/index_tm.html

Copyright Office's "Public Catalog"
http://cocatalog.loc.gov/cgi-bin/Pwebrecon.cgi?DB=local&PAGE=First

"How to Register a Work" leads to forms that can be filled out online
http://www.copyright.gov/register/


5. GLOBUS (and NTDB) – Your Comprehensive Source for Credible Trade Leads and Timely Market Research
Although there may be some non-FDLP libraries in your service area, chances are that only your FDLP library will have access to GLOBUS and its national and international trade leads. So you should do your best to make the most of this resource! Some of the features of GLOBUS that your e-business customers should find useful include "Today's Global Business Opportunity Leads," "Current and Historical Trade Leads," "Contacts," and others.
http://www.stat-usa.gov/tradtest.nsf


6. E-government quick tools (note that according to some definitions of E-government these are not E-government tools at all; you decide)

a. NCHS "Where to Write for Vital Records
http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/howto/w2w/w2welcom.htm

b. Census "Population Finder" & Census "Find an Area Profile"
www.census.gov (both on right side of Census homepage)

c. Census " AFF Address Search"
http://factfinder.census.gov/servlet/AGSGeoAddressServlet?_lang=en&_programYear=50&_treeId=420

d. NCES "Search for Schools, Colleges, and Libraries"
http://nces.ed.gov/globallocator/

e. USA.gov
http://www.usa.gov/index.shtml

Spanish-language GobiernoUSA.gov
http://www.usa.gov/gobiernousa/index.shtml

"Other languages" from Pueblo's "Federal Citizen Information Center"
http://www.pueblo.gsa.gov/multilanguage/multilang.htm?urlnet99

Downloadable Audiobooks from NetLibrary

Hello!

Bill and I will be training everyone the Downloadable Audiobooks from NetLibrary in the next few weeks. I've included links to training materials below so you can get a sneak preview of what's coming.

Training accounts have been created in NetLibrary; Central's account is:

username: cetrain
password: ebooks

Downloadable eAudiobooks from NetLibrary
http://intranet.sppl.org/reference/eaudiobooks.html

Using Flash Drives
http://intranet.sppl.org/is/usb-tips.html

Have fun!

Melissa.