RESEARCH FOR HISTORY DAY

Two weeks ago I attended a MHS workshop called Research for History Day.

The first piece of information I found helpful is that History Day judges look at the bibliography first.  SPPL staff will want to show students the citation tools located in most of the online databases.

The second piece of helpful information is that anyone entering the U of M Wilson Library can have access to the U of M databases while in the Wilson Library.  Wilson Library will be hosting a History Day event, and they are very enthusiastic supporters of students using their databases.  Here's a link to their policy(second paragraph), however I'm assuming the students won't have to show a government-issued photo ID.

https://www.lib.umn.edu/services/computers

Below are links to handouts and worksheets.

1.  Worksheet : Research Strategy

        One-page, single-sided worksheet helps the student break down their topic, create keywords, and think about where to look for information and what type of information (primary/secondary resources).

        http://education.mnhs.org/historyday/sites/default/files/researchstrategy.pdf


2.  Worksheet : Primary and Secondary Sources

        One-page worksheet that lists examples of different primary and secondary resources.

        http://education.mnhs.org/historyday/sites/default/files/fw14_sources.pdf


Two options for finding a topic.

3.   Handout : 2014 Topic List "Rights and Responsibilities in History"

        Five, double-sided pages of history day paper topics produced by the MHS staff.

        http://education.mnhs.org/historyday/sites/default/files/2014%20Topic%20List.pdf


4.  The MHS site also has Topic links at the MHS website: http://sites.mnhs.org/library/content/history-topics

Online Resources

5.   Online Resources For National History Day Research

                   Three-page handout.  Most information will be review for library staff including online primary and secondary resource links.

                     http://education.mnhs.org/historyday/sites/default/files/fw14_online.pdf



6.    U of M Libraries Primary Sources for History : Selected Databases for History Day Projects

                     Five-page, double-sided annotated list of U of M databases most of which are subscription.
                     Walk-ins can use the subscription databases.

                     https://www.lib.umn.edu/libdata/page_print.phtml?page_id=2687


7.  Free Links to Free Online Sites

                        Arizona State University offers an excellent page including freely available research materials.

                        https://www.lib.umn.edu/wilson/primary-sources#online


8.  30,000 Best of History Websites by EdTech Teacher Inc.

                       Arrranged by topic this list of links can be overwhelming, but if you have a particular topic, the links to free databases may be helpful to the student.

                       http://besthistorysites.net


Links to MN History Day materials

                Everything you'd like to know about MN History Day can be found on the MHS website.  I've included direct links for fastest maneuvering.

 9.  http://education.mnhs.org/historyday/research-workshop-materials

                   Link includes Research Strategy Worksheet and Topics Handout.


10.   http://education.mnhs.org/historyday/2014-teacher-framework

                   Hidden link to Teacher Framework.  133-page document.

                   This hidden link means you don't have to fill out the information page which comes up every time you try to access the Framework.


--Samantha F-C @ Merriam

The New Points of View Reference Center

Points of View Reference Center has a new look to make it more appealing and to bring it in line with the other EBSCO databases. Now you can use the same sign in to save results and searches in the folder in the upper-right-hand corner as Masterfile Premier, Novelist, or Academic Search Premier. On the right side of each article, you have the familiar options to save, email, cite, or get a permanent web link. By clicking on “Bookmark”, you can even share via social media. Patrons can listen to articles in an American, British or Australian accent and even download as an .mp3 file.

Points of View is geared to papers that present one side or another of an issue, although it can be used for much more. Selected hot-button issues of the day are displayed on the front page, as well as a blog where students can discuss issues and the option to browse by category. When you start typing in the search box, Points of View will make topic suggestions, just like Google. If you get lost, click on the “Points of View” icon to get back to the front page.

Points of View includes newspaper and magazine articles, academic journals, primary sources, government documents, radio and television transcripts, charts and graphs, images, and videos from the Video Encyclopedia of the 20th Century. There are 343 topics and 1300 main essays. The full-text limiter is on by default.

Each topic has an overview, a “Point” article, a “Counterpoint” with an opposing argument, and a Guide to Critical Analysis. The Guide explains each section of the topic and how a patron would use them to help write a paper, along with questions to think about to help them decide what their opinion is.

On the right of each topic are research guides on choosing a topic, evaluating web sites, and writing a topic sentence. “How to understand the bias of a publication” lists publications considered liberal, conservative and moderate. Research guides are also available on the front page in the “Reference Shelf” box on the right. Here you can also browse all 63 charts and graphs.

Points of View Reference Center remains the go-to resource for persuasive papers or speeches.


--Andrea @Central

Hive and Learning Networks

Learning Labs in Libraries & Museums
Grantee Convening
July 23-25, 2013
Pittsburgh, PA


Hive and Learning Networks


Hive NYC (Chris Lawrence, Director of Hive NYC, clawrence@mozillafoundation.org)

• Launched in 2007 and supported by Mozilla
• Youth came up with the name ‘Hive’ and graphics; focused on youth-serving organizations committed to transforming experiences; ‘threw things at the wall and saw what stuck’, ‘was all by accident but caught like wildfire’
• Within a year other cities were asking for advice on starting their own Hive
• Chicago (Mozilla) & Pittsburgh (Sprout Fund) are fully-functioning

Surge Columbus (Julie Scordato, Youth Services Manager at Columbus Metropolitan Library, jscordato@columbuslibrary.org)

• Network of 5 institutions doing learning labs: public media, library, arts center, science & industry center, museum of art
• Brought on an independent office of evaluators
• Brainstormed: audience (teens, parents, internal staff..) and outcomes
• Created a living document/logic model for the network
• Served as a map, touchstone (reminder of commitment)
• Each organization also developed a separate logic model
• Formed committees across the network (weekly or biweekly meetings): programming, promotion, sustainability, products, professional development

Pittsburgh Kids+Creativity Network

• Became the third Hive after building a network and realizing the need for contacts outside of the city and conversation about reimagining learning
• Approached the MacArthur Foundation to ask for support
• Hive Days of Summer
• 3 month program; 100 opportunities, 18 organizations
• Organizations received small grants to fund
• Each organization received a Hive toolbox of posters/stickers – so youth saw the branding
• Take pART (Corey Wittig, Digital Learning Librarian, The Labs @ Carnegie Library. wittigc@carnegielibrary.org)
• Arts & media-making around participatory politics & community engagement
• Partners within the network: Carnegie Library, HEAR ME (an initiative of Carnegie Mellon University’s CREATE Lab), Sprout Fund
• Youth Voice: records youth stories and share with the adults in the community who need to hear
• One example was recording stories of youth who grew up with parents in prison; their stories were shared with adults in a prisoner re-entry program

 Hive Global

• New sites in progress include Toronto and Mexico City
• There’s a need to share best practices and build together on a global level but also to be hyperlocal
• Global Maker Party: helps create global connections as people mingle and then share

Advice to other cities:

• (From San Francisco) Host a Hive Pop-up to assess need, commitment
• A pop-up is an event that brings multiple youth-serving organizations into one space, similar to a maker fair
• For participating organizations the event helps to find tensions, possibilities, tangible things to build upon, much better place to start a co-plan (more effective than a meeting)

•  Involve an independent operator who can balance interests between organizations
• Neutral
• Will help with moving forward and building value
• Look at current youth trajectories and design towards that; what’s working in your city?

-Leslie @ SR/Admin

Pittsburgh Learning Labs Convening

Expanding Participation in Make (Lisa Brahms, Children’s Museum of Pittsburgh; Elyse Eidman-Aadahl,

National Writing Project; Kylie Peppler, Indiana University)

·         Keys to a successful makerspace:

o   Low floors (low barriers of entry)

o   High ceilings

o   Wide walls (inclusive)

·         KP shared info on e-textiles broadening female participation in STEM

o   Gender gaps in web memberships: Ravelry 73% female; Make 63% male

o   Arduino 86% male; Lilypad Arduino 65% female

o   Lilypad is simpler than ardunio, which requires text coding

§  Can be used for grades 2+

§  Sewn into fabric to make e-textiles

§  Lilypond.media.mit.edu has a showcase of kids’ work

§  Book on designs (Textile Messages) out in September

§  Shown to be very successful in increasing understanding of circuits

o   Other ways to engage girls:

§  Code the space for girls: add a sewing machine or girl coded toys

§  Place media-making tools in fashion area; a green screen to encourage photo shoots

o   Start a typically gender-coded workshop with discussion; set every chair in a circle

§  Leads to great conversation and increased participation

o   Advise facilitators to be very aware of the language they use

o   Invite visitors that are non-traditional: a girl gamer

Also, here are some photos and videos from the Children's Museum's MAKESHOP and an innovation lab at Carnegie Mellon:




 http://lesliesp06.tumblr.com/tagged/pittsburgh


-Leslie @SR/Admin

Urban Libraries Council: Youth-Powered Learning and Badges Webinar

Erin Knight, senior learning director of the Mozilla Foundation, and Liz McChesney, Director of Children’s and Young Adult Service at Chicago Public Library, discussed the concept of badges and how they were implemented for a summer of learning (not just reading).

Learning has a different look in the 21st century. Lifelong learning is a must-have, whether you have a “tech job” or not. New ways of obtaining credentials that help us capture and communicate learning are needed -- the old ways aren't flexible enough.

One example of this is the Stack Overflow answer site - you earn badges if your answers are valuable in different categories, or if you have good “customer service” skills. In the web sites Careers 2.0 section, employers can check who has which badges.

Mozilla created Open Badges to be granular, evidence-based, and transferrable. One can be explicit about what skills are important and create a map of learning. Learners can earn badges across many experiences at many locations over a lifetime - work, online, library etc. A storage area called a “backpack” is controlled by the learner. Mozilla has a standard for badges- it must be easy to "read" who the issuer is, who the learner is and what the criteria is. There are currently 900 issuers and 100,000 badges - a tenfold increase from a year ago. Organizations issuing badges can create them themselves using the free open-source architecture of Open Badges, or Badgestack will do the work for them for a fee.

The Summer of Learning at Chicago Public Library was a collaboration with the library and the Museum of Science and Industry, although every cultural institution in Chicago became a part of the program. In addition to reading 300 minutes, youth were encouraged to come to programs, do summer brain games, learn online, and create art. It was designed based on the Common Core Standards of learning,

The badges were: Read, Learn, Discover, Create, Achieve, and Volunteer.

Chicago Public Library trained all children's librarians three times -- Badging interns were brought in using a grant from Mozilla. Librarians would ask kids questions about their reading based on the Common Core Standards. Explaining the process to the parents and kids was the most time-consuming part of the program.

In addition to the Summer of Learning, Chicago Public Library issues badges in their Makerspace for equipment mastery.  Badges are ideal for informal learning like makerspaces -- you can attach photos as evidence.

Anecdotal evidence suggests that learners who don't do as well in traditional learning do better with badges. Also, role-based badges such as “mentor” encourage people to learn more. Badges are a way to deal with the complex learning needs of the 21st century.

Selected slides from the presentation.

--Andrea @Central

BEA, Part II: “How the Douglas County Libraries Model Bypasses the Vendor System & Benefits Everyone”

At Book Expo America 2013, the presenters from Douglas County CO and their partner Califa, did an exceptional presentation which was eye opening, to say the least.

The Douglas County Library System has bought and installed their own server to disseminate ebooks which they buy (yes, buy) from the publishers directly. The publishers they are dealing with are cooperating fully, allowing both the purchase and dissemination of their backlists and current publications through the DCL system. Douglas County continues to work with aggregators such as Overdrive for popular and brand name authors, but also maintains an in-house set of e-files that are not subject to the whims of an outside entity, thereby creating a base of e-books which are considered to be the property of the library---an archive of useable files either direct from publishers, along with access to the Gutenberg project and any of the other accessible e-book collections springing up around the internet.

They have partnered with Workman to buy their entire e-book backlist, as well as buying selectively from other publishers, and at present have over 27,000 titles in their ebook collection. They do work with the publishers by including a “buy now” button on all their ebooks, and still allow only one checkout per patron at a time. Their publishing partners include Akashic , Crabtree, Poisoned Pen, Rose, Smashwords, Dzanc, Sourcebook and Tyndale, among many others. They receive an average of 40% discount on their print purchases and ask for similar discounts on their electronic purchases. They don’t always get it, but they do get it often enough to make it workable.  They have integrated their catalog to include all titles in one listing, so that a single search could produce titles from their “publishing partners”, Overdrive, or physical books. Have a look at their downloadables page on their catalog :  http://douglascountylibraries.org/downloadables

To put it simply, Douglas County has radically changed “the rules of the game”. And Califa, a consortium  which was launched with a Library Services and Technology Act grant from the California State Library in July, 2003, (as many California libraries were being denied funding due to the state of California’s budget at the time) has extended the playing field even more.  They have just launched their own answer to the e-book question, and e-book project called Enki, (named after the Sumerian deity of mischief, creativity and intelligence) which uses Open Source software to extend and amplify the work that Douglas County has begun. With Enki, the process becomes useable for ILL, among other benefits, but more importantly allows access to the software that would otherwise be prohibitive, even for those libraries which might be able to afford their own server.  Here’s a link to their explanation of the E-book project: http://califa.org/ebooks.php  which explains it far better than I can here.

Now, I’m in no way an IT person, nor did I understand much of the computer jargon that peppered the questions and answers that followed the presentation. But I do know enough to believe that this is the first experiment since the inception of e-books in libraries that is showing another path for libraries to take which will effectively return control of our collections to our own hands.  And it couldn’t come soon enough, in my opinion. Bravo to both Douglas County and Califa…and stay tuned. They have only just begun, and the future for libraries looks very different from the way it looked even six months ago!

For more information, here are some contacts that are happy to discuss this with all comers:

For purchasing logistics, discounts, and acquisition information:    Sharon Nemechek: snemechek@dclibraries.org   or Rochelle Logan:   rlogan@dclibraries.org

For technical questions, including DRM, filei formats and processes:   Monique Sendz: msendze@dclibraries.org

Any of the above can also be reached by phone: (303) 791-7323.

- Doris @Central 

Report from BEA 2013

This report will be split into two parts;  part one-general impressions and lots of book titles, part two-Douglas County Library in Colorado and their impressive solution to the ebook dilemma.

Part One, All the other sessions:

BEA, for those who have never attended is the North American publishers party of the year. It is held in NYC at the Javits Center and is a showcase for what’s new, what’s coming up and what they are particularly proud of. Most of all, it’s a marketing bonanza for both mainstream and indie publishers and a way to get some buzz going for their authors. And, of course, it’s a great opportunity for a footloose librarian to pick up a whole lot of ARC and already published material FREE. Nothing better than that, is there?

This year, I had the honor of being offered a VIP pass from the lovely guys from Unshelved. They were presenting a session called “Surviving the Public” and had 50 passes to give away.  The pass allowed me access to the entire run of the conference which made it especially fun.  It also offered a special lounge where we could rest and recoup, which was a particularly nice perk (your feet can take a real beating at the Javits Center).

Among the conference sessions I attended (other than the one being presented by Gene Ambaum and Bill Barnes, with illustrations from Unshelved) was “ GoodReads 201: Advanced Tips for Helping Readers Discover your Books”, a primer for authors on how to take best advantage of GoodReads. This session made me more aware of how many layers there are to GoodReads and how much is hidden from the average GoodReads user. I guess I was a little naïve in thinking that they didn’t take pay for promoting certain titles. Lesson learned. GoodReads may be user generated to some degree, but from what I heard at BEA, not only do they keep rather detailed demographics on their users, but they can and will use those demographics to influence the people that use the site, as long as the publishers or authors pay. The presenter did cover how to increase your readership through author presence on the site, but when push comes to shove….money once again talks loudest of all.

I also attended a session geared towards librarians called “E-Books from Libraries:  Good for Authors?”, where all those fine old canards (publishers are only protecting our authors, what about book piracy, libraries only circulate books X number of times per year so we’re justified in limiting licenses to ebooks, etc) were trotted out as though they were gospel by one publisher’s representative, with the president of ALA sitting next to her saying (over and over again) that librarians “stood for access for all”.  The only really interesting part of this particular session came when the president of Overdrive talked about the surprising statistics just in regarding the unlimited access experiment that had just taken place on Overdrive in May with Michael Malone’s Four Corners of the Sky. I have not seen this in writing anywhere, but he said that Michael Malone’s backlist of books increased in sales by 900% and the actual title “Four Corners….” Increase d sales by 1600%. So much for unlimited access hurting authors.

I greatly enjoyed the speed dating concept used in the session “Great Book Group Titles for Fall/Winter”. The audience sat at tables covered with copies of the books being discussed  and the publisher’s representatives got 5 minutes to introduce their titles at a table. When the bell rang, they  were expected to move to the next table and do their spiel again. Most of the reps were so hyped on their books (and possibly caffeine) that they finished in plenty of time.  Others did not marshall their time as well. But the excitement in the room was a marvelous to see. To see the list of books/publishers included, go to:  http://readinggroupguides.com/features/BEA_Speed_Dating_Slides_2013.pdf    Of course, not all these titles will go anywhere, but many are already generating some excellent reviews.

The APA(Audio Publishers Association) Author Tea, which was held on Friday, featured talks from Brandon Sanderson, Bill Bryson and Louise Penny moderated by Janis Ian. Brandon is a huge fan of libraries. As a reluctant reader until the age of 13 or 14, it was a librarian who turned him on to books. He was a delightful speaker, animated and humorous. Janis Ian’s only comment when he finished (before introducing Louise Penny) was “Wow, I’d hate to have to follow that” and then promptly resigned Ms Penny to her fate. Luckily, she was up to the challenge, relaying stories about her research into Gregorian chanting and monasteries which had us all hanging on her every word. Poor Bill Bryson just folded as the last speaker, doing a poor job of recounting one of the “bear” stories from his earlier book A Walk in the Woods. (I’m glad I got to see him at an HCL event a few years ago, where he was a terrific raconteur). Among the super CD giveaways that came out of that session were: a copy of Way of Kings by Sanderson, a copy of At Home by Bryson, a copy of Society’s Child by Janis Ian and a copy of The Beautiful Mystery by Penny---all unabridged CD versions which will be added to the collection shortly. The bonus goodie turned out to be an ARC copy of Bryson’s new book One Summer: America 1927.

A few other authors were worth standing in line to meet as well, such as Sue Grafton (W is for Wasted) Neil Gaiman  (Ocean at the End of the Lane, Unfortunately the Milk), Sheri Fink (Five Days at Memorial), Wendy Lower (Hitler’s Furies: German Women in the Nazi Killing Fields) civil rights activist John Lewis (March), Robbie Robertson and his son Sebastian (Legends, Icons and Rebels: Music that Changed the World). Not all of these ARCs made it back to St Paul, as we discovered that when shipping books out of BEA---don’t leave the good ones in the box. Apparently, some people didn’t want to wait in line…they just followed people who did wait to the shipping area and then stole the books when others dropped them off. Sad. However, if anyone wants to get in line to read the Sue Grafton or the Bill Bryson books, contact me. Other celebrities showed up as well at BEA, among them Jim Carrey and Julianne Moore, but the longest line of all was for a most unlikely celebrity of them all; Grumpy Cat (aka Tardar Sauce) had lines of people waiting over 2 hours just to say hello to her and get an “autographed” cover of the soon to be released book. Yes, she is just as cute (and grumpy looking) as her pictures and no, I did not stand in line for two hours. See http://www.petside.com/article/grumpy-cat-rocks-bookexpo-america for more information.

--Doris @Central

METRONET "APPY" HOUR

I used some vacation time to attend this late afternoon Metronet "Appy" Hour session.  Nine of us shared apps that we've found useful. Unfortunately, I brought my library branch's iPad with me to the session, and the Apple id wasn't what I thought it was, so I couldn't install any of these apps.  But I did take notes on the library's iPad and here is the list of suggested apps in the order they were suggested:

Chinook Book:  Not free.  This is a coupon app.
Nexercise:  A free exercise app.  If you exercise enough, you get free gift cards.
Shazaam:  This app identifies songs.
SoundHound:  This app identifies songs and lyrics.
TrailMix: This is a music and pedometer app. It's not free.
Google Search: Features the google now location service.
PopBooth:  This is a photobooth app.
apps gone free:  This is a place to look for free apps.
free app magic:  This is another place to look for free apps, mostly game apps.
Haiku Deck: "Presentation software to set your story free."  Beautiful photographs to go with your presentation slides.
NPR Music:  All the music and many interviews from NPR are on this app.
Color Splurge:  This app adds color effects to your photos.
Leafsnap:  This is an "electronic field guide" that identifies leaves.
Hungry Fish:  This is a math game app for kids.
7 Little Words:  This is a word game app.
Word Lens:  This app translates signs.
Quixey:  This is a search engine for apps.
Scanner Radio:  This app lets you listen to police scanners around the world.
YALSA's Teen Book Finder: This is a free app for finding teen books.

--Barb @Highland Park

THE NEW OVERDRIVE CATALOG

You may have noticed that the Overdrive catalog has a new look. It’s not just cosmetic - there are some major changes.

Each title has an icon of a book on the upper-right-hand corner of the cover. If it is black, the book is available. If it’s greyed-out, all copies are checked out. If you click on the bookmark on the lower left of the cover, the book is automatically added to your wish list.

When you search, filter options are available on the left side. You can filter by format, language, subject, publisher, grade level, device, or items available now.

There is also the new option “additional titles to recommend”. These are titles that SPPL does not own, but are available from Overdrive. Patrons can suggest that they be purchased. This include audiobooks, which we currently do not purchase from Overdrive.  

There are fewer steps to check out, especially for those who use Adobe Digital Editions. The catalog remembers your preferred check out period, so you don’t have to choose it every time. You can still change it for an individual book. Format (Kindle or EPUB) is chosen by radio button, which should reduce errors. There is a note warning that “Once you select a format, you may only be able to return the title via the software.” Some titles can now be returned early by logging in to the patron “account”, but not all.

One nice new feature for patrons  who read on their computer, or if they have other technical issues preventing use of apps or downloading, is “Read in your browser”. Patrons can move to a different chapter, search for words, and make bookmarks, just as they do in software or apps. This feature is publisher-dependent, so not all titles are available in this format. Patrons who use Internet Explorer may need to download the Google Chrome Frame Plug-in to use all the features.

Perhaps assuming that fewer patrons are new to the process or are using the Adobe Digital Editions software, there are fewer links to it. A link called “software” is at the very bottom left of every page between “help” and copyright information, but it can be easy to miss. There is also a “get software” link on the right in the patron account’s “bookshelf” view.

For more information, check out this page from Overdrive:

http://sppl.lib.overdrive.com/0443BF0D-3644-4867-A01D-CEAAF8684184/10/50/en/NextGen.htm

--Andrea @Central

NTC CONFERENCE NOTES

CTEP members and their supervisors were offered the opportunity to attend the NonProfit Technology Conference, a three day affair being held in Minneapolis, for free if they would volunteer a minimum of 3 hours throughout the conference. Needless to say, we jumped at the chance.

Many of the CTEPs did their volunteer hours prior to the start of the conference, stuffing conference bags with goodies and programs, etc. I acted as room monitor for several sessions on both Thursday and Friday. I’m glad I had the chance to participate, but after seeing what was on offer, it became obvious that this conference was mostly geared towards IT people and fundraisers. There were also tracks dedicated to leadership, communication and  connection  (whatever that means…here it appeared to refer to consultation and networking). And, there was a fair bit of stuff that made the privacy lovers among us shudder uncontrollably…but we’ll get to that.

Fittingly, the first session I attended was the First Timer session—an introduction to NTC. They told us about the website (to which I never did manage to connect) and the collaborative note-taking that was taking place via the web (also not fully realized due to lack of bandwidth). They spent a good deal of time explaining the tech end,  explaining that the program had been printed mid-month and that much of it had been changed. The only accurate program listing was online. And only a few of the truly tech savvy (or those blessed with much better equipment than the rest of us) were able to access it. Needless to say, mistakes were made, sessions were missed, and a certain amount of frustration that should have been avoided became the norm for this conference.

I then took part in the Social Media Police session, which was a lively look back at the hits and misses in marketing and advertising over the last year. The session was well done and well attended. The presenters chose to emulate one of their favorite TV shows, Fashion Police, in order to present the best and worst of marketing in 2012. One of the highlights mentioned was the way certain companies  reacted swiftly to the blackout during the Superbowl. One of the worst cases cited was the NRA’s response to Sandy Hook. Here’s the link to their slide deck:

http://www.slideshare.net/melmatho/social-media-police-nonprofit-edition

The rest of the afternoon was spent touring the exhibits (what they referred to as the Science Fair), getting a look at some interesting new titles coming out soon  and talking to some vendors who have created some truly awesome volunteer  management software.

Friday, the Plenary speaker was Dan Pallotta, a name that was much in the news in the early part of this decade. His group, Pallotta TeamWorks,  was responsible for making the Susan G Komen 3 day walk and others such a resounding success in their  early years. His group was also very publicly fired when it came out that their “overhead” costs amounted to almost 40% of the money brought in on those walks.  His contention (in  a nutshell) is that if you don’t put the money into overhead, funding will never increase past a certain point and growth is effectively stymied by the rules that govern non-profits. He is starting up a new group which would act as a legal defense fund for charitable organizations.  Interesting, but suspect as to his motivations…given his past history. If you’re interested, here is a transcript of his talk:

https://docs.google.com/document/d/19J0d7V1vualfQCUr-4emgmEEcV89HrIogVd7mcjxC1I/edit

and for a good critique of his newest title “ Uncharitable”, which gives a rather cogent and well reasoned response to his ideas:

http://philanthropy.com/article/article-content/134708/

The next session I attended was “Secrets of Content Marketing Sorcerers”, an intriguing mix of how to attract volunteers and engage them with how to hook contributors with relevant content in your publications (i.e. newsletters, circulars, ads, etc.)

One of the marketers for “VolunteerMatch”, a website  which connects volunteers to opportunities, while getting its funding from corporate America told of the dichotomy which comes from trying to find the right fit for the volunteer with enticing the corporations to foot the bill for this service. Their answer was to do niche marketing and tailor their content to each of their contributing corporations, while keeping their public website segmented to the volunteers only. Seems to be working for them…they are, hands down, one of the best volunteer match firms out there. NTEN’s advertising  guru brought up the old broccoli (what we want  them to know) and cheese (what they want to know) idea. How do you slip the broccoli in? By knowing what your readers consider to be cheese---look to analytics…which tell you what people are looking at and what subjects are causing people to click through to another page for more information. Once you know that, you know where you can put just enough broccoli to engage people with your cause. What becomes rather problematic for us as librarians is the way they collect their information. By using analytics that track what you are doing on your computer,  these marketers are getting an amazing (and somewhat scary) totality of information about their website visitors!  But the best part of this session came with Kivi Leroux Miller who has a new book out on this subject. Her contention is that you should be paying close attention to your website and marketing.  Break your content into evergreen, annual and perennial content:Evergreen Content:  that’s broccoli or cheese that you don’t have to update often. Directories, how-to’s, etc. Maybe you change twice a year.  Perennial Content: Appears year after year based on cycles like seasons. Often appears in e-newsletters. You will probably repurpose.  Annual Color: Appears mostly in social media. Has a very short life-span but can create a lot of interest in your work.

Her contention is that you need to find core topics that you want to be known for, and then strategize to figure out how to fill in different types of content related to these core areas. Basically, this  90 minutes was a crash course in effective (if intrusive) marketing technique on the web.

Unfortunately, the next session I attended “Is Success just in the Numbers?” on quantitative vs qualitative measurement of impact was far less successful. Let’s just say that the best line I took away from this session was “ If you can't draw a direct line from your metric to your mission, then you're measuring the wrong thing”.  

The last session of the day for me was called “The New Normal: Shifting Organization Resources to Thrive and Survive”, which turned out to be a primer for (in these cases) IT professionals within a charitable organization to learn to see what changes needed to be made and how to go about creating those changes.  The panel members were young, enthusiastic and not very well organized.  Notes from other attendees are here:

https://docs.google.com/document/d/108uSzOpPu29r1rlZSlVPjoWBlgJrqVz0-Eaqjnit8pw/edit

--Doris @Central