Zone 1-4 Reference Librarians at the Elmhurst Public Library
As usually, we discussed numerous topics, not all really reference, at the Zone 1-4 Reference Librarian’s Meeting.
We started by discussing library friends groups. Several libraries that have inactive groups were inquiring how to get groups started. No one actually remembered the starting a group, but they thought administrators and board members might spark a group by inviting civic-minded people to volunteer to start new groups. Turning to Friends of Libraries USA was recommended. When we discussed what friends groups do, I realized that at Thomas Ford we have a much more active group than many other libraries.
Our second topic on the agenda dealt with the running of library programs in Spanish. The Melrose Park Library was interested in what other libraries are doing. Cicero Public was the only library of the attending group doing much. Cicero is running computer classes and story times in Spanish. Elmhurst tried Spanish story times, but both had few attendees. Cicero is also running lots of ESL classes. Both Melrose Park and Cicero tried Spanish language book discussions, but neither were well attended.
A discussion about meeting room demands arose spontaneously. It was not on the agenda. All of the libraries are getting increased demand for big meeting spaces and small study rooms. Policies differed as to whether non-card holders could use meeting rooms. Most of the libraries limit the use of meeting rooms to nonprofits, but Elmhurst will rent meeting rooms and the computer lab to Elmhurst businesses – the price is steep but some are willing to pay.
We followed with a discussion about the retention of print reference books when the titles are acquired as online databases. Everyone seemed to agree that there reference collections were shrinking. The big libraries were even getting rid of standard titles like Encyclopedia of Associations, the Congressional Quarterly Almanac, and Thomas Register. I found the conversation reassuring, as I have sometimes felt a bit bad about our canceling some titles. We are not alone.
One of the most surprising things I heard was that Elmhurst and Woodridge libraries feel they have enough databases. Neither have topics to add at this point. We discussed that the next wave of electronic tools are going to be instructional, such as language instruction (Rosetta Stone) and test preparation services.
The next Zone 1-4 Reference Librarians meeting will be December 12 at the Melrose Park Public Library.
Rick