I enjoyed it. Tom Galante runs a big system in Queens, dealing with a tremendous number of languages and communities (62 communities, if I remember right). He's also a good speaker -- direct, funny, and refreshing. Clearly a very capable director. The focus of his talk was recruitment: go for the best, and don't shy away from big stunts to get people's attention.
Pam Sandlian Smith, formerly of West Palm Beach, Florida and now my neighbor as the director of the Rangeview Library District, was a delight. It's peculiar to have to travel to Illinois to get to know my Colorado colleagues better, but it was worth the trip. I fancy that I can see Pam's children's librarianship background: she has a gentle whimsy about her -- that surrounds an administrative spine of steel. Her focus was on the establishment of a a new culture centered on customer service. I am confident that she will do very well.
Marylaine Block provided a real wealth of knowledge concerning something that matters to me a great deal. She called her talk "how libraries help their communities achieve their aspirations." Her very useful list of links can be found here.
There is a lot of talent out there in libraryland. The interesting thing was that all of us, ultimately, gave the same talk: we must be community-centric, not library-centric, if we are to thrive. That insight truly is "best practice."
Pam Sandlian Smith, formerly of West Palm Beach, Florida and now my neighbor as the director of the Rangeview Library District, was a delight. It's peculiar to have to travel to Illinois to get to know my Colorado colleagues better, but it was worth the trip. I fancy that I can see Pam's children's librarianship background: she has a gentle whimsy about her -- that surrounds an administrative spine of steel. Her focus was on the establishment of a a new culture centered on customer service. I am confident that she will do very well.
Marylaine Block provided a real wealth of knowledge concerning something that matters to me a great deal. She called her talk "how libraries help their communities achieve their aspirations." Her very useful list of links can be found here.
There is a lot of talent out there in libraryland. The interesting thing was that all of us, ultimately, gave the same talk: we must be community-centric, not library-centric, if we are to thrive. That insight truly is "best practice."
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