Louisiana Library Association Conference 2014 - Day 1

Benefits after BTOP Laptops

The program was a panel of library directors who talked about the success of the program. They included stories about people sitting in the parking lot to use Wi-Fi. One even mentioned that they received phone calls from people in the parking lot asking them to re-set the router!

The best of the stories was from one library director who went out to retrieve an overdue laptop. She walked up to the trailer where the person lived. With no argument the woman gave it back. As the library director was leaving, the patron said: "Oh, would you sign me up so that I can borrow it again when it comes back."

One of the directors noted that the BTOP-funded classes were very popular, and that he would willingly take more laptops.

[Cypress - software for writing resumes - more to come]

Patron on the Edge: Customer Service in Difficult Circumstances

Sarah Creekmore, Admin Assistant to the library director in Lincoln Parish presented the program. Prior to her current position, she had worked in reference, and had an extensive experience in customer service in banking and retail. She notes that one of the differences is that in public service, we are the product, and we need to focus on delivering the best possible product.

React v. Respond
Reaction is generally negative "gut feeling" "not thinking, feeling"
Respond, thought out, have a plan, able to see alternatives, logical tools in advance of the situation
Observe behavior, and respond in a way that is most effective

Mood Swings

• Anxiety (necessarily a problem....)
• Give them your undivided attention
• Speak more softly and calmly
• Let them vent (don't interrupt)
• Make it right (if library is wrong)
• Belligerence
• Acting Angry
• Accusatory
• Bad language
• Take control quickly 
• Keep eye contact (otherwise may think trying to get away, but don't look down -- submissive look)
• Control (Out of)
• Communicating threats, intoxicated = call the cops
• Get additional staff/co-workers for back up
• Safety is paramount
• Calm
• Not usually a problem (unless, just out of control, if this happens don't fall for it)

Attack Strategies

• Bullying/Manipulating
• Sometimes need to think through to figure out what they want
• Critical to find some truth in what they say
• Disagree without arguing
• Ask for input
• Smarty Pants-ing
• Patrons who know the rules better than you do
• Attempt to overwhelm with information
• Energizer bunnies -- going and going and going (try to paraphrase briefly)
• Ask specific questions, the more specific the better
• Thank for input
• Back Stabbing
• Call them out.....ask for their direct input/opinion
• Gloom and Dooming 
• Eyore - perpetual pessimists
• Acknowledge the part which is true

Derailment Tactics (deny, defend, or counter-attack)

• Broken Record
• Repeat: "Really sorry you feel that way, but this is our policy"
• Can apologize for the inconvenience (not necessarily effective)
• Fogging (for manipulations and counter-attacks)
•  Acknowledge remark (take the meat of what they are saying)
• 
  
• Bargaining
• Alternative solutions
• Defusing Triggers
• Triggers are personal (bad bullies will find them and poke)
• Sometimes you need to have someone else intervene and deal with patron

Keeping Cool

• Avoid losing control
• Accepting emotional responsibility
• Find the trigger
• Put things in perspective
• If necessary, use an exit line
• If you lose control
• Interrupt yourself
• (scream stop inside your head...take a breath and tell patron what is going on)
• Communicate your feelings (no blame or apology needed*)
• Continue or reschedule as needed
• *Unless actions were negative, i.e. throwing or yelling

 Examples/Real Life

ADA does allow you to ask for service animals to leave if they urinate or defecate in the building or if they are creating a disturbance. Can ask if a service animal and can ask what their function is. Can ask the animals to leave, cannot ask the patron to leave.

State of the State Library

Presentation is on the State Library web site. Full presentation is here.
The good news? The current budget proposal includes $1.4 million in State Aid. This will help the State meet the federal MER (Minimum Expenditure Requirement).

Overview of the Uniform Electronic Legal Material Act (UELMA)

States used to produce their own codes. But then they came to realize that there were companies that were doing it, so they chose a private publisher to do it. In Louisiana, West Publishing is the official publisher. Many states have moved to online to "save money."

There is a site which AALL maintains which indicates sources of online codes and whether the online copy is official and the copyright status. (List is state by state.)

In 2007, NCUSL (National Conference of Commissioners on Uniform State Laws) approved a study explore digital authentication. in 2011, the new legislation was approved.

UELMA definition is narrow: constitutions, session laws, codified laws, and administrative rules. States may expand the definition if they want, but it is a local decision. The act applied to electronic legal material that has been designated official.

• Official designation
• Must name and agency or official as the the "official publisher" for each set of materials
• No definition of relationship between state and commercial publishers
• Authentication
• Provide a method for the user to determine that the record is unaltered from the official version
• Preservation and Security
• Publisher shall ensure integrity and preservation of the record
• Public access
• Should be permanent
• "Reasonably available"

Adopted in California, Colorado, Connecticut, Hawaii, Minnesota, Nevada, North Dakota, and Oregon.

There was conversation that AALL was going to target Louisiana for enactment, but searching for bills does not find any proposed legislation.

Prediction...it will come to be that the online version will be official.

AALL: http://community.aallnet.org/DigialAccesstoLegalInformationCommittee/stateonlinelegalinformation/Louisiana

UELMA: http://www.aallnet.org/Documents/Government-Relations/UELMA

(Re)Organization: Recruiting, Training, and Retaining a Diverse Library Staff

State Librarian Rebecca Hamilton, and LSU professor Robin Kurz did an excellent presentation on the topic of diversity. Full presentation is here.

LLA Book Dinner

Richard Paul Evans was an absolutely captivating speaker. I only took notes on my phone, and here are a couple of gems:

• He told a very humorous story about how one day he appeared for an early morning talk show (Atlanta?), and there was a dispute between his publicist and the show's producer. The result was that the station agreed to promote his book signing, and he came back the next morning. While being set up with his microphone the next morning, the technician let slip that he had been "bumped" the previous day. For whom? Elvis Presley's podiatrist. Who arrived with a container of Elvis' toenail clippings!
• "The map you see is not the road. The way you see the world is not how the world really is."
• Every revolution started with a book.

He talked extensively about his philosophy about life as contained in his book on the "four doors."

It was a great end to the day.