Portraits of Women in 500 years of Western Art

I found this youtube video when I looked online for a recipe for Mango Salsa. I found a recipe on the blog "Simply Recipes" (which I made into a summer salad with Prawns) but didn't stop there because the recipe blog was so good that I wanted to see what Elise's other blogs. (She's also a consultant with a Silicon Valley company so I was reminiscing about my past life in San Jose.)

That's how it happens online. One thing leads to another. And that's how I found Elise's blog about this video which I had to share with you. It's one of the coolest I've ever seen!

So where do we go from here...

I've owned the domain name "austin-pacific.com" for years. I've been through those painful times when my site said "under construction". For a while, http://www.austin-pacific.com was amusing baby pictures of me doing things that seemed a prediction of things to come with the sub-heading, "Future this or that" like the picture where I, as a five-year old child with a bare mid-riff standing in front of shelves of books announce my candidacy for the Salado Library Board.

Or this charming photo from my childhood where I'm playing with a soldering iron - an odd choice of toys for a young child, but dad was an engineer. This photo showed up on my web site with the caption, "Future Silicon Valley Quality Control Inspector." These photos made their debut on my web site when my parents (without consulting me) created an amusing site to celebrate my decision to move back home to Texas from California and pursue a life of independent consulting in order to be closer to my family. (After building me a web site like that, can you blame me for coming home to Texas where I can keep a closer eye on them?)

So, the question remains...what shall become of this site? I don't currently need the P.R. to get work - at least I don't need much more work right now. I do like having this space to dump my thoughts whether or not anyone reads them. It is convenient to point to this link because I have an extensive resume posted on the link to the right hand side. But mostly, I think I just like having this space for creative thinking, soul searching, and venting. Maybe that's good enough. It sure feels that way to me right now!

And the Results Are...

Salado Public Library will continue with its current slate of board members as the two incumbents were re-elected as of 7:38 p.m. on Saturday evening. Although I will not be serving on the board, I am delighted by the following:

• I had a fabulous campaign watch party surrounded by interesting, forward-thinking, supportive individuals.
• I make WAY too much food so I won't have to cook for a week!!!
• We actually HAD an election. It's a poor reflection on our civic-mindedness when we can skip elections because we don't have enough people who WANT to serve.
• I only lost by 31 votes which means that at least 435 people liked my ideas and I'll continue to bring those ideas forward from outside the board.
• I made a public statement that I care about enough about this community to put myself out there and risk rejection.
• A good many people out there know about my qualifications as a university library degree instructor, a consultant to libraries across the country, a frequently invited library keynote speaker, and an active member of American Library Association. The two gracious incumbents commended me for my ideas and I in turn pledged my support to them during their tenure. Even without an elected position, I feel like I can do just as I have done with dozens of other libraries across the country...lend my expertise and be a consultant as my voice is needed.

I celebrate the democratic process and am thrilled I participated in this small way. I congratulate the winners - Patty Campbell and Susan Krals - and I especially congratulate my fellow non-incumbent, Thad Wilson who served on the library's Long Range Planning Committee. Only he knows how courageous it is in a small town to throw your name into the hat. Based on my brief encounters with him, I'm sure he feels just as honored as I do to have had this marvelous experience and to be a part of the democratic experiment.

I'm sure there is much more I need to say, including personally thanking some fabulous people. But the prawns are in the trunk and need to be iced, there are scraps of chocolate cake that would go down nicely with a hearty Merlot, and there a more dishes than I can count that need to be rinsed before the caked food becomes part of the decoration. Just as I wished for more colleagues to enjoy the bounty of my afternoon cooking fenzy, so do I wish those same colleagues were here for the cleanup!

Virtual Campaign Watch Party for my Out-of-Town Friends

On Saturday May 12, I will be hosting a Campaign Watch Party from 6:30-8:00 Central time in Salado in celebration of democracy and hopefully celebration of my election to the Salado Public Library Board. It’s a small town and 90% of the votes were already cast in early voting so we should have the results by about 7:30. The in-person party will be at the Salado Wine Seller.

Since I’ve received so much encouragement and support from so many people who can’t be with us in person, I’m hosting a virtual campaign watch party.

IF YOU HAVE A PC:
To join, go to: http://67.19.90.10/masteradmin/room.asp?id=rs36a886a07b55 using your pc and Internet explorer. UNFORTUNATELY THIS TECHNOLOGY ONLY WORKS ON PC!

If this is your first visit, you will need to download something minor that takes about 20 seconds. After that, click on “Enter the Room”. You’ll be asked for a user name and password. ENTER WHATEVER NAME YOU WANT AS "USER NAME"...IT DOESN’T MATTER...AND IGNORE THE PASSWORD.

Once you are logged in, you will be able to send a text message, talk if you have a microphone on your computer (by clicking on the microphone in the lower left hand corner) and hear others if you have speakers hooked up.

IF YOU HAVE A MAC:
I have another virtual room that works with Macs, but I only have space for three computer log ins. To join that room, go to: http://www.elluminate.com/live/md.html?rk=5KB3XCXCZNDWNW0N. Again, you will have to download a minor piece of software. Every time I go to this site it tells me I don’t have the required software, but I know I’ve downloaded it so I ignore it!

FOR BOTH PC AND MAC:
Once you log in, you will see my austin-pacific web site where I have been blogging about this experience. Once I get the results, I will update this blog so you will be able to see whether or not I won. Of course you can go straight to the blog (http://www.austin-pacific.com) and ignore the virtual room, but you’ll miss out on being able to talk to people attending the party and hearing our voices. I may even have a camera handy and upload photos until we get the results.

I hope you can join me. I know this is a bizarre experiment, but would you expect any less from me?

Week 3 Answers to Village Voice Questions

Below are my responses to the questions posed by the Salado Village Voice which will be printed in the newspaper on May 9, 2007.

1. What do you see the role of a Library Director as being? (100 words)

The Director manages the daily operations according to policies and procedures developed between the board, director and staff with input from the community. The director ensures adherence to the budget established by the board with oversight from the Finance Chair, prepares reports to ensure transparency and accountability to the community and the board, manages staff and creates an environment for learning, mutual respect, and innovation. The director must be a visionary leader who stays abreast of emerging technology, new theories of management, innovative programming, opportunities to meet community needs, grant opportunities, and resources from the state library and professional associations.

---100 words---

2. What is the relationship between the Library Board and the professional staff of the library? (100 words)

The library director’s role is articulated above. The Board’s relationship with the staff is to ensure that they have adequate tools to perform their job under the direction of the library director.

I will increase professional development opportunities for staff through a comprehensive professional needs assessment and funding for staff to access training through conferences, workshops, and free online opportunities provided by the Texas State Library, American Library Association and OPAL (online programming the for all libraries). The board and the director according to the long-range needs of the community will orchestrate these professional development opportunities.

---96 words---

3. What one thing would make SPL the best small town library in the state? (100 words)

Eliminate “small town”, “in the state” language and be THE best library in the country – period!

Writing this from a conference of library instructors in San Diego inspires me to say that we should:

1. recognize that technology and the talents and skills of our local citizens make it possible for us to enjoy the same resources, programming, and access to information available to large urban libraries,
2. teach our community how to access those programmatic and technological resources,
3. be innovative beyond what other rural libraries are doing,
4. provide professional development for staff.

(see: http://www.austin-pacific.com for details)

--- 100 words ---

3. When the Library District was formed before Salado's incorporation, it was stated at that time that a referendum could be called to release a portion of the half-cent sales tax the Library District collects so that the Village could collect those taxes. Would you support such a measure? Why or why not? (100 words)

With rural libraries closing at unprecedented rates, we are fortunate the Salado library can meet its short-term financial obligations. However, it would be irresponsible to support a tax release while our reserves are inadequate to fully meet the current and anticipated needs, especially when our library’s contribution to the economic and cultural vitality of Salado can exceed the value of its meager half-cent sales tax. The library can be the unbiased source of information about Salado’s economic and cultural opportunities - an information portal for new and current small businesses and new families, and a destination for tourists.

---98 words---

More Notes on Library Services to Seniors From Flight #1566

I'd love to host gaming parties for youth at the library. This is not without controversy in some of the most progressive communities and is likely to face resistance in Salado. But I often wonder what young people who are not engaged in extracurricular activities DO in our community. Where do they go? They seem to be a hidden population.

But at the same time I'm concerned about engaging young people, I'm also interested in expanding the wildly popular computer classes my parents have taught to seniors. In fact, I'd like to connect our youth who are comfortable with technology as techno-mentors to the elderly population who are intimidated by computers.

Who could have predicted that an idea to address both interests would come from a seat mate on my flight home from San Diego?

Jim, a retired businessman who owned a Certified Public Accounting firm, described how he would spend the first hour with his new employees introducing them to the office, their workspace, the facilities and the coffee maker. Since it was the mid-80's, many new employees were unfamiliar with computers so the second hour of their first day was spent playing computer games like solitaire. What a great way to get techno-phobes over the hurdle!

AND two generations later, what a great way of demonstrating the fun and value of computer games to seniors who might question library-organized teen gaming activities.

So now, I'm off on a really wild hair...can you imagine an intergenerational gaming night with seniors playing solitaire, free cell, or tetris next to a middle schooler playing world of warcraft?

OK, maybe that's a bit far fetched, but I do think we need innovative ways to bridge the generations through technology and other interactions that let the youth be the experts for a change.

BTW, Thanks Jim and Janis for making the flight home so enjoyable! I hope you made it home to St. Helena safely and are recovering from your cruise. Do a couple of deep knee bends every time you approach the refrigerator and you'll be over that week of non-stop eating in no time!

Managing Organizational Change in the Library

[cross-posted at: http://texasforums.wordpress.com/2007/05/06/172/]
I am attending a conference called LOEX. This is a group of library instructors and the theme "Uncharted Waters: Tapping the Depths of Our Community to Enhance Learning" was perfectly aligned with my interests in libraries and community engagement.

The 11:15 - 12:15 time slot on the LOEX Conference Schedule in San Diego posed a real challenge for me. First, it is tough to be inside for a workshop at a beachside resort.

Second, there were two excellent presentations that both apply to my interest area and research.

• The Role of the Library in Achieving Co-Curricular Activites in Civic Engagement on College Campuses, and
• Sailing off the Map: Managing Organizational Change in the Library

I teach Change Management for the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, but I'm also researching civic engagement of libraries. Fortunately, they were both on board the William D. Evans Sternwheeler so I could bounce between the two and my colleague, Ann Bishop attended the civic engagement workshop. I introduced myself to Mary Reddick, CSU Sacramento and Susan Metcalf, University of S. Indiana who invited me to join them at the end of their presentation and collect e-mail addresses and introduce myself to their attendees.

So off to learn about Organizational Change from Wendy Holliday, University of Southern Utah and Kristen Bullard, University of Tennessee at Knoxville.

Wendy and Kristen used a conflicting values assessment tool to evaluate the organizational cultures at UTK and USU. This Organizational Culture Assessment Instrument (free!) was developed by Kim S. Cameron and Robert E. Quinn in Diagnosing and Changing Organizational Culture. Through a series of questions, the tool measures organizations according to four quadrants or dominant characteristics with each quadrant given a numeric ranking for a total of 100 points:

• Clan Culture: very friendly place like an extended family where teamwork, participation and consensus are the dominant modes of decision-making.
• Adhocracy Cuture: places an emphasis on entrepreneurship and creativity. People are encouraged to stick their necks out and take risks. The organization encourages individual initiative and freedom.
• Market Culture: the focus is on results and getting the job done. Leaders are drivers, tough and demanding. The organizational style is hard-driving competitiveness.
• Hierarchy Culture: formal and structured, this culture emphasizes procedures and managers are good organizers who focus on efficiency.

They asked members of each organization to respond to the questions two times - first assessing what is and secondly responding with what they would like for the organization to be. Not surprisingly, both organizations leaned heavily toward the clan or adhocracy culture and the primary difference between the current state and the preferred state was less hierarchy even when hierarchy ranked lower than either clan or adhocracy.

But the real value of the tool is not the picture of the current culture or even the preferred culture, but the conversation that takes place about what factors of each culture speak to their core values for the organization and what they reject from each cultural characteristic. For example, a discussion at the workshop revealed a bias against the Market Culture because of the competitive nature, and yet everyone valued the idea of getting the job done and focus on achieving goals. Although the description provided by the workshop leaders did not include "response to the market demands" I can imagine this is an element of the Market Culture and one that library instructors who are concerned about meeting the information needs of students would certainly support.

So the value is not in where the lines get drawn, but in the conversation about why the lines are drawn such...what elements fall within the box of acceptable behaviors within our culture and what elements fall outside of what we are willing to tolerate.

I can imagine that the skills a moderator uses in deliberative forums would be extremely useful in moderating a group reflection of this tool and its results. Essentially, the four quadrants represent four different ways of managing an organization and conducting business. They are each driven by a different set of values that take priority. No one method is the right answer. Elements of each are appealing, but too much of one over another may lead to unintended consequences. These are all criteria used by National Issues Forums in framing an issue for deliberation. Here are some generic questions we use to train deliberative forum moderators that could be useful in leading a discussion of this organizational culture tool:

• Why does this particular approach appeal to you?
• What might be the consequence of following this approach completely?
• I know that you resist approach X, but what do you imagine is important to those who support it?
• Can you make the best case for the approach you like the least?
• What would it take to make this approach more palatable to you?

It would be interesting to use this tool and my experience in deliberation together! Perhaps I will find a way to integrate this tool into the course I teach at the University of Illinois Graduate LIbrary and Information Sciences program.

The presenters did an excellent job and I'm sorry I had to duck out early, but it was well worth it to connect with the civic engagement contingent on the top level of the William D. Evans Sternwheeler.

Notes on Services to Seniors from a LIbrary Information Conference in San Diego

I am writing this from a boat in San Diego where we are about to have a presentation on Discovering Buried Treasure: Teaching Strategies for the Aging Population led by Juliet Kerico and Susan Frey from Indiana State University. This is part of the LOEX Conference for instructional librarians. Earlier today I attended a workshop on using podcasting and videocasting to introduce people to the resources of the library.

I figure between these two sessions, I will have lots to say about how the Salado Public Library can expand its services and the ability of teens and our senior population to tap into those resources. I know that there are resources housed in the Salado library that the public does not know about or do not fully know how to use. I also know that a number of interest areas, such as basic computer skills, could be augmented through innovative instruction and broader use of technology.

The Discovering Buried Treasure presentation was led by two instructional librarians from Indiana State University. The reference library department started a program teaching seniors, but learned lessons that they are applying to their library instruction courses on campus. ISU embarked on this project with senior citizens because it has a strong community engagement component - even to the point of expecting that the work of the university will benefit the local community. The library conducts programs for the community, provides a neutral space for community conversations, and other seminars on an almost weekly basis and has received a Carnegie classification as Curricular Engagement and Outreach category. One outreach effort to the senior community was the Dewey Institute, which teaches information literacy to seniors and eventually led ISU to offer programming at the Westminster Village Retirement Community in Terra Haute called, Bits and Bytes.

The focus on the Bits and Bytes was issue-based rather than skills-based. For example, the participants might use the internet to learn about medicare, health issues, or privacy. The format initially started with a 30 minute traditional lecture with power point slides printed out as handouts, followed by a trip to the lab. The structured series did not seem to work well because the participants were frequently interrupting to ask specific questions moving ahead of the steps, talking off topic (as the presenter noted, "chaos ensued"), while the lecture was very low-keyed and less interactive. To address why this was occurring and why it seemed to bother the course leaders, but not the participants, the ISU librarians used Martinez's Learning Styles which documents four learning styles:

• Performers: persistent, impatient to perform, want to do well, willing to challenge the methodology.
• Conformers: want routine, will wait until shown next step
• Transformers: highly motivated, want to learn, willing to challenge relevancy, not interested in the grade.
• Resisters: extremely intelligent, but not interested in classroom work.

What ISU learned is that the elders they were working with are primarily Performers and Transformers, the two categories most willing to challenge. This required the instructors to change their perspective and approach. There was a mismatch between the teaching style and the learning style or learner preferences. The changes they made:

• Eliminate lecture
• Introduce a theme and have a lesson plan, BUT
• The class owns the lesson and the instructors will go with the flow

What was fascinating is how these library instructors used what they learned from the senior classes in their own classes with university students. For example, they began encouraging storytelling to help make a connection between what students were learning and their own experiences. One tool they used was to engage the students in collaborating in creating a fictitious student who needs research assistance. That becomes the starting point for learning. In this way, the on-campus class owns the learning.

Not surprising, these innovative instructors saw the opportunity to draw in student volunteers into their work with the seniors. The Westminster site is now a field site for professors and students.

I am excited about applying some of the lessons learned by these two library instructors in the Salado Public Library. I will encourage our librarians and community volunteers to lead issue-based computer workshops for our seniors and will be standing by to offer advice based on what I have learned from this presentation. Obviously we will need to be sensitive to the learning styles of seniors and how we may need to adapt our own preferences. We will also need to find out what seniors are interested in learning - genealogy, privacy and identity theft, online banking, evaluating online resources.

So here's my response...

Salado Village Voice Candidate Response for
Taylor Willingham
taylor@austin-pacific.com
254.947.3793

Question 1:
What is the strongest aspect of the Salado Library? What is its weakest aspect and how would you approach improving that? (100 word total)

Saladoans proudly claim, “our library is GREAT” followed with, “for a small village.” Let’s make this a great library – period! Let’s:

• Develop innovative programming with community partners,
• Aggressively adopt new technology, especially a new web site,
• Apply resources for rural libraries and adapt strategies of larger libraries. (Why should we travel to Temple or Austin?)
• Expand our “collection” within our limited space by promoting interlibrary loans and buying online databases.

We have excellent, but underutilized resources (e.g., the grant-writer’s database). We need to promote these resources and ensure that patrons know how to use them.

(word count – 100)

Question 2:
How often do you check out books from the library? What do you think of the total collection? How would you improve it, if it needs to be improved? (100 words total)

I treasure books. (My library is catalogued online: (http://www.librarything.com/catalog/TexasTaylor)

But books are the means, not the end. Libraries cannot simply warehouse books and measure success by circulation.

To remain relevant, libraries must be more than books. They must be:
• catalysts for intellectual exploration, social interaction and civic discourse,
• caretakers of local history and culture,
• advocates for literacy and intellectual freedom,

The board should not micromanage collection development, but should engage the community in big questions:

• “What is the greatest value the library offers?”
• “How do we measure our impact?”
• “How are we changing lives?”

(word count – 100)

Question 3:
Do you think there are any demographics in Salado that are overserved by the Library or underserved by the Library and how would you address these discrepancies, if they exist? (100 words)

To reach the underserved, the library should:

Allocate resources and programming to serve the senior population. Partner with local organizations for adult programming (e.g., financial, computer and information literacy). Meet the civic and community information needs of new residents.

Develop innovative strategies to attract and serve new users, perhaps through local literacy providers and ESL programs. Eliminate barriers to access for working families.

Cultivate future library advocates and determine youth needs through a Youth Advisory Board. Become an access portal for free resources such as 24/7 online reference services and homework help.

(See: http://www.austin-pacific.com for more of my ideas.)

(word count – 99)

Taylor's Platform Reported in Salado Village Voice

The Salado Village Voice gives each of the candidates in the three local elections...Village Alderman (restricted to only those within the official Village limits and not including me), School District (a much wider district) and Library Board (mirroring the school district board map.) In other words, you have to care about the school board and/or library board to even show up. Anyway, I digress. The point of this posting is to share with you the comments I wrote in response to the questions posed by the Village Voice. I was limited to 100 words and it was one of the toughest writing assignments I've ever tackled, primarily because I think that these are the wrong questions to ask.

None of these questions give the candidates an opportunity to share their values or decision-making strategies. These questions do not tell us why someone is qualified to be on the board. (Unless you think that one who checks out lots of books MUST know how to run a library.)

None of these questions challenge potential board members to articulate a vision for the future and a strategy for addressing the growing challenges that rural libraries face and the amazing opportunities technology can bring (under the trusted mantle of the library) to our remote regions.

None of these questions ask us to describe our strategy for keeping our citizens apprised of the encroachment of land-grabbing towns and how to effectively embrace the growing population of rural dwellers/city workers.

None of these questions talk about funding strategies, sustainability, innovative programming, future growth, economic development, growing tourism, sense of place, civic initiatives, etc.

None of these questions provided a means for me to paint the grand and glorious landscapes that I believe can be the picture of our library. None of these questions asked me to share the 14 points so eloquently stated by the Project for Public Spaces that I shared in an earlier blog.

No, these questions did not do any of the things I hoped they would...things that could provide our voters with good decision-making information about how to best exercise their democracy. But at least I learned (I think) how to take the wrong question and turn it into the right question with limited verbage.

Does that make me the worst kind of politician or is that a positive thing to do?

How to Make Your Library Great

The Project for Public Spaces (PPS) a nonprofit organization dedicated to creating and sustaining public spaces that build communities, recently published "14 lessons from local libraries all over the continent that can make them great public spaces. I've witnessed these lessons from my own research and experiences as a library school instructor on Change Management and the co-founder of the American Library Association's Membership Initiative Group, "Libraries Foster Civic Engagement". I propose that we in Salado can benefit from these lessons and pledge to make them key to my service as Library Board Trustee if elected.

1. Great Libraries Offer a Broad Mix of Community Services

2. Great Libraries Foster Communication

3. Great Libraries Showcase History and Information

4. Great Libraries Build Capacity for Local Businesses

5. Great Libraries Become Public Gathering Places

6. Great Libraries Boost Local Retail and Public Markets

7. Great Libraries Offer Easy Access

8. Great Libraries Make the Surrounding Area Come Alive

9. Great Libraries Feature Multiple Attractions and Destinations

10. Great Libraries Are Designed to Support Function

11. Great Libraries Provide a Variety of Amenities

11. Great Libraries Provide a Variety of Amenities

13. Great Libraries Depend on Wise Management

14. Great Libraries Catalyze Community Revitalization

I am pleased to note that I have actually consulted with or advised some of the libraries cites as examples of these 14 principals!

Forum Introduces Candidates

On April 12, the Salado Chamber of Commerce provided an opportunity for the candidates for Village Aldermen, Salado Independent School District and Salado Library Board to make short statements and take comments from the public. Here's the report of my speech by the Salado Village Voice with minor clarifications and additional information in parenthesis and italics:

Taylor Willingham
Taylor Willingham said that she is running for the Library board because she wanted to do something that would have a long and lasting impression in her own community.

“I have the skill, talent and expertise to put me in the position to contribute to the causes of the library,” she said.

She is a member of the Texas State Library (I was a consultant to the Texas State Library and am a member of the American Library Association), has worked on public television programming for Bill Moyers and is (was) the treasurer of the National Literacy Coalition. (I was also an ALA presidential appointee and founding member of the American Library Association's Committee on Literacy and a mayoral appointee to the Fremont Library Advisory Commission.)

Willingham serves on the Salado Education Foundation board and is active in literacy programs around the state and nation.

The library, she says, is vital to a community. It is a place people can go to “feel connected to others.”

“At the library, you can see a single mother go on-line to pursue a degree while her child does homework next to her or reads in the children’s section,” she said, adding that the library gives opportunities for people to expand their knowledge and expertise.

Willingham is a professor of library sciences. “I spend a lot of time thinking of the library of the future and how it will continue to be an important part of the community,” she said.

Willingham said that because she believes that “An informed citizenry is the most important prerequisite for a democracy to function,” she will, if elected, “have a passion that I will bring to the position.”

Two Amusing Stories About My Bid For Fame

How's that for a title? I'm not really bidding for fame, but if I were, then these stories that take me down a notch would be even funnier.

First, I was invited to participate in the Salado Public Library's Local Author night. I'd never pitched myself as an author even though I've written numerous articles (See my vitae) and five book chapters which, as I said in another blog post:

If the chapters had ANYTHING in common, I could put them together and have a whole book to myself, but I’ve never had the attention span required to publish a full book.

The other reason I would not have pitched myself as an author is that I'm not really sure who would be interested in reading what I've written! But my dad threw my hat into the ring so there I was for an evening of cheese and punch with eighteen other local authors. (There is SOME talent in this town!) Mom introduced me to a woman named Nell who remembered reading all about me in the newspaper recently when they announced my civic entrepreneurship fellowship. Oh, she just couldn't say enough about how smart I am. "Yes," she said, "You must be smart because I don't understand a thing you do or say!"

DOWN A NOTCH!

Earlier tonight my mother called to tell me that someone who heard me speak at the candidate's forum last week not only commended my speech, but also said that everyone he talked to felt the same admiration for my qualifications.

This is where mom should have said, "Thank you and I do hope you will vote for her and tell your other friends." But she wanted to pave the way for a soft landing in case I am not elected so she said, "Well, she is talented, but may not be as well known as the others...still...I'm sure she'll be an asset even if (emphasis ALL mine!) she is not elected." (Now I know why you pay handlers to keep your staff and family "on message!")

After little contemplation, he countered (hopefully not TOO enthusiastically), "Well, if she's not elected, then perhaps she'll serve on the Cemetery Board!"

DOWN ANOTHER NOTCH!

Not a criticism of the cemetery board. That's probably an interesting - and quiet - board. After all, this is an historic community and most of the stakeholders don't complain much. But I worry about campaign slogan that goes something like this:

"Don't elect her, she'll do the job anyway AND still have time to serve on your board!"

So my reputation thus far is:

• We don't understand what she does so she must be smart.
• Even if she's not elected, we still love her.

Hmmm, I guess I can live with that, after all.

UP A DOZEN NOTCHES!

A Brief History of the Salado Public Library

[Many people in the village of Salado may not know the history of the Salado Public Library. The following excerpt from library planning documents is a concise summary of the high points in this small library's short history.]

In 1985 a committee of the Salado Chamber of Commerce was appointed to establish a village library. A Board of Trustees was formed to seek a state charter and to find appropriate library space. With the help of consultants from neighboring libraries and the Central Texas Library System, the Salado Public Library was created in 1986 and opened its doors to patrons on November 7, 1986 staffed entirely by volunteers. The initial collection of about 1,000 books was donated by citizens of Salado and other libraries in Central Texas. The Salado Public Library became a member of the Center Texas Library System in 1987.

As the community and library use grew, larger quarters were required. In the fall of 1993 the Library moved into 1,700 square feet in the Salado Civic Center, a former school building. The collection contained nearly 8,000 items. The Library’s automated catalog allowed patrons to search the collection. One Library computer was dedicated to genealogy and another to Internet use. Volunteers ran the library until 1995 when the first paid part-time certified librarian was hired.

Because the village was unincorporated there was never any tax support for the library. All operating expenses were met through donations, gifts and memorials, and fund-raising activities. In May 1998, the Salado Public Library District was created by a vote of the citizens of Salado. The Salado Public Library was the second library in the state to benefit from new legislation allowing the creation of library districts. A one-half percent sales tax now provides most of the operating revenue for the library.

In March 2003, the library moved in to its beautiful, new 4000 square-foot building located at 1151 N. Main. The staff of the library is now two part-time librarians, a full time director and a part time library assistant. Regular volunteers at the library number more than forty. The Friends of the Library organization was regenerated in 2006 and continues to grow in members and support for the library.

The current estimated population of the Salado Public Library District is 9000+, with more than 1200 students in the school system. The community continues to grow each year by nearly five percent. Usage metrics for the library have more than kept pace with population grown with year over year increases of almost 10% in 2005 and 2006.

A Correction...Already!

In my last post, I noted that I was the only challenger because the most recent edition of our weekly newspaper only listed the two incumbents with me as the sole challenger. Apparently, the paper left out the name of the other challenger who had been listed in previous editions. I know this because the notification of "order of listing on the ballot" just came out and sure enough, there are four names listed. So, my apologies for not mentioning the other "challenger" in my last blog. I was only going by what my paper said...which just goes to show you that we STILL (perhaps even more) need librarians for information. We know the best intentioned newspapers make mistakes, but a librarian would hunt out information like a hungry bloodhound but wouldn't pounce on it without verifying the primary source or evaluating its credibility.

Why are you Challenging These Wonderful Women?

A local merchant posed that question this evening regarding my candidacy for the Salado Library District Board. It's a fair question. There are two positions and the two incumbents have opted to run for re-election. So naturally, everyone expects that my bid is a reflex against the status quo. If I didn't run, then the two incumbents would be handily ushered back into office without scuttlebutt. And all would remain the same.

But I'm a bit bothered by the implication that I can't run for something without the assumption that I'm against something. Why isn't it enough that I care about my community, I want to give back and I happen to have a list of qualifications for library board as long as your arm?

Here's how I look at it: Elected offices are jobs that require you to reapply every 2, 4, or 6 years. They aren't tenured positions and it's possible you could be voted out NOT because you did such a horrible job, but because there is a time when different talents and perspectives are required. I teach a course on the changing role of libraries for a graduate library and information sciences program so I understand that organizations and circumstances require different skills and talents at different times.

I experienced this firsthand when I directed the Reading Program, the adult literacy service of the Santa Clara County Library. My predecessor built a solid foundation which enabled me to grow the organization and incorporate innovative programming that attracted the attention of funders, like the Lila Wallace Readers' Digest Fund who approached us to be one of only thirteen libraries selected for a multi-year learning initiative. Just as my predecessor was the right person for the job, I was the right person to succeed her. As one funder once said to me, "I had a crazy idea that I thought no one in their right mind would try. But then I thought of you." During my ten year tenure, our program went from $300,000 per year and ten staff to $1.2 million per year and 25 staff, and we developed products, like the Easy Voter Guide (still in publication with a statewide distribution of almost 5 million) and services like computer-aided literacy.

I have been involved with libraries in a variety of roles for seventeen years. I've also taught literacy program management and grant-writing in two university graduate library and information sciences programs. I have consulted with libraries around the country and even in Russia. I'm active with American Library Association, Public Library Association, Texas State Library Association and ALISE, the association of library educators.

So, I'm not running against. I'm just asking the voters for an opportunity to use my skills and talents to support and grow our library and its services to the community.

The Campaign Begins

This is the first time in four years that there will be an election for the library board of trustees. During the last election, only the two incumbents ran for the two available positions so there was no election. As the only non-incumbent in this race, I need to let people know:

• my platform,
• my qualifications,
• my vision,
• my NAME!

That's how I'll use this space over the next couple of months. I'll also be meeting and greeting and distributing my cards around town. They aren't anything fancy, but they are a start. The back has a few of my qualifications. The Curriculum Vitae on this site has more information than you could ever want, but it is a necessary document in academia!

Front

Back

If you'd like to help distribute cards, let me know!

Important Dates and Events
In Salado Village 2007 Elections

[NOTE: The following information was printed in the Salado Village Voice, Vol. XXIX, Number 45, March 22, 2007.]

April 12: Candidates Forum, Salado Civic Center 7:00 p.m.

I will have 5-7 minutes to state my platform and will accept questions from the participants.

April 19, April 26, May 3, and May 10: Salado Village Voice Publication of candidate responses

Each election, the Salado Village Voice publishes the candidates responses to questions. Readers may submit possible questions to news@saladovillagevoice.com.

April 12: Last date to register to vote

You may pick up a registration application at any Bell County full service locations, area libraries (map to: Salado Public Library), Department of Public Safety and Texas Department of Human Services offices. You may also request a voter application by e-mail. Here are instructions for completing the voter registration form.

April 30: Early voting begins at the Salado Civic Center

Early voting will be open weekdays 7:30 a.m. - 4:30 p.m. except extended days.
LAST DAY TO VOTE BY MAIL. Applications to vote-by-mail can be sent to Salado, ISD, Attn: Lyydal Cabaniss, PO Box 98, Salado TX 76571. For more information, call 254.947.5479.

May 1 and May 8: Extended days for early voting

Early voting will be open at the Salado Civic Center from 7:00 a.m. - 7:00 p.m.

May 12: ELECTION!!!

Vote at the Salado Civic Center

TO VOTE BY MAIL:
Send applications to:
Salado ISD
Attn: Lyndal Cabaniss
PO Box 98
Salado, TX 76571

FOR MORE INFORMATION, CALL:
254.047.5479

Campaign Advice From a Friend
(You get what you pay!)

Well, my friends have been giving me advice on my campaign for Salado Public Library Board. Michael Briand, founder of PublicKnowledge in Colorado weighed in with this advice:

"Love the campaign announcement. But you know, it’s OK to sell beer with good-looking girls (actually, it’s not, but I have to continue this line of thinking now that I’ve started it), but running for public office using a girl showing a bare midriff?! Shocking!

Of course, I can tell from your announcement that you realize being qualified for office is completely irrelevant. You understand the marketing of a candidate—showing bare midriffs, allowing chocolate ice cream in the library (promise ‘em anything, they’ll soon forget), and so forth. Can you trace your family’s roots back several generations to when your great-great-great-grand-daddy Salado founded the eponymous town where you live? If not, make it up! Who’s gonna check it out?"

Well Michael, I could try that "family founder of Salado" bit, but I'd get caught for sure. Turns out (how's this for irony) that this small village's first white settler was an Archibald Willingham.

He's buried in The Willingham Cemetery, also known as Three Chimneys Cemetery near the Willingham Branch of the Salado Creek.

So I could follow Michael's advice and claim my legacy, except that Archibald's REAL descendent is the town dentist and we've yet to find a connection. I'd hate to get caught in a lie in my first campaign.

But my own well-documented family connections aren't half bad. My parents were Salado Citizens of the Year this year. That's pretty good stock!

Ben and June Willingham
2007 Salado Citizens of the Year

Thanks, Michael. I won't rely on my family connections to get me elected, but I'm pretty proud of them nonetheless!

Apparently, I'm not the first person to associate food with libraries. I just received a notice about the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign's participation in the international edible book festival. Edible Book Festival?

Well, of course I had to know more!

England : Thames - 2002
Heather Hunter and friends
Books2eat

Here's what I learned from my research:

The International Edible Book Festival is a creation of Judith A. Hoffberg and Béatrice Coron. Judith got the idea over a Thanksgiving turkey with book artists in 1999, and Béatrice created Books2Eat website where despite the distances everyvody can enjoy worldwide's creations. They contacted friends and colleagues; their first event happened in 2000. Since then the festival continues as an annual sensation.


This festival is a celebration of the ingestion of culture and a way to concretely share a book; it is also a deeper reflexion on our attachment to food and our cultural differences.

Libraries and other organizations around the world are using this event to connect with their communities in very creative ways. Some are even using the event as a fundraiser! Here are some of my favorite ideas:

• The Mad Hatters Tea Party
• An edible books competition in Hong Kong with the proceeds supporting a local charity
• A competition/fundraiser for a literacy program at a local bookstore
• An elementary school that is creating edible books to promote literacy
• Partnerships with local art galleries
• A potluck of food that reminds you of a favorite book or story
• A "Cook the Books!" event where the contact person is: Biblio Biscuit

So maybe food as a platform in my bid for the Salado Library Board isn't such a bad idea.

"a book on every nightstand, a fudgecicle in every fridge" (?)

Taylor Leaps into the Election Fray!

OK, so running for a position on the 2007 Salado Library Board of Trustees is hardly a "fray", but this is my first (and likely my only) run for public office. Running for public office appeals to my civic-mindedness. It just plain feels good to have a passion for something and step into the unfamiliar - the running, not the ultimate job. As far as the job is concerned, I feel completely qualified. I'll post more about that later, but I couldn't resist starting my campaign by pointing out that I've been preparing for a Library Trustee job for a very long time and here's a bit of proof! BTW, I'm trying to work fudgecicles into my platform since this, my first, library obviously allowed ice cream as evident by the chocolate dribble down my midrift!

In his book, Never Have Your Dog Stuffed, Alan Alda describes himself as a systems thinker. Stuck in a hospital room in Chile after an emergency surgery to repair an intestinal blockage, Alda developed a system for learning a language in a week..."You could learn to get around in any language if you concentrated on about thirty well-chosen verbs, a couple of dozen nouns, a few pleasantries and some basic sense of word order." According to Alda, "I don't just get flooded with ideas, I get flooded with systems."

I'm intrigued by the idea of creating systems for thinking about complex things in very tangible, simplistic ways. It's something I've seen first hand in my work at Texas Forums with Dr. Betty Sue Flowers on the Texas Health Institute's Share Vision Project. When a group of stakeholders came together to share concerns about the state of health care in Texas and explore ideas for improvement, Betty Sue summarized their conversation into one word - RAISE. The participants wanted to raise the level of health care in Texas through:

• Regional cooperation
• Access to health care (other than the emergency room as primary care) for all
• Incentives for personal responsibility
• Sound use of resources, and
• Education about health and the consequences of various health policies.

This elegant system for thinking about a monstor as complex as health care in Texas has become the framework holding together the varied efforts of the Texas Health Institute across Texas. With this framework, we are better able to see how very small changes contribute to a larger goal. This framework makes room for individuals and communities to take baby steps and see how they are part of a larger cause. It is simply elegant.

I am working on developing my own systems for thinking about complex issues and I'm taking note when I see others doing so. (My first attempt was not so successful. I tried to come up with an acronym for a complex research project I was working on, but I had too many vowels and could only form AEIOU no matter how I tried to change the labels. It was memorable, but not terribly meaningful!)