PR Hint of the Month - Sept 2007 - The Tipping Point

Greetings Montana Librarians,

It is with great delight that I welcome new members to the MLA PR & Marketing Committee: Renee Goss, Mary Anne Hansen, Lee Phillips, Heidi Sue Adams, and Hannah Nash. With this group, I look forward to many exciting and useful marketing efforts this year which will benefit all Montana's libraries! On that note, if there are any projects or ideas you would like the PR & Marketing Committee to take a look at in upcoming months, please let me know. We want to do what will be most useful to you, Montana librarians of all types. Send me an e-mail at Ljackson AT mt.gov or call me. I look forward to hearing from you!
Thank you,
Lisa, MLA PR & Marketing Committee Chair

NOW PLEASE CHECK OUT THE PR HINT BELOW:

Remember last April's MLA Conference in Helena? Seems likes years ago already, doesn't it? As part of incorporating the theme of the conference ("The Tipping Point: Moving Montana Libraries from Good to Great"), MLA Board members were asked to share a book which they considered a "tipping point" in their lives. These selections were displayed at the MLA table at the conference but in case you missed it, they are reprinted below (note: these are last year's board members; not current board members). Looks like some great reading--for you and for your libraries!

BOOKS THAT WERE A TIPPING POINT:

Lyn McKinney, MLA President
Montana: A History of Two Centuries was a tipping point for me - I first read part of it in 7th grade when I studied Montana history for the first time - then again in college - it made me realize what a wonderful rich history we have in Montana and I have been learning everything I can about it ever since.

Honore Bray, Vice-President
My tipping point book is my organizer!

Milla Cummins, Past President
Before reading Technopoly by Neil Postman, I had never really ruminated about the unintended (indeed, unimagined) societal consequences that technological advances have had throughout history. Variously reviewed as “clichéd,” “provocative,” or “vivid and thought provoking,” this book made a lasting impression on me. In fact, I expect it is largely responsible for the skepticism with which I view the glorious claims made about the long-term ramifications of our current transformation from a ‘paper’ to a ‘pay-per’ society.

Peggy Smith, Secretary/Treasurer
The World Is Flat is an amazing look at how interconnected economically the U.S. is with the rest of the world. Explains a lot about Wal-Mart and why you often have a difficult time with the accents of some company’s customer support staff.

Debbi Kramer, Executive Director
Who Moved My Cheese was a book that was really interesting and insightful to me. I thought it was interesting how each of us deals with change. It confirmed for me that I don't like or deal with change very well. I think everyone should read the book and learn more about themselves.

Darlene Staffeldt, State Librarian
Love, Medicine, and Miracles by Bernie S. Siegel. I first read this in the 90s when I was losing my older brother and a good friend (Sheila) to cancer and this book says a lot about what we need to do for ourselves to stay healthy or get healthy.

Della Dubbe, Chair, PLD
Life of Pi and Inheritance of Loss.

Suzi Watne, Chair, SLMD
Probably, the book with the most significant influence for me professionally in the last few years has been Information Power; Building Partnerships for Learning. The significant focus shift from school libraries as resource centers to school libraries as crucial partners with students in the long-learning process is meaningful. That shift underlines and bolds the fact that what we do makes a profound difference in the present and future lives of the students we serve. This book has helped our district’s librarians write a vital curriculum, define collaboration, and continue to move purposefully forward in an ever-changing field.

Beth Boyson, ALA Rep.
The Four Agreements has helped me set goals and guidelines while working with the public, which has saved me lots of angst and hurt feelings and given me the freedom to achieve.

Norma Glock, PNLA Rep.
Heidi’s free-loving spirit and honesty has made her my “tipping point.” As the blurb on the back of the book says “even the goats love her.” How can you go wrong with a role model like that?

Carlene Engstrom, Director at Large, West
The Title is Reframing Organizations, Artistry, Choice, and Leadership by Bolman and Deal. How is it serving as my tipping point? I think I am still on the tipping part, but the book shows managers how to look at organizations from different viewpoints, thus frames. Each frame calls for a different interpretation or reaction of the same or similar situation and a different approach at looking at situations. It is a great tool for helping a manager determine the best way to respond to leadership situations. This was the text used at the Harvard ACRL Academic Leadership Institute 2007.

Gail Wilkerson, Director at Large, East
I have enjoyed reading both Crucial Conversations: Tools for Talking When Stakes Are High and Crucial Confrontations by Kerry Patterson. Both address the power that respectful conversations have to transform people and relationships.

Suzanne Goodman, Chair, Awards & Honors Committee
So Big, by Edna Ferber, taught me at a time when I needed it that one’s unique life experiences can add up to rich character. These experiences should be welcomed, encouraged, and quietly celebrated.

Mary Anne Hansen, Chair, Cates Committee
All Creatures Great and Small -- a "tipping point" for me because reading about James Herriot's life and his experiences with God's creatures and the natural world is a magical experience for those of us whose lives are richer because of our connection with our pets.

Judy Hart, Co-chair, Conference Planning Committee
Desert Solitaire: A Season in the Wilderness by Edward Abbey.

Lisa Mecklenberg Jackson, Co-chair, Conference Planning Committee
I read The Art of Parenting Twins before my twins were born. I like to think it gave me a “heads up” on what to expect with two tots at the same time!

Marje Doyle, Chair, Professional Development Committee
Quilting book- because if I don’t take time for myself no one is going to make sure that I do… all work and no play… DDC – There are answers out there to just about everything but you need to be able to find them. Our systems may not be perfect but they are better than some and certainly better than none. I’ve wanted to be in libraries since I was young and this is part of the reason why.

Jean Neilsen, Chair, Public Library Director Interest Group
My tipping point book is Collapse by Jared Diamond. I took away a renewed understanding of how one person really does make a difference.

Carol Grover, Co-chair, Trustees Interest Group
The Betty Crocker cookbook has been my chief domestic reference book for the nearly 40 years of married life. As our dietary needs change with age, this book is still the first resource I use when trying to adapt recipes to our needs.

Don't forget to let me know if you have any PR & Marketing ideas for this MLA Committee!

Lisa Mecklenberg Jackson
Legislative Staff Attorney/Librarian
Montana Legislative Branch