McGill Public Libraries lecture November 12, 2012

Alexandra Yarrow, B.A. Hon., M.L.I.S.Coordinator / Coordonnatrice, Succursale Carlingwood Branch

Bibliothèque publique d'Ottawa Public Library

Library roots• Atwater, Westmount and Fraser Hickson Library patron• 1998 - Marianopolis Student Library Assistant• 1999-2004 – Westmount Public Library• 2000-2002 – Nicholas Hoare Books• 2002-2004 – MLIS at McGill

– Student Assistant at Health Sciences Library– Practicum at Miss Edgar's and Miss Cramp's School

• 2004-2005 – Eleanor London Côte-St-Luc Library [term]• 2005-2006 – Westmount Public Library [term]

• 2006 – present – Ottawa Public Library– Librarian, Rideau Branch• During renovations, seconded to various projects at

Vanier and in West end– Supervising Librarian, St Laurent Branch– Supervising Librarian, Rideau Branch

• 2006 – present – Ottawa Public Library– Acting Coordinator, Diversity and Accessibility Services

• Bookmobile, Homebound and Volunteer Services

– Coordinator, Diversity and Accessibility Services [term]– Coordinator, Carlingwood Branch

OPL by the numbersItem 2011 2010

Population City of Ottawa 927,118 917,570

Items borrowed 11,156,138 10,559,495

Library visits in person 5,275,850 5,254,500

Library visits electronically 14,993,291 12,468,060

Reference and information questions

642,050 681,750

Number of public workstation sessions

903,580 900,046

Wireless logins 144,669 106,329

Programs 10,414 10,165

Program attendance 204,714 194,956

Items used in Library 1,907,900 2,074,650

eBooks

Carlingwood Branch by the numbers• Opened in 1966• Serves a population of approximately 46,000 in

Bay Ward and some of the 40,000 in Kitchissippi Ward.

• 120, 000 items in collection• Monthly numbers:– Circulation: 48, 000 items– In-person visits: 24, 000 – 1600 people attend 70 free programs.

Some fun programs!Coffee with your councillor

Teen advisory group creating

spine poetry

2012 Summer reading club closing

party

#failcamp, Carlingwood-style!• Golden Oak Book Club• Art-based programs• Film Club• Some of the “Coffee with the community”

events• Babysitting course• IT issues: wiring, computer software, printers• Some unique attempts at partnerships

Regular responsibilities• Adult Information Desk (22h / week)• Monthly reports to manager• Staff performance and development:– Individual contribution agreements– Training, projects, workflow

• Staff liaison: – 1-on-1 meetings (monthly)– Team meetings (quarterly)– Branch meetings (a few times a year)– Cluster meetings (annually)

Teen shelftalkers

Day-to-day responsibilities• Scheduling• Collection maintenance, displays• Patron comment cards• E-mail!• Partnerships and outreach• Program coordination• Maintenance and building• More? http://ottawapubliclibrarian.blogspot.com/

search/label/librarydayinthelife

RFID @ OPL

• $1.78M in 2012 (tagging all branches and converting Hazeldean)

• $3.785M Total estimated remaining capital costs (5-8 years)

• Check out the AMH in action: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m3s-KWPwTU4

• Check out RFID at Hazeldean Branch:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7g28fV9Z_dk

5 best things about my job• Autonomy• Bonds of trust with the community, and the

team• Working from the ground up• Variety / diversity of

experiences/opportunities/tasks• Responsibility

Professional development• Vice-chair of the Ontario Library Association’s

Readers’ Advisory Committee• Chair, Canadian Library Association’s Book of

the Year for Children Award jury• Northern Exposures to Leadership 2010• Instructor, Acquisitions, in the Library and

Information Technician Program at Algonquin College.

Advice

• You are your own best advocate• Mentor someone and be mentored• Make a name for yourself• Learn from mistakes• Soft skills are more important than

hard/technical skills• Get involved in a professional association

Thank you!

Alexandra YarrowAlexandra.Yarrow@BiblioOttawaLibrary.cahttp://ottawapubliclibrarian.blogspot.com/