I will be hitting the road (well…actually – the air!)  bringing 2-3 weeks of our workshops to New Zealand – and I couldn’t be more excited. Thanks to the Management at Palmerston N. City Library and the Auckland City Libraries, I will be providing our “Pro-active Service and Roving” concepts and skills to many Library Managers and Staff in New Zealand in August and September.  Both Library Systems have many progressive  services and  an admirable approach to service excellence. I’ll post some of their best ideas on this website in late September. And – of course – I’ll be sure to find time to tour a bit of this wonderful and scenic country while I am there.

Recently I was looking into “non-Dewey” systems of Library material classification, and there are many laudable efforts being tried at various Library Systems. Word based or category based classification systems encourage and support browsing and self service for Library patrons, and represent a truly pro-active approach to guided self-service.

The following description of WordThink^TM , as designed and implemented at the Rangeview Library District comes from Wikipedia, and describes it as a word-based materials classification system developed by Rangeview Library District’s collection development department to replace the Dewey Decimal Classification. Patterned after BISAC (Book Industry Standards and Communications) and the word-based system used by Maricopa County Library District, WordThink organizes materials according to 45 different categories with additional subcategories. Materials are then arranged alphabetically by title.

Note: In September 2009, Rangeview Library District launched its new brand, Anythink^TM . The district changed the names of its community libraries to Anythink libraries as part of the district’s branding efforts. The Bennett and Perl Mack branch libraries were the first in the district to use WordThink. By the end of 2009, all Anythink libraries will use the new word-based system

On Wednesday Feb. 24th I will be presenting a Pre-Conference Workshop at the Ontario Library Association Super Conference.

Workshop Title: Best Foot Forward: Pro-active Service and Roving 2.0

Date/Time: Wed. Feb. 24th, 2010, 9:30 AM – 4:00 PM

Location: Metro Toronto Convention Centre, 255 Front St. West, Toronto Ontario

Fee: OLA members $125, Non-Members $165

Register via the Ontario Library Association at http://www.accessola.com/ola/bins/content_page.asp?cid=5

Workshop description:

Best Foot Forward: Pro-active Service and Roving 2.0

The use of roving reference has been in practice in libraries for several years and much has been learned.  As one of the pioneers, Joan has travelled to the United States, Australia, and throughout Canada, leading libraries in their implementation of the concept.
In this new 2010 version of her practical and entertaining workshop, Joan reveals what libraries have shared with her about the most common challenges they face when trying to implement roving. More importantly, she will share updates on the latest and best tips, practical approaches, tools, and solutions she has seen libraries use to overcome their challenges.
You will walk away with
1. Current, practical approaches, tips and techniques
2. Common obstacles and pitfalls, and how to avoid them
3. Answers to your own specific questions about roving reference in your library
4. A comprehensive list of URL’s of pertinent articles, presentations, white papers, and more