Wednesday, April 29, 2015

Metro News: Chess building community at Calgary's downtown library

By Morgan Modjeski





Checkmate!
The Calgary Public Library says a giant chessboard available at its downtown central branch has seen a warm reception since it was introduced in October 2014 – and it’s doing more than building a love for the game.

Gerry Burger-Martindale, senior manager of the central library branch, said staff members have been delighted with the uptake and note while the majority of players are men, the game of chess is helping to create a stronger community, overall.

“You see all sorts of demographics playing each other,” Burger-Martindale said, noting when people are playing on the big board, it does attract spectators.

The popularity has been “way beyond our expectations,” she added.

In the past, Burger-Martindale said patrons would line up at the front door in the mornings and rush in to be the first to get on the library computers, but since the giant chessboard was introduced, that’s changed.

“In the winter, people were running in to get at the chess set to be the ones to use it, first thing,” she said.

On Thursday, while the large chessboard was idle, some were engaged in games on the library’s smaller chess sets, and player Frank Litorco said his experience has been “absolutely fantastic.”
“I think it’s a great way to gather the community,” he said, after making a move.

“It’s a community of people who are passionate about chess from all walks of life, regardless of income, whether you’re an immigrant or if you’ve lived here for a very long time,” he added.
Although he’s only been playing chess for roughly a year, the community at the central library has allowed him to gain more experience competing with long-time players.

“For people that haven’t had an opportunity to play against other people, it’s a great thing.”

 From: Metro News

Tuesday, April 28, 2015

Shareable.net: How a New Dutch Library Smashed Attendance Records




Facing declining visitors and uncertainty about what to do about it, library administrators in the new town of Almere in the Netherlands did something extraordinary. They redesigned their libraries based on the changing needs and desires of library users and, in 2010, opened the Nieuwe Bibliotheek (New Library), a thriving community hub that looks more like a bookstore than a library.
Guided by patron surveys, administrators tossed out traditional methods of library organization, turning to retail design and merchandising for inspiration. They now group books by areas of interest, combining fiction and nonfiction; they display books face-out to catch the eye of browsers; and they train staff members in marketing and customer service techniques.
The library is also a Seats2meet (S2M) location where patrons are empowered to help one another in exchange for free, permanent, coworking space, and they utilize the S2M Serendipity Machine to connect library users in real-time. They also have a bustling cafe, an extensive events and music program, a gaming facility, a reading garden and more. The result? The New Library surpassed all expectation about usage with over 100,000 visitors in the first two months. It is now considered one of the most innovative libraries in the world.
Shareable connected with Roy Paes, manager of the library’s Science Desk, and his colleague Marga Kleinenberg, to learn more about the inspiration for the library, its transformation into a thriving third place, and some of the library’s forward-thinking offerings.
[Editor’s note: the responses are collaborations between Kleinenberg and Paes.]

 

With out-facing books, the New Library looks more like a bookstore than a library

Shareable: When plans for the New Library were being made, there was a downward trend in library memberships and a question of what a community library should be? How did these factors influence the design and creation of the New Library?
Paes and Kleinenberg: The downward trend created the idea that we had to make a radical change. A large survey among customers which also included socio-demographic questions told us more about the customer groups. Customers also found the library dull and boring. The results forced us to think about a redesign of the library. We got valuable inspiration from successful retail models and techniques. For each customer group we created a personal shop. An interior designer was contracted to add color, furniture, styling, signing etc.
Rather than keeping to a traditional library model of organization, you created the New Library following a retail model . What prompted this and what are some of the key features of this model?
The areas of interest of the customer groups had no relation to how the library system worked. Customers had to search their books throughout the library. By putting together fiction and nonfiction per customer group (interest profile), we made it easier [for people] to find what they are looking for. And above all, we could create a certain atmosphere that suits the customer group. To do this, amongst others, retail techniques such as frontal display, signage, graphics and photos were used, and also a more proactive, customer-friendly approach by our employees was introduced.



The library features a bustling cafe

How was this new design received by librarians?
In the beginning, everyone was sceptical. The library world did not change, the system was in use for years and everyone knew where everything was. In the application of the concept in the first setting-up, our employees were very closely involved. Thereby, and by the reactions of the customers, they became more enthusiastic. Working in a nicely-decorated and colorful library turned out to be fun.
You’ve incorporated the Seats2meet Serendipity Machine into the project. What is it and how is it being used in the New Library?
The S2M Serendipity Machine makes it possible to set up a personal profile based on skills and knowledge. By this facility, visitors can sign up when they are present. In this way, their knowledge and skills are visible to others. This allows people to make contact with each other based on knowledge profiles. Using the Serendipity Machine is fairly new. We hope this way people will find it easier to interact and connect to each other.

 The New Library was designed to be a place where people could relax and hang out

From the beginning, you involved the community to find out what they wanted from the library. What was the importance of taking this approach?
We wanted to create a customer's library. Convenience for the librarian wasn’t leading, but convenience for the customer.
Were there any surprising insights gained from your crowdsourced approach to designing the library? What did you find that people most wanted? How were you able to accommodate their wishes?
Our customer groups turned out to be much more diverse than we thought. Our survey also showed that 70-75 percent of the customers did not visit the library with a specific title in mind. They came browsing. That insight [confirmed] that we wanted to entice the customer. Hence the retail techniques and the many places to read, sit down etc. Our goal was to extend their stay.

 
  The library has become a thriving third space for residents of Almere

The New Library has become a vibrant, third space in the community. How did you go about creating not just a place that people would visit, but a place that they would stay and hang out in?
By also providing other services including snacks and drinks at our Newscafé; by an extensive program of events; by creating a reading garden; by offering gaming, exhibitions, and a piano that visitors are allowed to play on. The modern look and decor and the prominent place in the heart of the city also made it OK to be seen there as a young person.
There have been impressive results in terms of numbers including 100,000 visitors in the first two months of the library. Has that trend continued? Has the library met expectations of what it could be? What else would you like to see?
The number of visitors surpassed our expectations. We had 1,140,000 of them in 2013. But we must always work on improvements. New challenges, for example, are finding a way of creating a good supply of e-books, and how we can develop more digital services, including facilities to share knowledge.
What kind of transformation are you seeing in the ways people use the library as opposed to traditional libraries? Any examples of people utilizing the library in innovative ways that stand out?
In the past it was hit and run: customers went inside to lend a book, cd or dvd and were gone again. The most obvious change is that people, both members and non-members, are staying longer to meet each other, to search for books or other media, to have a cup of coffee, to consult, to study, to work, to attend activities etc. And everyone is exceptionally proud of the library. The library contributes to a better image of the new city Almere. This year Almere celebrates its 30-year existence as a municipality!
What impact has the New Library had on the wider community of Almere?
The new library is the largest and most successful cultural organisation of the city. The inhabitants of Almere and the town council are really proud of the library. The library contributes greatly to a better image of new town Almere. In general the image of new towns in the Netherlands is a negative one. [Editor's note: Criticism of new towns includes the fact that they lack history, culture and urban ammenities and the fact that they are generally designed and built top-down, with little input from the community.] From all over the Netherlands, and from abroad, people come to visit the library in Almere. And thus make them acquainted with the city. In this way the impact of the new library on the community of Almere would be comparable with the impact of the Guggenheim museum in the city of Bilbao. The new library is, of course, of a much more modest level though.
What role does the library play in bridging the digital divide and otherwise helping to lift up low-income communities?
Library visitors, members and non-members, have free use of PC's and wi-fi, thus enabling everyone to participate in a highly digitized society. We also organize workshops and consultation sessions where people can improve their basic computer knowledge. Sometimes these activities are free, sometimes we ask a very small fee. This applies not only to digital activities but also for all other activities that the new library offers. Members can also borrow e-books. This is a nationwide service of all Dutch libraries. We offer also special programs for functional illiteracy. Not only to improve -- reading skills, but also to improve their digital skills.
What’s next for the New Library?
To prove that a physical public library has a right to exist in the future and will not disappear by increasing digitization and the Internet.
Follow @CatJohnson on Twitter

 From: Shareable.net

Wednesday, April 22, 2015

The Washington Post: BDSM and beheading videos: the evolving role of the librarian

The Washington Post: Libraries change, but librarians keep helping people find the weird information they need.


By Hammad Rauf Khan | April 8 , 2015

No job is without its perils, and for a college librarian today, one of those just might be having an associate dean overhear you explaining to a student how to create a more accurate BDSM scene for a photo shoot inspired by “Fifty Shades of Gray.”

“So BDSM is all about control and in part humiliation, you might want to put a collar and a ball gag in her mouth,” I was explaining as the dean walked by. She stopped and looked at me.

It was awkward, but part of my job as a librarian is to help patrons research a topic, whatever that topic might be. Google has many people convinced that librarians are no longer necessary — probably the same people who predicted our demise when the personal computer was first introduced. Yet we librarians are still here, providing free resources, information and computer access to our communities. The profession is evolving, of course: adapting to new technology and, more significantly, being reshaped by culture.

Which is why I have fielded an inordinate amount of requests at the reference desk for information about BDSM, and why I have seen job postings for positions including Hip-Hop Librarian and Wine Librarian. When it comes to the subject material of “Fifty Shades,” none of our librarians have the background to easily service such requests (or at least none of our librarians care to admit they do). We could easily send them out to the darker corners of the Web for information, but it’s our duty to find our patrons legitimate Web sites and resources they can cite, without judgment or embarrassment.

I always enjoyed the atmosphere of the library and being surrounded by the greatest work of fiction, science, poetry and art. I began volunteering at my local library during high school and was promoted to circulation assistant while I attended college. I discovered that, beyond being around books, I was passionate about research, helping people find information and promoting information literacy. Although libraries have changed, this part of being a librarian has not.

After “American Sniper” was released in theaters, numerous young men approached us for information on Navy SEALS. Legal hypochondriacs lurk in almost every library, usually wanting to know how to get divorced, but sometimes seeking legal opinions on polyamory or the age of consent. When the recession hit in 2008, we learned to become résumé-builders. Many people laid off in the following few years were from a generation not born and raised in the era of LinkedIn; we provided free classes on how to write résumés, create LinkedIn pages and use online job boards. When Obamacare passed Congress, many people came to us with their questions or sought our opinions. Later, we helped people get online to sign up for coverage.

Things do get weird. I’ve had visitors to my desk explain that they are “new” to town or just “passing through” and could I please tell them where they could get some weed? (“Try Colorado,” is my usual reply.) One of my coworkers was once asked by a middle-aged woman where she could find real beheading videos to watch. When I worked at a public library, a swingers group began borrowing one of our meeting rooms — the rooms, funded by taxpayers, are open to anyone who lives in the county as long as the program is open to everyone in the community. I guess they were.

The thing I love about my profession is that I am always learning. A patron approaches me with a question, and in helping them I discover worlds I never knew existed. I was introduced to the world of trampling by an older gentleman who was seeking resources on learning Russian, so he could communicate with his Russian girlfriend online. He told me she was into trampling, which I misunderstood to mean “trampolines.” He cleared up my confusion by explaining that it’s a type of sexual behavior in which a woman wears high heels and walks on top of a submissive man. It’s not the sort of thing I learned while getting my master’s in library and information science, but it is interesting.

Librarianship is not, as some would have you believe, outdated, boring or routine, and Google is not a scholarly source. I don’t mind the changes to my profession. This is a customer service job, designed to help people, and as long as the public has questions, I will be here to answer them.

From: The Washington Post

Sunday, April 19, 2015

The Star.com: How-to books and tools to do the job: Soon, Downsview library will offer both

How-to books and tools to do the job: Soon, Downsview library will offer both

Downsview Public Library partners with the Toronto Tool Library to loan tools at a membership discount.


Ryan Dyment, executive director of the Toronto Tool Library, says he can't imagine a better partner for expanding the non-profit organization than the Toronto Public Library, which is providing space for a third location for the tool-lending group.  Public library card holders can receive a $5 discount off the $50 membership fee and then take out tools as often as they want, for up to five days at a time.
CHRIS SO / TORONTO STAR FILE PHOTO
Ryan Dyment, executive director of the Toronto Tool Library, says he can't imagine a better partner for expanding the non-profit organization than the Toronto Public Library, which is providing space for a third location for the tool-lending group. Public library card holders can receive a $5 discount off the $50 membership fee and then take out tools as often as they want, for up to five days at a time.
Is your cupboard door broken? Do you have a wiggly chair? Well, now you can head to Downsview Public Library to take out a do-it-yourself book and a power tool to fix it.
The Toronto Tool Library announced a new partnership on Wednesday with the Toronto Public Library, which will allow it to lend tools out of the Downsview library branch.
The Toronto Tool Library, which opened in May 2013, has two branches. For a $50 annual membership fee, users can sign out tools up to five days at a time.
The partnership with the public library will provide a third location—on a one-year trial basis — to promote the tool library and increase membership.
The Star spoke with Ryan Dyment, the tool library’s executive director, to learn more.
How did this partnership begin?
This took us about nine months of negotiations — you know, back-room conversations — and then we finally came together. They sent out a lot of letters to their branches to find out whether or not they had space for us. We decided Downsview was the best one — it had the most space. The staff was fantastic. They had a space there, about 500 square feet … and we found a price we could negotiate, and just the other day we signed the lease. We are going to renovate and open up at the end of the month.
Why did you want to partner with Toronto Public Library?
They’re very innovative. When we launched two years ago, I think they heard about us and there was some discussion on their side. We had a bunch of people from the library come over to us and comment on how much they liked what we are doing. We are a small non-profit and we are looking to grow. Obviously, we want tools to be just as mainstream as books are … I think they are really open to new things at the library. They know that libraries have to change and evolve with the times, and given all their locations around the city there really is no better organization we would want to partner with. At the time when the library started, it was really revolutionary for people to access things for free, and that’s the dream for us: to be able to offer tools for free so people can just borrow instead of buy. Not to have price be a barrier to that.
What is involved in this partnership?
We are going to do promotions together. They want to be involved, so we are going to send out a more official press release next week. At this time it’s just us still having to charge $50 a year for our membership, because we still have to cover the staffing and administrative cost behind the project. (But the library) is allowing us to use their space, their brand, and to be associated with them, which is about all we can ask for, as a small organization. They haven’t worked with us in this capacity before. I think the best thing is to try for a year and see if people in the neighbourhood like it.
Do books and tools really work together?
They do. You have the do-it-yourself books and you’ve got the tools. There are all kinds of sections in the library that teach you how to do things. I think libraries are really community centres where people can access things … We call ourselves the tool library because there are a lot of tools out there, and a lot of people who use them aren’t professionals and don’t need tools every day, and just want access to them a few times.
What do Toronto Public Library users get?
If they show their library card, they get $5 off (membership).
When will it be open?
The grand opening party is April 30, but people won’t be able to borrow until Saturday, May 2.
What would be the best outcome at the end of the year?
Well, 150,000 people visit that branch every year. That’s a huge opportunity for us. We don’t get that many people in our branches combined right now. I have no idea what it will turn into, in terms of membership, but I know we will need between 500 and 1,000 members, if they all pay $45 a year as library members. We also (charge) late fees, … and we have workshops. We have an arrangement with (the library) where we host six workshops with them in the library, and then we will supplement that with some paid workshops depending on the demand.
How many members does the Toronto Tool Library have right now?
About 1,400 combined between our two locations.
This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

Saturday, April 18, 2015

LibraryJournal: Lauren Comito | Movers & Shakers 2015 — Innovators

Lauren Comito | Movers & Shakers 2015 — Innovators

Lauren Comito

vitals

CURRENT POSITION
Job & Business Academy Manager, Queens Library, Jamaica, NY
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DEGREE
MLS, Queens College, CUNY, 2007
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Photo by Bob Stefko
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It’s Her Fight

Lauren Comito has a regular patron at New York’s Queens Library who is one of the most cheerful and positive people she’s ever met. Homeless and unemployed, the woman is also one of the neediest. Comito had trouble locating the help the woman required. “I realized that if I was having a hard time finding services as a librarian, people who don’t have my training must have an even harder time,” says Comito, the job and business academy manager at the library.
Working with the founders of San Francisco’s link-sf, a bare-bones, web-optimized website that links people in need to available services, which she learned about as a presenter at the 2014 SXSW conference, Comito created WhereinQueens.org shortly after. Using a mobile phone or tablet’s built-in GPS, the user can easily find the nearest food, shelter, medicine, health, hygiene, and career services in the borough.
“WhereinQueens was huge for me,” says Comito. “I am incredibly proud of it and think that it is a great example of modern librarianship.”
Closing such gaps is second nature to Comito. She is a cofounder of the Urban Librarians Conference initiative, now in its third year; the 2015 event focuses on nurturing a broad range of patron literacy: informational, digital, health, financial. Comito also created a “coding for girls” program for female high school students in Queens that aims to chip away at the gender gap in coding. When she realized that male patrons looking for jobs didn’t know they should wear ties to interviews—let alone own them—she created a lending library of ties—a “tie-brary”—and in her apartment built the racks to hold them.
Such initiatives are deeply inspiring to her colleagues. “Lauren does not flinch. If she sees something that needs to happen, a change that needs to be made, a product that needs to be created, a meeting that has to happen, then she does it,” says Christian Zabriskie, cofounder of the conference (and founder of Urban Librarians Unite and a 2012 LJ Mover & Shaker). “Lots of librarians are courageous. Lots of librarians have good ideas. Lauren is the kind of librarian who will fight for those ideas until they become a reality.”
Comito believes we need to be the change we want to see in the world. “If you have ever looked at a problem and thought, ‘Wow, somebody should really do something about that,’ then you are the person who needs to do something about it,” says Comito. “That fight is your fight.”

Friday, April 17, 2015

LinkedIn: 39 Incorrectly Used Words That Can Make You Look Bad

Apr 5, 2015


39 Incorrectly Used Words That Can Make You Look Bad

Where writing is concerned I'm far from perfect. One example: I always struggle with who and whom. (Sometimes I'll even rewrite a sentence just so I won't have to worry about the correct usage.)

And that's a real problem; just as one misspelled word can get your résumé tossed onto the reject pile, one misused word can negatively impact your entire message.

Fair or unfair, it happens all the time -- so let's make sure it doesn't happen to you.

My post 32 Incorrectly Used Words That Can Make You Look Bad resulted in readers offering a number of other examples of misused words; some of them appear below (thanks!):

Advise and advice

Aside from the two words being pronounced differently (the s in advise sounds like a z), advise is a verb while advice is a noun. Advice is what you give (whether or not the recipient is interested in that gift is a different issue altogether) when you advise someone.

So, "Thank you for the advise" is incorrect, while "I advise you not to bore me with your advice in the future" is correct if pretentious.

If you run into trouble, just say each word out loud and you'll instantly know which makes sense; there's no way you'd ever say, "I advice you to..."

Ultimate and penultimate

Recently I received a pitch from a PR professional that read, "(Acme Industries) provides the penultimate value-added services for discerning professionals."

As Inigo would say, "I do not think it means what you think it means."

Ultimate means the best, or final, or last. Penultimate means the last but one, or second to last. (Or, as a Monty Python-inspired Michelangelo would say, "the Penultimate Supper!")

But penultimate doesn't mean second-best. Plus, I don't think my PR friend meant to say her client offered second-class services. (I think she just thought the word sounded cool.)

Also, keep in mind that using ultimate is fraught with hyperbolic peril. Are you--or is what you provide--really the absolute best imaginable? That's a tough standard to meet.

Well and good

Anyone who has children uses good more often than he or she should. Since kids pretty quickly learn what good means, "You did good, honey" is much more convenient and meaningful than "You did well, honey."

But that doesn't mean good is the correct word choice.

Good is an adjective that describes something; if you did a good job, then you do good work. Well is an adverb that describes how something was done; you can do your job well.

Where it gets tricky is when you describe, say, your health or emotional state. "I don't feel well" is grammatically correct, even though many people (including me) often say, "I don't feel too good." On the other hand, "I don't feel good about how he treated me" is correct; no one says, "I don't feel well about how I'm treated."

Confused? If you're praising an employee and referring to the outcome say, "You did a good job." If you're referring to how the employee performed say, "You did incredibly well."

And while you're at it, stop saying good to your kids and use great instead, because no one -- especially a kid -- ever receives too much praise.

If and whether

If and whether are often interchangeable. If a yes/no condition is involved, then feel free to use either: "I wonder whether Jim will finish the project on time" or "I wonder if Jim will finish the project on time." (Whether sounds a little more formal in this case, so consider your audience and how you wish to be perceived.)

What's trickier is when a condition is not involved. "Let me know whether Marcia needs a projector for the meeting" isn't conditional, because you want to be informed either way. "Let me know if Marcia needs a projector for the meeting" is conditional, because you only want to be told if she needs one.

And always use if when you introduce a condition. "If you hit your monthly target, I'll increase your bonus" is correct; the condition is hitting the target and the bonus is the result. "Whether you are able to hit your monthly target is totally up to you" does not introduce a condition (unless you want the employee to infer that your thinly veiled threat is a condition of ongoing employment).

Stationary and stationery

You write on stationery. You get business stationery, such as letterhead and envelopes, printed.

But that box of envelopes is not stationary unless it's not moving -- and even then it's still stationery.

Award and reward

An award is a prize. Musicians win Grammy Awards. Car companies win J.D. Power awards. Employees win Employee of the Month awards. Think of an award as the result of a contest or competition.

A reward is something given in return for effort, achievement, hard work, merit, etc. A sales commission is a reward. A bonus is a reward. A free trip for landing the most new customers is a reward.

Be happy when your employees win industry or civic awards, and reward them for the hard work and sacrifices they make to help your business grow.

Sympathy and empathy

Sympathy is acknowledging another person's feelings. "I am sorry for your loss" means you understand the other person is grieving and want to recognize that fact.

Empathy is having the ability to put yourself in the other person's shoes and relate to how the person feels, at least in part because you've experienced those feelings yourself.

The difference is huge. Sympathy is passive; empathy is active. (Here's a short video by Brené Brown that does a great job of describing the difference -- and how empathy fuels connection while sympathy drives disconnection.)

Know the difference between sympathy and empathy, live the difference, and you'll make a bigger difference in other people's lives.

Criterion and criteria

A criterion is a principle or standard. If you have more than one criterion, those are referred to as criteria.

But if you want to be safe and you only have one issue to consider, just say standardor rule or benchmark. Then use criteria for all the times there are multiple specifications or multiple criterion (OK, standards) involved.

Mute and moot

Think of mute like the button on your remote; it means unspoken or unable to speak. In the U.S., moot refers to something that is of no practical importance; a moot point is one that could be hypothetical or even (gasp!) academic. In British English, mootcan also mean debatable or open to debate.

So if you were planning an IPO, but your sales have plummeted, the idea of going public could be moot. And if you decide not to talk about it anymore, you will have gone mute on the subject.

Peak and peek

A peak is the highest point; climbers try to reach the peak of Mount Everest. Peekmeans quick glance, as in giving major customers a sneak peek at a new product before it's officially unveiled, which hopefully helps sales peak at an unimaginable height.

Occasionally a marketer will try to "peak your interest" or "peek your interest," but in that case the right word is pique, which means "to excite." (Pique can also mean "to upset," but hopefully that's not what marketers intend.)

Aggressive and enthusiastic

Aggressive is a very popular business adjective: aggressive sales force, aggressive revenue projections, aggressive product rollout. But unfortunately, aggressive means ready to attack, or pursuing aims forcefully, possibly unduly so.

So do you really want an "aggressive" sales force?

Of course, most people have seen aggressive used that way for so long they don't think of it negatively; to them it just means hard-charging, results-oriented, driven, etc., none of which are bad things.

But some people may not see it that way. So consider using words like enthusiastic, eager, committed, dedicated, or even (although it pains me to say it) passionate.

Then and than

Then refers in some way to time. "Let's close this deal, and then we'll celebrate!" Since the celebration comes after the sale, then is correct.

Then is also often used with if. Think in terms of if-then statements: "If we don't get to the office on time, then we won't be able to close the deal today."

Than involves a comparison. "Landing Customer A will result in higher revenue than landing Customer B," or "Our sales team is more committed to building customer relationships than the competition is."

Evoke and invoke

To evoke is to call to mind; an unusual smell might evoke a long-lost memory. To invoke is to call upon some thing: help, aid, or maybe a higher power.

So hopefully all your branding and messaging efforts evoke specific emotions in potential customers. But if they don't, you might consider invoking the gods of commerce to aid you in your quest for profitability.

Or something like that.

Continuously and continually

Both words come from the root continue, but they mean very different things. Continuously means never ending. Hopefully your efforts to develop your employees are continuous, because you never want to stop improving their skills and their future.

Continual means whatever you're referring to stops and starts. You might have frequent disagreements with your co-founder, but unless those discussions never end (which is unlikely, even though it might feel otherwise), then those disagreements are continual.

That's why you should focus on continuous improvement but only plan to have continual meetings with your accountant: The former should never, ever stop, and the other (mercifully) should.

Systemic and systematic

If you're in doubt, systematic is almost always the right word to use. Systematicmeans arranged or carried out according to a plan, method, or system. That's why you can take a systematic approach to continuous improvement, or do a systematic evaluation of customer revenue or a systematic assessment of market conditions.

Systemic means belonging to or affecting the system as a whole. Poor morale could be systemic to your organization. Or bias against employee diversity could be systemic.

So if your organization is facing a pervasive problem, take a systematic approach to dealing with it -- that's probably the only way you'll overcome it.

Impact and affect (and effect)

Many people (including until recently me) use impact when they should use affect. Impact doesn't mean to influence; impact means to strike, collide, or pack firmly.

Affect means to influence: "Impatient investors affected our rollout date."

And to make it more confusing, effect means to accomplish something: "The board effected a sweeping policy change."

How you correctly use effect or affect can be tricky. For example, a board can affect changes by influencing them and can effect changes by directly implementing them. Bottom line, use effect if you're making it happen, and affect if you're having an impact on something that someone else is trying to make happen.

As for nouns, effect is almost always correct: "Employee morale has had a negative effect on productivity." Affect refers to an emotional state, so unless you're a psychologist, you probably have little reason to use it.

So stop saying you'll "impact sales" or "impact the bottom line." Use affect.

(And feel free to remind me when I screw that up, because I feel sure I'll backslide.)

Between and among

Use between when you name separate and individual items. "The team will decide between Mary, Marcia, and Steve when we fill the open customer service position." Mary, Marcia, and Steve are separate and distinct, so between is correct.

Use among when there are three or more items but they are not named separately. "The team will decide among a number of candidates when we fill the open customer service position." Who are the candidates? You haven't named them separately, so among is correct.

And we're assuming there are more than two candidates; otherwise you'd say between. If there are two candidates you could say, "I just can't decide between them."

Everyday and every day

Every day means, yep, every day -- each and every day. If you ate a bagel for breakfast each day this week, you had a bagel every day.

Everyday means commonplace or normal. Decide to wear your "everyday shoes" and that means you've chosen to wear the shoes you normally wear. That doesn't mean you have to wear them every single day; it just means wearing them is a common occurrence.

Another example is along and a long: Along means moving in a constant direction or a line, or in the company of others, while a long means of great distance or duration. You wouldn't stand in "along line," but you might stand in a long line for a long time, along with a number of other people.

A couple more examples: a while and awhile, and any way and anyway.


If you're in doubt, read what you write out loud. It's unlikely you'll think, "Is there anyway you can help me?" sounds right.

From: LinkedIn

Thursday, April 16, 2015

Nevada Public Radio: Full STEAM ahead: Kids learn about science and tech at Green Valley Library.

Full STEAM ahead: Kids learn about science and tech at Green Valley Library. IT’S NOT ROCKET SCIENCE


desert companion
Education
Mar 26, 2015
by Sage Leehey

Actually, it kind of is. STEM education is all the rage — and as important as ever. Are our schools ready to shape tomorrow’s scientists and engineers?

Our education system has got a serious case of STEM fever. STEM? STEM is the latest buzzword in education. It stands for science, technology, engineering and math, but the zeal it inspires among educators and economists borders on the religious. And for good reason: In a world that’s increasingly driven by tech, from smartphones to self-driving cars to social media, STEM education is considered the brainy boot camp for the skilled workforce we’ll need tomorrow — actually, the workforce we need today.

But it’s not just about teaching third-graders how to code or mentoring middle-schoolers in a robot competition. STEM is a philosophy of education as much as pedagogy.

“They’re not just learning math out of a textbook, but they’re learning math by applying it to a problem in a project that they’re working on, whether it’s building bottle rockets or growing plants and seeing how they respond to different conditions,” explains Jessica A. Lee, lead author on a November Brookings Mountain West and Brookings Institution report, “Cracking the Code on STEM: A People Strategy for Nevada’s Economy,” about the importance of STEM training and education for Nevada’s economic future. “When it’s done really well, it’s really just bringing everything together, and that helps students realize what the point is.”

Never mind the economic future. Actually, STEM education (and its arts-inclusive sister, STEAM) is important for Nevada’s economic present. And though local educators are making small but promising steps toward building 21st-century curricula rich with science and math, it looks like we’ve got some way to go before achieving liftoff.

Green shoots

Some of the valley’s forays into STEM are happening well outside the traditional classroom. Take Green Valley library, where on a typical Saturday you might see a roomful of kids making their own circuit boards. Green Valley Library Manager Stephen Platt put together the class series, called Generation STEAM Presents, with Bill Tomiyasu of local makerspace SYN Shop. The hands-on classes offered at various Henderson-area libraries teach problem-solving and analytical thinking, and cover everything from renewable energy and electronics to physics and aeronautics. And, perhaps surprisingly, art.

“If you want to make something cool, you have to have the artistic aspect to it as well,” Tomiyasu explains. “The artistic angle gets kids interested in it because if you’re just learning facts and figures of a particular area in math, you would never know how to take that math and put it to something more creative, like launching a rocket into space.”

Private schools are also instituting large-scale STEM and STEAM programs on their campuses. The Henderson International School, for example, began integrating a STEM curriculum into its classrooms two years ago and integrating STEAM this school year. It manifests in lessons about things as simple as gardening — but these lessons go well beyond watching seedlings sprout. The children plant seeds in a clear container, measuring their growth and documenting it with drawings, descriptions and iPad photos. They also “dissect” some seeds to learn more about them, and watch the landscaper plan an irrigation system for the garden. Students as young as 3 or 4 are being exposed to integrated, hands-on learning that includes basic engineering and real-life applications through lessons like these.

Henderson International School Principal Chris Besylko says they’ve seen achievement and enthusiasm rise with the launch of more STEM and STEAM lessons at the school. “It’s a lot more than just memorizing a bunch of vocabulary words in science for an assessment or learning a bunch of algorithms in math class and applying them,” Besylko says. “(The hands-on learning) makes the experience that much more meaningful, and it really builds the curiosity, the critical thinking skills, design thinking skills, resilience, perseverance, all those things we want our children to have.”

Blinded by science

The Clark County School District is also working to bring more STEM and STEAM into classrooms throughout the district. Eldorado High School is starting a program on video game technology and web design, and the district has struck an agreement with Code.org to allow more schools to offer coding courses. There will be teacher training this summer on computer programming to help make these courses available throughout the district. And of course, there are science- and tech-oriented magnet schools throughout the district with star programs from engineering at Rancho to medicine at Western.

But are the teachers ready to take it to the next level? Much of the district’s focus is on training teachers — that is, teaching teachers to teach STEM — a lot of which happens in the education department at UNLV. Currently, there are no UNLV classes focusing solely on STEM or STEAM teaching; rather, it’s blended with other courses as a method of math and science instruction. Taking a cue from other colleges, Micah Stohlmann, assistant professor in UNLV’s Department of Teaching and Learning, says he’s interested in starting conversations with other departments at UNLV — such as, you guessed it, the science and math departments — to collaborate in the classroom in order to cross-fertilize their wisdom and methods. “There is a benefit to it just because you get to hear from the science people about more of the science content and then math people are able to teach that content better. They kind of draw on each other’s knowledge that way,” he says.

Because there aren’t any state STEM standards, the school district doesn’t provide STEM-centric professional development for teachers. However, says Mary Pike, the director of science, health and physical education within the school district’s Instructional Design and Professional Learning division, teachers in the career and technical education programs in engineering, biotechnology and computer science programs do attend professional development courses tailored to their specialties. As part of their core training, they also attend summer classes offered by nonprofit Project Lead the Way. The classes are free for teachers and paid for by the school district. Which brings up the biggest obstacle to upgrading the way we teach science and math: money.

STEM sticker shock

Is the current slate of STEM training and education enough for the kind of growth predicted for Nevada in the Brookings report? Not even close.

“There’s definitely a need for more STEM curriculum,” says UNLV’s Stohlmann. “That’s one thing that’s trying to be developed just because the inclusion of engineering in K through 12 education is relatively new. With that focus, there is a need for well-developed and researched STEM curriculum.”

One of the obstacles is, of course, money. Indeed, talk is cheap, but STEM is pricey. STEM and STEAM classes often cost more than other ones because of their hands-on nature and special materials. According to the school district, at the low end, a computer-aided drafting and design class costs about $80,000 for equipment, software and training; the average class in agricultural science and skilled and technical sciences costs around $200,000 to equip; mechanical tech and computer-integrated manufacturing programs can cost upwards of $500,000 to equip. STEM training for Project Lead the Way certification costs from $20,000 to $25,000 per teacher.

Fortunately, a few organizations outside the public school system are working to generate money for STEM and STEAM education. Non-profit Gathering Genius: Nevada STEM Coalition has been working since 2006 to improve STEM education into the state. For instance, the group has raised money for various events that have brought stakeholders together to help pass the 2013 Senate Bill 345, which created the Nevada STEM Advisory Council.

We … need … brains

So why all this fuss about STEM? Because Nevada’s already facing a shortage of these skilled workers — particularly in business information technology ecosystems and health and medical services — and the longer we wait, the farther we fall behind.

“Looking at those target industries that the state economic development folks have really zeroed in on as growth areas, they’re going to need a certain kind of workforce, and the systems now aren’t in place to really help prepare people for those jobs,” says the Brookings Institution’s Lee. “So it’s about getting people ready for that next generation of jobs that’s going to be coming up very soon.”

Even now, many of these STEM jobs are available in Nevada, but companies are having problems getting the positions filled. According to the Brookings report, “while 70 percent of job openings in these two sectors require STEM knowledge, less than half require a four-year degree (though the most in-demand positions in IT do tend to require one). And yet job posting data reveal that open positions take longer to fill in these two industries than in others, which suggests that employers are keen to hire but struggle to find qualified workers.”

When hired, those workers are well-rewarded. STEM jobs also typically pay more than non-STEM jobs. Individuals with a four-year degree in STEM occupations within the state’s target industries earn about $77,000, where others with similar education in non-STEM jobs within the same industries earn about $51,800, according to the report.

“There are a lot of really good, well-paying (STEM) jobs that people can get with just a year or two of training after high school,” says Lee. “That is an important component of this, too. It’s not just for college grads.”

The Brookings report ultimately proposes a two-pronged approach to getting Nevada STEM-ready: on the public side, aligning education’s goals and industry’s needs — and asking some tough questions about the state of our school system. On the civic side, Brookings floats the idea of a statewide STEM marketing campaign, creating internships to give Nevadans the work experience they need and, says Lee, “just generally supporting new innovative approaches to education, whether it’s different classroom tools or curricula or public charter schools, just keeping all options on the table and really supporting what works best for different communities.”

That civic component serves as a reminder that a lot of the education process — even STEM education — happens outside the classroom, and would-be “teachers” are everywhere. Besylko points out that teachers at Henderson International School encourage their students to work with STEAM and STEM at home.

“We’ve challenged kids with their families sitting at the dinner table with popsicle sticks and rubber bands and marshmallows, to try to build a catapult without instructions,” he says.

Platt and Tomiyasu’s Generation STEAM Presents class series at Green Valley Library is aimed at kids aged 8 to 17, but they’ve seen parents learn just as much from the classes, and they frequently hear stories about families who continue to mess around with the gadgets and challenges at home. Some parents have even volunteered to teach a class. Talk about being blinded by science.

“Once these classes are over,” says Platt, “I hope this is just the beginning.”