How to use this Page

Someone asked me recently why it can be hard for libraries to change. She wondered why when her library wanted to try something it required a committee of people and a long process that in many cases meant by the time the something was ready to implement it was too late. I think about this construct a lot and have realized that a part of what is going on is a desire or need to make sure that a program or service is perfect before it launches to the public. When we strive for perfection in libraries we end up creating an environment that isn’t nimble or flexible or responsive to the community. And, as a result, we don’t move forward as quickly as we need.

The conversation where someone asked me about libraries and change led to this Tweet:

@LibraryFanatic …and it's a beautiful thing! pic.twitter.com/24OZ8cZGHn

— Gillian Madeley (@aljasngenietoo) August 24, 2014

That idea, (Fail=First Attempt in Learning) is the message we need to get across to teens, teachers, parents, and librarians. Learning, producing, creating, implementing is a process. In order to actually learn or produce or implement something imperfection, and even failure, is required. Think about some of the things you have learned – how to drive, how to use a particular software program, how to use a particular device, how to cook something… I could go on and on. But, the key is that I bet the first time you got behind the steering wheel or the first time you baked a cake or the first time you turned on a new device, you weren’t perfect at it. I certainly could tell stories about failing at each of those things when I first was learning how to do/use them.

In libraries, and with teens, we have to be willing to fail, learn from our experiences, and then either try again, or move on to something else (if what we learn says this wasn’t a good idea at all). Think about how freeing that is when planning a new program or service. Say you want to start working with some new community partners to help support teen workforce development skills. If you wait until you have built the perfect relationship with the potential partners or have a proved track-record with the partners it could be the year 2044 before you get something off the ground.

Instead of working towards perfection in the partnership give yourself a quick turn-around timeline for building and piloting the program. Work backwards on your calendar to plan out what you need to accomplish by that completion date. Give up the idea that every piece of the project has to be thought out perfectly before you launch. Start contacting partners and asking them how you can work together to create something awesome for teens. Go with the flow and see what happens.

And then, and this is a big thing, at the end of the process look at what worked and didn’t work and then decide next steps. What were you looking for in the partnership and did you achieve that – why/why not? Were you able to support teen acquisition of workforce development skills – why/why not? If you were to do this project again, what would you do the same and what would you do differently – why? Those answers are really going to help you to understand how you failed, what you learned, and what you need to do next.

And, then, be honest with everyone! Yes everyone! About your failures and what you learned. One of the reasons I think we in libraries don’t like to fail and strive for perfection is because, while we exchange lots of information about what we do with teens, we aren’t always talking about what didn’t work and what we would do differently next time. It seems to the world that we are perfect, and we are not.

Take the leap this fall and learn how to fail and how to celebrate that failure. Instead of working towards perfection be nimble and flexible in planning, try out ideas, evaluate, learn, and try again.

If you want to keep learning about taking risks and learning how to fail try out these Twitter hashtags and feeds:

• #act4teens – is a YALSA generated hashtag all about developing great library services to support teens.
• @educationweek – the official Twitter feed for the Education Week newspaper and website.
• @edutopia – the official Twitter feed for the George Lucas Foundation dedicated to innovation in education

#

Tweet

I just wanted to extend a hello to our new readers, many of whom I had the pleasure of meeting at ALA in San Diego earlier this week. As always, if you have suggestions, questions, ideas about/for OUPblog, I more than welcome them. You can email me at blog[at]oup[dot]com. And now, I present the Friday links…

Incredible footage of the flooding in Australia [White Light Bringer] – Related: You can donate to Queensland flood relief here.

LOOK AT THESE CAVE PHOTOS! [National Geographic]

Baby learns to just say ‘no’ [via]

Orchestra fail [YouTube audio only]

This child dances better than we ever will [YouTube]

Falling books bookshelf [via]

Some amazing basketball skillz [Dunking Devils]

An interesting question about the death penalty [GOOD]

And from The Next Web, the answer to the question you’ve all been asking…

Well, it took me only a week to fail on my promise to get a new sketch up every friday.

Yep, I kinda suck.

Maybe this will make you feel a bit better.

I've recently decided to do something I've always wanted to do, but for whatever reason always backed out of - a webcomic.

I've loved comics as a medium since I was a kid and I've always thought doing a webcomic on a regular basis might be fun. That being said, I don't have a ton of extra time and I didn't want to get something started and never see it through.

I'm not saying there's no chance of that happening this time out, but I've chosen sort of an easy-breezy style of art and I'm going to give it my best.

I want to get a few pages ahead of the game before I start posting stuff, so I'm looking at getting up and running by the end of next month - hopefully. I'll have mo information as I get closer.

In the meantime, here's a little something to wet your whistle.

Steve

MacMillan Publishing and Amazon are in a bitch fight.

As far as I understand it, MacMillan wants Amazon to raise the kindle book price from $10 to $15 and Amazon doesn't want to. As the debate has heated up, Amazon has now pulled ALL of Macmillan's books from the site, so you can now only get them from 3rd party seller (or anyone who isn't Amazon.)

Serious Word “age”

I love words.  They are fun, they come in all kinds of languages, you can rhyme them, say them for nothing, say them quietly or loudly or even not at all and, best of all, they are easy to exploit.  One word can have several meanings, and if you add  extra letters to them, they can mean even more.

One of my very favourite things, as a matter of fact, is to play the “age” game, I add those three letters to random words to see if it works.  Sometimes the “g” is soft, as in “massage”, and sometimes it is a hard “g” like the word “message”.  The words may end up as nouns or as verbs and once in a while you can turn a noun into a verb or vice versa.   Usually the hard “g” turns it into a noun type of word and the soft makes it a bit more verb “ish”.  

Bless is a good one, “blessage”  (hard “g”) is a word I use when someone sneezes, it means “bless you” in Binkdonk’s dictionary. 

Burp is interesting because it uses both types of “g”.  “Burpage” (soft “g”), is what you do with gassy infant.  Burpage (hard “g”) is usually what happens after guzzling a carbonated beverage much too fast.

Fail;  not what anybody wants to do, however, “failage” (hard “g”) happens when tests are not studied for or when there is a lack of focus and intent in whatever is attempted (nothing that some serious planning cannot overcome). 

Spank is my favourite! “Spankage”, (soft “g”)  is reminiscent of a spanking that relaxes you, it even sounds like it when said in a soft voice.  On the other hand, “spankage” (hard “g”) is what you get when you don’t obey.

Whip, as unlikely as it seems, makes sense.  “Whippage”, is what you get when going through dense forest undergrowth at any kind of rapid pace.  Especially if the person ahead of you is just letting the branches fling back at you.  Try to go first, in order  to prevent this calamity from happening to you .   

Oh! The possibilities are endless. There is also the option of changing the meanings of words that already have the “age” suffix.  Just by making it hard or soft. 

Do be careful with the soft “g’s” in case it sounds too pretentious but have fun and really enjoy that sound as it slides out of your mouth.

Serious Word “age”

I love words.  They are fun, they come in all kinds of languages, you can rhyme them, say them for nothing, say them quietly or loudly or even not at all and, best of all, they are easy to exploit.  One word can have several meanings, and if you add  extra letters to them, they can mean even more.

One of my very favourite things, as a matter of fact, is to play the “age” game, I add those three letters to random words to see if it works.  Sometimes the “g” is soft, as in “massage”, and sometimes it is a hard “g” like the word “message”.  The words may end up as nouns or as verbs and once in a while you can turn a noun into a verb or vice versa.   Usually the hard “g” turns it into a noun type of word and the soft makes it a bit more verb “ish”.  

Bless is a good one, “blessage”  (hard “g”) is a word I use when someone sneezes, it means “bless you” in Binkdonk’s dictionary. 

Burp is interesting because it uses both types of “g”.  “Burpage” (soft “g”), is what you do with gassy infant.  Burpage (hard “g”) is usually what happens after guzzling a carbonated beverage much too fast.

Fail;  not what anybody wants to do, however, “failage” (hard “g”) happens when tests are not studied for or when there is a lack of focus and intent in whatever is attempted (nothing that some serious planning cannot overcome). 

Spank is my favourite! “Spankage”, (soft “g”)  is reminiscent of a spanking that relaxes you, it even sounds like it when said in a soft voice.  On the other hand, “spankage” (hard “g”) is what you get when you don’t obey.

Whip, as unlikely as it seems, makes sense.  “Whippage”, is what you get when going through dense forest undergrowth at any kind of rapid pace.  Especially if the person ahead of you is just letting the branches fling back at you.  Try to go first, in order  to prevent this calamity from happening to you .   

Oh! The possibilities are endless. There is also the option of changing the meanings of words that already have the “age” suffix.  Just by making it hard or soft. 

Do be careful with the soft “g’s” in case it sounds too pretentious but have fun and really enjoy that sound as it slides out of your mouth.

1. Go for a run. 

2. Rent a movie.

3. Build a card tower.

4. Write stuff down backwards and then read it in a mirror.

5. Buy a trampoline.  

6. Jump on it.

7. Crank up some tunes.

8. Try to lick your elbow.

9. Read a good book.

10. Clean up your room.

11. Start a blog.

12. Watch people’s fails on YouTube,

13. Prank call a friend.

14. Find a wall and see how high you can get your hand by jumping.

15. Wet your hair and style it.

16. Start a new instrument.

17. Find a job.

18. Put iodine on any open cuts.  Being bored will seem pretty good after this.

19. Go for a walk and comment on people to your self.

20. Learn how to cook something tasty.

21. Write a story.

22. Take a hot shower.

23. See how far you can get a paper airplane to fly.

24. Wikipedia Race (google it).

25.  Think of something else to do when bored and comment it for others to read.

1. Go for a run. 

2. Rent a movie.

3. Build a card tower.

4. Write stuff down backwards and then read it in a mirror.

5. Buy a trampoline.  

6. Jump on it.

7. Crank up some tunes.

8. Try to lick your elbow.

9. Read a good book.

10. Clean up your room.

11. Start a blog.

12. Watch people’s fails on YouTube,

13. Prank call a friend.

14. Find a wall and see how high you can get your hand by jumping.

15. Wet your hair and style it.

16. Start a new instrument.

17. Find a job.

18. Put iodine on any open cuts.  Being bored will seem pretty good after this.

19. Go for a walk and comment on people to your self.

20. Learn how to cook something tasty.

21. Write a story.

22. Take a hot shower.

23. See how far you can get a paper airplane to fly.

24. Wikipedia Race (google it).

25.  Think of something else to do when bored and comment it for others to read.

RECOMMENDATION 1
The Government should repeal Australia’s Parallel Import Restrictions (PIRs)
for books. The repeal should take effect three years after the date that it is
announced.

RECOMMENDATION 2
The Government should, as soon as possible, review the current subsidies aimed
at encouraging Australian writing and publishing, with a view to better targeting
of cultural externalities. Any revised arrangements should be put in place before
the repeal of the PIRs takes effect.

The consumption of culturally valuable books, and the ideas they contain, can help diffuse social norms. Where more people come to understand the unwritten rules of a society, their actions become more predictable or ‘trustable’ to others, facilitating social and economic exchanges... More generally, the reading of books of cultural value may help individuals to feel more connected to, and to be more productive within, particular social groups or the wider society, to the benefit of all.

...the ideas embodied in some books have had far reaching impacts. Most obviously, the core ideas that were embodied in books such as The New Testament, The Wealth of Nations, Mein Kampf and The Female Eunuch have had major impacts on how societies operate.

...another way that Australian books could generate external benefits is if they make Australia a more ‘marketable’ identity to the eyes of foreigners.

It should be noted that while books are an important source of such educational benefits, they can also arise, for example, from (educational) television programming and, increasingly, from the internet.

In the Commission’s view, linking the amount of support to sales will generally be desirable.

The copyright backlog lengthens beyond eighteen months...the new new $52 million goverment computer system is a Fail.

What a racket.

The delays do not appear to be hampering the business of the major publishing houses or those willing to spend $685 for a "special handling fee" that expedites registration. But the slowdown is frustrating hundreds of thousands of little-known people with big dreams. They paid $45 for the right to claim legal ownership of poems, fabric designs, plays, jingles, even computer manuals.

All week on the OUPblog we will be celebrating the Lincoln Bicentennial.  Be sure to check in daily for original posts from Allen C. Guelzo, author of Lincoln: A Very Short Introduction and Craig L. Symonds, author of Lincoln and His Admirals.  Also click through and read the posts that have already gone live by Guelzo and an excerpt from Abraham Lincoln by James M. McPherson.  Jennifer Weber, author of Copperheads: The Rise and Fall of Lincoln’s Opponents in the North, wrote the post below which looks at how Lincoln almost failed.

Abraham Lincoln is in the news a lot these days, and justifiably so. This year marks the bicentennial of his birth. That would have gotten a fair amount of attention under any circumstances, but the event has attracted even more interest because of the recent inauguration of another tall, lanky, up-by-his-own-bootstraps son of Illinois. Barack Obama, whom some see as a sort of heir to Lincoln, is, at the very least, the logical consequence of Lincoln’s actions. No Lincoln – no emancipation, no black troops, no civil rights (or at least an early promise thereof) – no Obama, at least not now.

In this season of Lincoln celebrations, in the avalanche of new books on our 16th president, it is easy to lapse into unquestioning adoration. From the moment John Wilkes Booth shot him on Good Friday, Lincoln became the American Jesus.

The truth is that, for the first four years of his presidency, Lincoln was a deeply controversial figure. He did not receive a single electoral vote from the South in 1860, and even after the war began many people in the North thought his actions, such as suspending habeas corpus and emancipation itself, were those of a tyrant.

But it was the losses that nearly did Lincoln in politically. The summer of 1864 was grim in a way that Americans today can hardly imagine. Ulysses S. Grant alone had taken 64,000 casualties in a little over a month of the Overland Campaign. What did he have to show for the bloodletting? A siege outside of Petersburg, Virginia. William T. Sherman was stalled on the outskirts of Atlanta, another siege. Nathaniel Banks had made an effort of going into Texas, but got turned back at Shreveport, Louisiana, in the spring and spent the summer sitting on his hands in New Orleans.

Many Northerners were screaming for an end to the war. Democrats who had long supported Lincoln’s actions abandoned him for the antiwar wing of their party. Even Republicans abandoned him. By August 1864 – a mere eight months before his death and martyrdom – the nation’s leading Republicans were certain that their candidate could not win re-election in November. Lincoln himself was resigned to losing. Under tremendous pressure to abandon emancipation as a war aim, Lincoln refused to reneg on his promise to the slaves. He would be “damned in time and eternity” if he did, he explained. He would go down with his principles intact.

Lincoln’s re-election was sealed with Sherman’s victory in Atlanta at the very beginning of September. Public opinion made a complete turnabout with that single event. Northerners were convinced that victory was theirs, and the rest of the war would be a mop-up operation. The national change of heart is startling in its totality, speed, and conviction, even from this distance.
But let’s say that Atlanta did not fall until after the election, and that Phil Sheridan, another Union general, did not stage his romp through the Shenandoah Valley later in September. Lincoln would surely have gone down to defeat. The first thing his opponent, the former general George B. McClellan, would have done would be to jettison emancipation as a condition of war. I believe he would not have had the stomach to continue to prosecute the war, just as he had no stomach to wage it as head of the Army of the Potomac, and he would have given the Confederates their independence. Historians would regard Lincoln, the same man many of them consider the greatest American president, as a failed president.

Lincoln’s enshrinement is testimony to the contingent nature of history. Sherman did take Atlanta before the election, and Sheridan did strip the valley bare, also before the election. Lincoln’s re-election guaranteed that the war would continue to the point of unconditional surrender. His assassination came just days after Robert E. Lee’s surrender. His death, by any measure, is one of history’s greatest tragedies, but it also froze Lincoln in time – and in marble. He did not have to deal with the bulk of Reconstruction, which was sure to be messy even for someone with Lincoln’s great political gifts. Instead, he died at the moment of his triumph, his reputation immediately sealed as the nation’s greatest president. One has to look no further for his legacy than 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.

It was always my favorite color.... but then there was that awful RED LETTER Day! I guess there's going to be a lot of homework from now on!