Review: the new West Hollywood Library

For my LIB 03 class, we were asked to visit a library and present information about it, but I thought some people in the LIB 204 class might be interested as well ...

I chose to visit the West Hollywood Library, the newest branch of the County of Los Angeles Public Library. The library opened in October of 2011, and so the building and facility are very forward thinking in terms of design, layout, and patron needs.

The building combines its modern, clean-lined architecture with sustainable, “green” construction practices. The 33,150 square-foot library uses a “photovoltaic” solar panel system to conserve (and generate its own) energy use, and 96% of the construction material wastes were recycled rather than dumped in landfills. The design of the building also incorporates lots of natural light, which also reduces energy costs.

On the ground level floor of the facility is a cafe and small bookstore that sells items from the library collection that have been taken out of circulation. I purchased a trade paperback copy of Jonathan Lethem’s novel Fortress of Solitude that was in perfect, brand-new condition – for only $1.00!

To enter the main building of the library, you have to walk up a curving, external staircase (or take the elevator) to the main lobby. Upon entering, directly in front of you will be the circulation desk. To the right is the DVD section, and to the left and behind the front/circulation desk is a long expanse of seating near the glass wall that overlooks San Vicente Boulevard. The children’s books must have been in this area as well because I did not see them on the upper floor. To the right and behind the front/circulation was the main staircase that leads to the second floor of the library, which held sections that included non-fiction, fiction, videos, design and architecture, and large print books.

One article on the library I read after my visit mentioned that the library has a children’s theater, but I did not see it when I was there.

One of the prominent features that visitors will notice includes the glass wall on the east-facing wall of the library, which provides a view of the Pacific Design Center, which is across the street, and the Hollywood Hills in the background. The second floor also features a beautifully detailed wooden ceiling with a floral design. While doing some homework at the library for a couple of hours, I noticed several people taking pictures of the gorgeous view.

Also the second floor, along the glass wall, are sand-colored chairs and tables for patrons to study or read, as well as lower swivel lounge chairs with smaller tables.

Free wireless (Wi-Fi) Internet access is provided in the library, but requires library membership and a pin number. There are also several computer stations for library members to use. The library website states that there are 44 computer terminals. On my visit, nearly all of the computers were in use, and more than half of the seating areas were occupied as well. There are also separate, private study rooms, and a more formal conference room, all of which were occupied.

On both the first and second floor of the library, approaching the main stairway, are self-checkout stations where patrons can scan and checkout items on their own.

A nice added detail of the shelving units that held the library’s “stacks” were built-in lighting fixtures, making searching for an item that much easier.

Some of the services provided by the library include “Live Homework Help,” which is available online, and covers the following:  K-12 math, science, English, social studies, and essay review tutoring; for college level students, math, science, English, and essay review, as well as “assistance with GED preparation, and career services such as resume review, job searching and interview preparation.” (http://www.colapublib.org/children/tutor/index.html)

The online catalog for the County of Los Angeles Public Library, is easy to navigate and was familiar since having used it in depth for LIB 03 Assignment 2. Additional online services include emailing a librarian for information or asking a reference question, access to the library’s collection of research databases, which requires users to be member of the library and provide their membership number, and finally downloading capability to download eBooks, audiobooks, and music (note: uses can only download three songs per week through the library’s online catalog.).

Events that take place at the West Hollywood Library include toddler and family story times on Wednesday, and a “BookPals Storytime” on Saturdays at 11:00am, where “members of the Screen Actors Guild read stories to children and their families.” On the first Tuesday of each month, the library hosts a “Women and Books” book club, where authors and educators discuss new books that cover women’s issues and interests.

One final detail of the library that I really liked was a large mural on the side of the library’s parking structure by the artist Shepard Fairey. Because the parking structure is behind the library, one would not even be aware of the mural from the main entrance on San Vicente Boulevard. While mentioning parking, the library validates parking for three hours free.

For more information on the West Hollywood Library, see the following links:

Branch webpage:

http://www.colapublib.org/libs/whollywood/index.php

Los Angeles Times article on the library:

http://articles.latimes.com/2011/oct/01/local/la-me-weho-library-20111001

Los Angeles Times photo slideshow:

http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/news/la-et-0928-weho-library-pictures,0,575306.photogallery

LA Curbed articles on the library:

http://la.curbed.com/tags/west-hollywood-library

Blog Reflection # 5

It’s hard to determine how people qualify the information they read or view. I would say, being somewhat pessimistic in terms of the general public’s ability to evaluate information, that most people don’t think about verifying a piece of information they come across. If someone gets their daily news from, say, Fox News, and they hear a statistic repeated over and over again on Fox News, and they don’t read or get their news from another (more reputable) source, they will probably believe what they hear on Fox News as “fact.”

When it comes to college students, I don’t think this type of behavior is as extreme, but it all depends on the individual student’s study habits. Students who are in a hurry to get an assignment done at the last minute aren’t going to have the time needed to check and verify the information they are basing their work on.

But I don’t want to lecture anyone or come across as holier than thou. I’m going to admit that I was not a great undergraduate student. Often times, I did not put in the amount of time required that would have made me a much better student. I have since learned the importance of spending a little more time required to do a better job.

I think being able to determine if a piece of information, or a source of information, is credible comes largely from simply doing a lot of reading. For a long time, you really won’t know what is a good or bad source of information, but the more you read, and the broader your range of reading encompasses, the better you will be at being able to tell what is “good” and “bad” information by having a better foundation from which to judge the information you come across.

So, to me, it all comes down to finding many different sources of information, and not falling into the habit of getting your information from just one or two places. Secondly, keep an open mind to reading new and different types and sources of information. Some of what you come across will be drivel, and some will be highly reputable, but you won’t be able to tell the difference if you haven’t read from one end of the spectrum to the other.

A source that explains some basic things to look for when reading/verifying information on the web is the UCLA Library Research Help website *. The site basically explains what to look for in order to qualify web information.

It’s a pretty simple concept:  Take extra time to question or check your source(s), ask yourself questions about who is providing the information and don’t just take what you read at face value as fact.

If someone came up to you and offered you a great investment opportunity and they said it was a 100% sure thing to make you ten times your money, would you hand over your money without asking any questions? Or would you want to find out a little bit more information about this opportunity before just giving away your money? It’s kind of the same as believing unreliable information, only you’re the guy taking the money, but the money is a bag full of confetti or rotten garbage.

http://www.library.ucla.edu/libraries/college/11605_12008.cfm

* Source Cited:

  “Thinking Critically about Web 2.0 and Beyond”

  Esther Grassian, the UCLA Library and used with permission.

"half hours on earth, what are they worth? i don't know"

The one and only D C Berman and his group the Silver Jews. If you listen to his lyrics you will come to the conclusion that there hasn't been a better American songwriter since he started the band with Stephen Malkmus and Bob Nastanovich in 1989 ( The Jews called it quits in 2009, so that's 20 years, if you haven't been paying attention to alternative music much).

Blog Reflection # 4

Personally, I like print materials. Having a hardcover or cloth bound set of a reference volumes looks and feels great. But what is the point if that 10-volume reference set is going to be out of date in two years? Because of the flexibility of ability to quickly update electronic resources (in comparison to printed resources that really can’t be altered until the next edition comes out), it seems like the better option for patrons in need of the most current information available.

If you think about searching through a stack of years and years of a journal or magazine, looking for one particular article, even if you knew the exact issue the article was in, compared with typing in the title or keyword(s) of the article in a electronic version/database, there is really no comparison as to which one is easier and more efficient. One of the essential qualities of a successful service/tool/product/etc. is the ease of use. So, it the database is quicker and easier for users, that is the one I would go with.

Additionally, electronic resources that can be accessed outside of the physical library make it more convenient for patrons to utilize. If you had the money to spend on reference resources, it makes sense to invest in something that is going to get the most use, and if patrons need to access a resource and don’t necessarily have to go into the library to use it, then it will probably get more use. Of course, this is assuming that the patrons are aware of the benefits and availability of such a resource.

So, when it comes down to it, I would spend 85-90% on electronic resources due to the flexibility and accessibility, and the rest on printed resources.

GY!BE

The elusive and always amazing collective Godspeed You! Black Emperor doing what is probably their most "popular" song East Hastings from a couple years ago...you can see them in person if you're going to Coachella this year, if you have like $500 burning a hole in your pocket to buy a ticket and like to spend all day in the 100 degree sun. Not an ideal venue for a band like this, but being able to see them play live is a rare opportunity and one not to be missed...

Project # 1

The library visited for this project was the Los Altos branch of the Long Beach Public Library, which serves the eastern section of the city of Long Beach. This branch’s collection consists of approximately 51,000 volumes, according the Long Beach Public Library’s website (http://www.lbpl.org/location/los_altos/default.asp).

The Los Altos library serves the general public. The patrons who were at the library during my visit included several grade school children, probably between the ages of eight to twelve, several senior citizens, and two or three middle-aged men.

The needs of these patrons were different. For example, the senior citizens were browsing through the periodicals, and one was reading the newspaper. One of the school children was looking through a classic literature bookstand, probably for something related to a school assignment. The middle-aged men were using the public access computers. 

The reference desk area was a very large, half-circular desktop, roughly between six and eight feet in length, with two or three computer screens atop the desk, facing towards the reference librarian behind the desk. There were no seats across from the desktop for users to sit in, so I actually kneeled to be approximately at eye-level with the reference librarian, who turned the computer screen towards me to show me what she was doing as she answered my questions, which was helpful. The reference desk was somewhat cluttered with a variety of materials and objects, including stacks of books, slips of scratch paper for taking notes, along with pencils, and small stacks of flyers and announcements for library-related events and services, as well as non-library-related services.

The library offers several workshops or instructional programs. One of the programs is the Family Learning Center (FLC), which offers K through 12^th grade math, science, and English instruction, basic computer classes for adults on Saturdays, “One hour, one-on-one computer classes...on beginning Internet, e-mail, basic spreadsheet, word processing, and basic catalog instruction,” which requires signing up in advance, a once a week book group meeting for patrons to discuss and suggest fiction and nonfiction books, and movie screenings on Fridays. The library also has a pre-school story time for younger children.

The library’s reference collection is fairly small but includes a wide range of resources covering many subjects. Some of the titles I noticed were: Black’s Law Dictionary, Historical Statistics of the U.S., World Almanac, California Cities, Towns, and Counties, a multi-volume Gale Encyclopedia of Science, Gray’s Anatomy, as well as a fiction encyclopedia, Spanish and German language dictionaries, an astronomy encyclopedia, several atlases, and a volume of civic codes. These sources will be useful to many general readers and are well suited for a public library.

The library’s online catalog system is powered by Encore, which is a common platform for online library catalogs, and is relatively easy to search. In the Los Altos library, there are two computer terminals that are set up for searching the catalog. They are located directly across from each other, next to the public access computers and near the adult nonfiction section and reference desk. The reference desk is located in the very center of the library. On the other side of the library are the juvenile/children sections, and in between adult nonfiction section and the juvenile/children sections is a large seating or study area with tables, chairs, as well as a sofa.

Some of the reference handouts I noticed included a flyer promoting the library’s online databases, which are free and accessible at all times to library members, a calendar of events for the current month, a flyer showing a list of the movies that will be shown for the Friday Films series, and a flyer explaining the services offered through the Family Learning Center (FLC), and the hours it is open.

The Internet access policy does not have any limitations, stating that the library “does not monitor user information accessed through the Internet” and that “parents or guardians, not the Library or its staff, are responsible for the information selected and/or accessed by their children.” The policy also says that users must use the Internet in a “responsible matter” and “cannot be used for fraudulent or unlawful” purposes, and cannot display materials considered sexual harassment.

There is a 60-minute time limit for computer use, but the librarians can extend the time limit if no one is waiting to use the computer(s). If anyone violates any of the rules mentioned above, they will be denied access to use the computers/Internet.

When asking the reference librarian about popular electronic/online resources, she mentioned the access to databases through the library, specifying two databases in particular as being useful and popular, Academic OneFile, and ProQuest Newspapers.

In my own interaction, as well as in observing other patrons’ interactions with the reference librarian, the librarian seemed somewhat approachable and helpful. The reference librarian did not acknowledge patrons that walked by or near the desk, but when the patron would initiate interaction with the librarian, she would look the patrons in the eye and ask open ended questions rather that responding with one word or yes or no answers, and also left the reference desk on two different occasions to lead the patrons to the section or item they were looking for. In the middle of my interaction with the reference librarian, she noticed that another patron was standing nearby waiting to ask a question, so the librarian asked me if she could help the other patron and then she would continue to help me, since I was asking multiple questions regarding the library’s online resources.

Overall, the Los Altos library’s strengths include providing a wide range of general reader options, a large section on children’s books, and many online databases that are accessible to library members from home or at the library. The library has a good mix of community services for adults and children, especially in regards to basic computer instruction and literacy.

In terms of library/web 2.0 utilities, the library does feature a “Text a librarian” service where users can ask questions through their cell phone, and a service that allows users to browse, search, and checkout eBooks on their Amazon Kindle. There is also a free smart phone app called LBPL Mobile that can be downloaded onto users’ phones. Through the app, users can get information on all of the library’s locations and can search for items. The app gets pretty good reviews on iTunes.

In terms of utilizing social media platforms, the Long Beach Public Library does have a Facebook and Twitter account, both of which seem to be updated almost every day, sometimes several times a day. Updates include information about upcoming library-related events, and their Facebook page has some very cool historical photos of Long Beach that are worth checking out.

Wild Flag

Wild Flag is a pretty good rock supergroup of sorts...if you know Sleater-Kinney, Portlandia, the 90's, K Records, or the term riot grrrl, then you probably know about them, but if you don't, you should check them out.