quatrefoil winter 2015

Inside This Issue:

Winter 2015—Issue 37 Parkland Regional Library

7

Find out how this event run by

Howard County Public Librar-

ies has reached upwards of

20,000 people.

4

We’ve updated our website

and member library websites

with a clean and modern look.

And mobile-friendly! Huzzah!

10

Techniques to stay positive at

work.

15

Forestburg Library combined

literacy and yoga for a unique

family-friendly program.

Photo credit: Hoar Frost in Sylvan Lake by local photographer Leo Degroot

2 • Winter 2015 • prl.ab.ca

Petten - Town of

Bentley

Ray Olfert - Town of

Blackfalds

Janine Stannard -

County of Paintearth

Michael Wells - Five

Summer Villages of

Sylvan Lake

TAL Online

TAL Online, which has been

a fixture of the Alberta li-

brary world since June 2001,

may be discontinued partial-

ly or totally at the end

of June 2016.

Throughout its history, TAL

Online has been paid for

largely through funding

from the Government of

Alberta and maintained with

infrastructure support from

the University of Alberta.

The current version of TAL

Online was paid for through

to June 30, 2016 with money

from the Provincial Library

Technology Plan fund from

the Alberta Government.

Subscription fees totaled

$808,078 or an average of

$269,360 per year over 3

years. Since there is no more

provincial funding for TAL

Online, TAL’s membership

will have to absorb the cost

if the service is to continue.

However, at the November

20th TAL Board meeting, a

sufficient number of mem-

bers refused to commit to

paying the extra fees neces-

sary to support the service.

Some could not afford the

amounts and others from

the academic side of the

membership have no idea

what their budgets will even

be in 2016.

As a result, a motion was

made to temporarily sus-

pend the TAL policy which

requires all members partici-

pate in TAL Online and the

TAL Card program. During

the course of the meeting, a

commitment was made by a

number of major public and

academic libraries, including

Parkland, to put staff re-

sources towards the crea-

tion of a new discovery/

request system that would

be more cost effective and

ultimately replace the cur-

rent TAL Online. It is hoped

that the new system will be

implemented by the time

the current TAL Online sub-

scription with OCLS ends in

June of next year.

Exceptional Community

Support Award

On September 18th, Lindsay

McFarlane attended the Book

Publishers Association of Al-

berta conference, where she

presented jointly with the

Writers’ Guild of Alberta on

the Read Alberta Books trav-

elling display.

At the awards ceremony, PRL

was presented with an award

in recognition of Exceptional

Community Support.

Ron Sheppard, Director

[email protected]

The times they are a

changin’...

It’s been a year of transition

for PRL and our members:

new van delivery systems,

new websites, new member-

ship drive. Plus, all the new

exciting activities in libraries

at the local level.

Change is the new normal

and agility is the hallmark of

successful organizations to-

day.

Change is not easy for organi-

zations but it is necessary.

Take a moment to

acknowledge the changes

you’ve incorporated and

applaud your success.

Executive Committee

The last board meeting of

2015 is the organizational

meeting in preparation for

2016. A vote was held to

determine the PRL Board

Chair and the Executive

Committee was also ap-

pointed. Results are listed

below:

Board Chair:

Debra Smith - Village of

Lougheed

Executive Committee:

Jean Bota - Red Deer

County

Tammy Burke - Town

of Rocky Mtn. House

Deb Cryderman - City

of Camrose

Leona Dickau - Town

of Daysland

Bob Green - Town of

Carstairs

Linda Haarstad-

prl.ab.ca • Winter 2015 • 3

GST Rebate filing for July-

December 2015

(if applicable)

Mid Caldecott and Newbery

Winners Announced

Mid TD Summer Reading Club order

forms sent to libraries

18 Annual Report bee

One-on-one and group support for

PLSB annual report

(9:30-12)

Meaningful Measurement

An interactive workshop and

discussion

(1 - 3:30 PM)

27 Family Literacy Day and Read for

15 Challenge

1 Young Canada Works Summer

Work Experience applications due

5 Deadline for submissions to Spring

Quatrefoil

6 Take your Child to the Library Day

15 Deadline for LAA Continuing

Education grants

17 Digital Learning Day

21-

27

Freedom to Read Week

25 PRL Board meeting at

Parkland (1 - 3 PM)

29 Annual Report and Survey due to

Municipal Affairs

1 Budget due to municipal councils

for approval

15 Postage Reimbursement forms due

to PRL

Merry Christmas,

Happy Holidays!


Over the past year, Parkland staff have been

working diligently on building a modern new

website and finding a responsive website

content management system for the region.

Parkland headquarters website underwent a

major shift and moved to a patron/public fo-

cus compared to its previous incarnation that

was primarily focused on library staff and

board members.

Member library websites share the same de-

sign as the Parkland headquarters site. Staff

worked closely with website development

company Fishtank, based out of Calgary, to

create a rich user experience based on collect-

ed data, previous feedback from library staff

in 2013, and a patron survey; along with the

goal to have all sites mobile responsive.

The websites have the following special fea-

tures:

Events page that will show visitors all of

the library programs at their local library,

25 km radius, 50 km radius, 100 km radius,

and the entire regional system (that spans

24,000 km²!)

New forms, using third party vendor

Wufoo, so libraries can now accept online

registration and payment for programs.

Automatically updating opening hours and

location from Horizon with a map using

Google technology.

Integrated social media to keep the public

up to date on the latest news from the

library.

New eLibrary for easy discovery.

High powered search engine for website.

We are pleased to announce that 19 member

libraries have already transitioned to their

new website. With the new content manage-

ment system, Parkland is now able to update

member library websites for them, giving

library staff more time to focus on other du-

ties.

Parkland would like to thank member library

managers and staff for their understanding

and patience during this period of extensive

change. Staff are confident that the new web-

sites will address the need for mobile respon-

siveness and the new features will create an

enhanced online experience for library staff

and patrons alike.

Parkland Regional Library

thanks Trout Unlimited (Red

Deer) for another generous

donation this year to purchase

wetland material for our li-

brary collections.

The new books have been

received and catalogued to

get them ready for distribu-

tion to member libraries.

There are diverse titles in this

new set, which includes:

a beautiful photo book on

dragonflies

field guides to reptiles,

amphibians, and inverte-

brates of North America

great books for families

and young readers about

the creatures that inhabit

freshwater environments

There are also some thought

provoking titles on freshwater

ecosystems, impaired wet-

lands, and ways to protect our

water.

We have been pleased to work

with Trout Unlimited over the

past several years to help keep

central Albertans informed on

the fascinating wetland eco-

systems as well as their im-

portance to the health of our

environment and ourselves.

: Meredith Bratland


We're changing the way materials are shipped around the

Parkland Region to make it better, stronger, faster...

We’re adding an extra van trip to our weekly schedule so that

high volume libraries will have two deliveries per week, start-

ing December 1st.

Parkland is providing libraries with cool new grey bins. We'll

send materials to libraries in them and they can send things

back to us in them. The bins are solid, so staff won't need to

package materials as heavily to protect them. Staff can just

flag each item and tuck it in the bin.

All libraries received a starter kit with their first shipment of

bins. The kit includes transit slips for the system, new process

only flags and a caddy to hold them, and padded envelopes.

Feedback on how the process is working is important to

us. We want to make the system as incredible as you are!

Interested in doing more?

1. Take note of how long it took you to ship things

using the old system. Once the new system is in

place and becoming routine, measure again so that we

will know whether the new way of shipping is working

better for you!

2. Get involved and help make it better. We would like

to set up a working group to look at best practices for

shipping and receiving. If you are interested in partici-

pating, let your Parkland consultant know.

On November 5th, the PRL Board passed the new Strategic

Plan for 2016-2018. The plan has four main goals that are to

be achieved through fourteen objectives.

1. Libraries will have a strong and supportive relationship

with local and provincial governments that recognize

the value of public libraries and prioritize public library

service.

2. Municipalities will have sustainable and effective li-

brary service.

3. Parkland Regional Library member municipalities will

have an effective and responsive system board.

4. Parkland residents will have a greater awareness of the

public library and regard public libraries as an essential

part of their communities.

The success in meeting the goals will be measured by com-

paring the goals to fourteen outcomes. The plan is ambitious

but staff and board are feeling optimistic and motivated af-

ter the extensive needs assessment process. The goals re-

sulted from the extensive information we gained about the

region and people that Parkland Regional Library serves.

An accompanying work plan with specific action items is

being developed by PRL staff. The work plan will be a living

staff document that will not require board approval but will

detail activities and their progress as work is undertaken.

PRL staff had a facilitated work plan meeting on November

10, 2015.


Library card Sign-up Month was a suc-

cess despite the tight deadline for roll-

out of the campaign. This campaign had

more tangible results compared to paid

advertising we did for the marketing

campaign in 2014. I think this signifies

that people in central Alberta prefer

word of mouth marketing compared to

paid advertising, which we are almost

conditioned to ignore these days.

Library Card Sign-up month also bene-

fited from having a recognizable brand

ambassador in Snoopy and the Peanuts

gang. September appeared to be ideal

timing for the campaign because school

was back in session and families were

thinking about education.

From September 1st to 30th there was a

net gain of 950 library cardholders

across the region. This reverses a six

month trend in which cardholder num-

bers were falling month by month.

Local libraries engaged in Library Card

Sign-up Month to varying degrees. PRL

was interested in how the preparation

materials helped libraries participate in

the event despite the short notice. The

follow-up survey gave us some very

important lessons for future regional

campaigns.

1. Lead up time of at least 2-4 months

is essential for member libraries.

2. Tipsheets to aid in preparation are

helpful for inspiration and made it

easy for some to participate.

3. Generally, libraries said they would

participate in the event again and

expect it to be even more success-

: Meredith Bratland

ful with more preparation time lead-

ing up to the campaign.

The Comic Book contest received 29

entries. We had 4 independent judges

from various Lacombe media outlets and

the City of Lacombe. From the top 5

they chose, the public voted on the win-

ner. There was a clear victor for first

place with Wojamo Richie’s clever take

on the Myers Briggs Personalities and

second place was a tie between Yasmin

Lee and Mya Kingsfield who both re-

ceived a custom set of Copic Markers for

their future artistic creations.

Cardholder numbers have been climbing

ever since.

Wojamo Richie

Mya Kingsfield

Yasmin Lee


I nterested in demonstrating the

power of libraries in a fun way

that brings your community to-

gether to cheer on literacy?

Consider organizing a Battle of the

Books competition in your commu-

nity.

What it is in a nutshell

A lively competition, Battle of the

Books improves reading compre-

hension, builds vocabulary and

teaches teamwork and good

sportsmanship. Teams of 5 stu-

dents are paired with an adult

coach and all teams read a set of 15

pre-assigned books. During the

“battle” (a 50-question exam) a

moderator asks questions that re-

late to the books. Questions are

posed and teams have a short peri-

od of time to write down their an-

swer which is then run by spotters

to the judges who record the num-

ber of correct answers.

Valerie Gross, Director of the How-

ard County Public Libraries, spoke

about their Battle of the Books at

the American Library Conference

this past June. Their event reaches

upwards of 20,000 people with 1/3

of area 5th graders participating.

We don’t have to reach that many

to consider a local event a big suc-

cess! If you follow the link to

watch the video [https://goo.gl/

qmcQoH], you will see that spirits

are high and the teams are excited

to participate.

The event starts with a parade as

students enter the gymnasium

dressed in costumes and bearing

(often funny) team names. Parents,

grandparents, siblings and others

cheer on participants from the

bleachers, much like you would

find at a sporting event. This time

the focus is on books and literacy!

Community Involvement

The Battle provides an excellent

opportunity for libraries to build a

relationship with local schools in

support of the event. Not only can

a school help with recruiting teams

from a specific grade level, but a

school gymnasium provides a won-

derful venue to host the event. In-

vite local councilors or other com-

munity celebrities to participate as

judges or appear in other ways

(opening remarks, parade marshal,

photos with the teams). They can

show their public support of youth

and literacy and you’ll add to your

list of library lovers.

Finding a sponsor or sponsors to

assist in purchasing books for each

team as well as providing prizes to

the winning teams and runners up

will certainly help in getting the

event up and running, though with

planning there are ways to hold a

Battle on a shoestring budget.

Interested in learning more?

In Canada, public libraries and

schools in the Durham Region

(Ontari0) have partnered to bring

the Battle of the Books to area stu-

dents since 2005. Their program

has been sponsored by the TD

Bank, who also sponsor the Sum-

mer Reading Club. See bookbat-

tle.ca for more information.

In the United States, there are a

few organizations dedicated to the

Battle of the Books including bat-

tleofthebooks.org and battleofthe-

books.com as well as additional

information posted by libraries

such as Howard County and Alaska.

Rhonda O’Neill attended the Ameri-

can Library Association Conference

in San Francisco this summer. This

article is based on a conference ses-

sion.

: Rhonda O’Neill

https://goo.gl/qmcQoH

https://goo.gl/qmcQoH


H ave you heard of colouring book clubs? Does your library

have a colouring club – or program – for adults? This is a

low-cost program that is growing in popularity among public

libraries across the continent. Spurred on by the popularity of

Scottish illustrator Johanna Basford’s 2013 Secret Garden: An

Inky Treasure Hunt and Colouring Book, which has sold more

than 6 million copies, the colouring club craze is starting to

take hold in libraries.

All the library needs are a few colouring books, or even free

colouring pages printed from the internet and a good variety

of crayons, markers, or colouring pencils. Planning is minimal:

clear off table space, make sure pencils are sharpened, mark-

ers are not dry, and that there is a selection of colouring page

styles available. There are a wide variety of styles available

from abstract mandalas and tattoos to animal mosaics and

country living scenes.

What makes colouring so popular with adults? It is a creative

activity that helps people relax and relieves stress. Many

adults enjoy opportunities to be creative. And it doesn’t re-

quire any particular skill set, simply the desire to express your

individual creativity.

What makes this an ideal program for even small public librar-

ies? It provides social, mental health, and creative benefits.

Colouring clubs create a safe space in which to socialize with

other adults. It’s stress free. Participants chat with each other

and laugh with each other.

It can be a terrific way for newcomers to the community to

meet new people and, even if those newcomers do not have

strong English-language skills they can still enjoy a creative

activity in the company of others in a relaxed atmosphere.

Unlike a book group, the participants don’t have to do any

prep work before they arrive – such as reading the book.

As Ann Daigle of the Central Ridge Library (Beverly Hills, Flori-

da) says: “It’s all a part of offering what they need in their lives:

library programming. Isn’t that what we’re supposed to do, to

reach out and get people to participate and be creative and be

a part of life and enjoy, whether it’s a book, whether it’s a

craft?”

Who says colouring is just for kids!?

: Colleen Schalm


: Lindsay McFarlane

Lindsay attended Fern Richardson’s

course “Positivity, Motivation, and Happi-

ness at Work” through Metro Edmonton

Continuing Education. These tips have

been adapted from Fern Richardson’s con-

tent.

A person’s happiness can be

predicted in the following way:

50% - Set point (how a person is natural-

ly)

10% - External circumstances (what a

person has, such as a coveted job, house,

car, or success, etc.)

40% - Intentional activity (a person’s

approach to life, and their actions and

choices)

Ultimately, 40% of an individual’s happi-

ness is completely up to them and how

they approach each day. So here’s the

question:

How can we each change our

approaches to increase our happiness?

Some simple suggestions to start off:

Practice gratitude and reflection –

write down three things every day

that you are grateful for.

Do random or conscious acts of kind-

ness – making others feel better in-

creases personal happiness.

Reframe activities you dislike – if

you’re faced with an activity you dis-

like, do it and try to think of three

things that make it interesting.

Want to learn more? Check out Shawn

Achor: The Happiness Advantage TED

Talk

Beyond those simple changes, start to

look at your motivation – why do you do

what you do? There are three main

sources of workplace motivation:

Extrinsic – do something to get

something else (e.g. your pay

cheque).

Intrinsic – love of the work itself

(e.g. purpose, pleasure, enjoy-

ment).

Relational – need to connect with

and help others.

All of these motivations can exist in

many of our workplace tasks. If you

have a task at work that is extrinsically

motivated, look for the other motiva-

tions, like what will I learn from this

task and how will it help with some of

the parts of my job that I love?

(Intrinsic) And who am I helping by

completing this task? (Relational)

Want to learn more? Check out Dan

Pink: The Puzzle of Motivation TED

Talk

Mastery, a desire to improve, is a type

of intrinsic motivation.

Mastery requires effort.

Mastery is impossible to fully real-

ize. There’s always something new

to learn, but the joy is in the pursuit.

What is it in your work that brings you

joy? How can you develop mastery in

that area?

Of course, there will always be tasks you

don’t want to do. Try to build your will-

power muscle, so that those tasks be-

come easier. Take on the challenge of

doing something you’d rather not do

every day.

Finally, how do we deal with

negativity?

We keep track of our positive and nega-

tive moments to determine the quality

of our days.

It is human nature to recall more nega-

tive actions than positive ones and recall

negative ones more intensely and in

more detail. We fixate on the negative.

The magic ratio: receiving four positive

comments to every negative comment

will make for a positive day and greater

connectivity between people.

(Depending on your relationship with

the person and your personality, this can

vary from 3:1 to 5:1, positive to nega-

tive.)

Personally, I was initially focused on me

and my happiness – but now I’m think-

ing about how I impact others and their

positivity for the day. Pay attention to

the way you provide people with feed-

back and the way you react to difficult

circumstances.

Making small changes will affect others,

and hopefully increase their positivity

and yours too!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GXy__kBVq1M



https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rrkrvAUbU9Y




: Meredith Bratland

A straight forward, yet detailed

communications plan can be in-

credibly helpful and keep your library

ahead of the curve whether you have a

staff of many or just me, myself, and I.

Creating Parkland’s Communication

Plan for 2015-2016 was very helpful for

me and now I’m in the process of creat-

ing another one in light of our new stra-

tegic plan. While in Dallas, Texas for the

Library Communications and Marketing

Conference this November, I also

gleaned a few ingenious ideas from Mid

Continent Public Library. Creating a plan

takes effort, but the creation and organi-

zation of the document will save you

hours of work in the future, give your

library a path to follow in times of chaos,

and provide guidance in decision-

making.

Prepare Your Tools

There are a few documents that are vital

to your initial research. When the time

comes to write your plan, it will be a

breeze if you have done thorough re-

search. Dig in your file cabinets and have

these documents nearby:

Library Plan of Service,

Schedule of library programs and

events,

Inventory of Communication

tools (social media accounts, local

newspapers and newsletters, lo-

cal news blogs, etc.),

Library Advocacy Plan,

List of existing community part-

ners,

Budget.

If you have staff, invite your program-

mer and marketing assistants to the

table. They should be able to provide

you with helpful tips and reflections on

what programs created a buzz in the

community and what promotional ac-

tivities were best received.

Read through your Plan of Service and

identify any communication tactics

that could help your organization reach

its goals. Sometimes the obvious will

leap out at you but be sure to take

some time to think “outside the box.”

Mid Continent Public Library (MCPL)

suggests organizing a meeting with

media to negotiate a partnership at the

beginning of the year. They also look

for media outlets with a digital plat-

form as well to increase the publicity

reach.

If you have statistics from your social

media account, analyze the progress of

each channel; determine which is most

effective and which ones you would like

to develop more. Ask community

members, whether or not they are li-

brary patrons, which platform they pre-

fer. These two audiences could have

different answers and you may be able

to reach a whole new set of people in

the community with this information.

Identify Your Goals

After reading, reflecting, and brain-

storming you’ve likely identified some

big goals that you would like to

achieve. I would suggest choosing up to

four main goals to focus on and creat-

ing a key message for each of those

goals. When developing the wording

for your goals, try to use the SMART

method to ensure measurable results at

the end of the year. The only way to

determine if your efforts were success-

ful is measurement and data gathering

(both qualitative and quantitative!).

Remember that key messages are a

simple and easy to remember sentence

about one idea. Refer to your advocacy

plan for help with key messages.

Name your Target Audiences

Ask who you are trying to connect with.

For example, Parkland as an organiza-

tion has both internal and external audi-

ences. Internal would be PRL staff for

workplace communications. Our exter-

nal audiences include the PRL Board,

municipal library managers and staff,

library trustees, as well as municipal

council and administration.

It would also help to list who influences

decisions such as media, elected offi-

cials, and community organizations. All

of your messages and tactics must be

applicable to the audience you wish to

connect with.

Think about the three E’s of content

strategy: You’re aiming to engage,

entertain, and educate each of those

audiences who are interested in differ-

ent topics and deliver it to them in a

communication method they prefer and


that is manageable for your workload.

Outline the Strategies

Now comes the fun part: deciding on objectives and activities

to reach your goals. In a activity schedule (a.k.a. a table in MS

Word), I begin with Tactics and Components, respectively.

Then, dedicate columns to the frequency or dates that the

tactic is to be started, who the task is assigned to, and the pri-

ority of the project to your plan. I also leave a column blank

so I can update the status of each project throughout the year.

Your tactics are typically general and the components will list

specific actions that need to be done for the project. It doesn’t

have to be an exhaustive list of activities, just something that

will spark your memory and give you guidance to get the pro-

ject going and completed.

Decide on a Measurement Plan

Since your goals are SMART, identifying data to evaluate suc-

cess will come with a bit of creative thinking. Be sure to write

down your intentions because once the year is finished, your

ideas might be a little hazy. I find that listing exactly how I plan

to evaluate my goals really gives me focus during the end of

year crunch. It holds me accountable to continue with my

plans from start to finish.

Here are some ideas of data you may want to collect for goal

measurement:

Social Media statistics (I collect monthly statistics that

create a full profile for end of year reporting)

eNewsletter statistics

Program attendance

Cardholder numbers

Circulation numbers

Wifi usage

Website visits

If you would like some help developing a communications plan

for your library, please contact me ([email protected]).

Marketing – finding out the needs and wants of your commu-

nity, delivering the services applicable to the library and then

evaluating how it worked.

Public Relations – connecting with the public and keeping the

library in the public eye. This is organizing the message, man-

aging earned media attention, and crisis communications.

Advertising – creating ads and purchasing ad space (e.g.

Newspaper ad space or social media boosting)

Advocacy – raising awareness and building relationships to

allow others to act on your behalf.

Branding – establishing the link between your library and its

image.

Outreach – providing service to populations who can not

reach your facility.

Collaboration – organizations working together to achieve a

shared goal.

O n October 26th, Marilyn Jones of

RiverCity Productions provided a

half-day workshop to LAG meeting at-

tendees on media relations, focusing on

traditional media channels (print news-

papers/newsletter, radio, and televi-

sion).

Naturally, the level and types of media

any library may work with is influenced

by the size and location of its communi-

ty. Nevertheless, most of the principles

apply to organizations in small or large

communities.

Some of the takeaways reported by

attendees include:

Don’t focus on the negative.

Know your three key messages.

Provide a good quote / sound

bite that contains

emotion.

The audience always hears

(reads) the answer not the

question.

Develop a communication plan

that includes both social media

and traditional media.

All of these ideas mirror Marilyn’s three

key learning points:

Be proactive with your media

relations.

Be prepared with key messages

(sound bites) before talking to the

media.

Tell your story with statistics, an-

ecdotes, and examples.

Be proactive

Media relations can be proactive or reac-

tive. Proactive is easier to manage and

helps foster a positive view of the library.

It does take time to develop proactive

relationships but the benefit is that the

media will already know about you and it

will be easier to work with them if a

“problem situation” arises which could

lead to poor publicity.

You can build relationships with your

local media by engaging with them in

: Colleen Schalm


person and/or online. Remember that they have a job to do

that can be made easier or more difficult through your deal-

ings with them. Traditional media is a closed system with top-

down control; it is passive, one-way communication that is

controlled, pre-produced and scheduled. It is less flexible than

social media and the more you can work within these con-

straints the better your relationships will be.

If you think you are doing everything right but you are not

getting sufficient media coverage, ask the publisher, “What do

we have to do to get published?”

Tell your Story

Develop three key messages. Translate those three key mes-

sages into sound bites that are meaningful to your target audi-

ence. That means that you need to know in advance who your

target audience is, including these three factors about them:

demographics (facts about people); psychographics (interests,

passions); and technographics (how technological they are

likely to be).

Every library should have a communications strategy that in-

cludes media relations. The communications plan, like all oth-

er library plans, needs to be based on SMART objectives: spe-

cific, measurable, achievable, relevant, time-bound. You can’t

know when you’ve achieved success if you haven’t defined

what success looks like.

Be Prepared

Stay on your key messages during the course of an interview.

This ensures that you are the editor of your content, not the

reporter. You can present your key messages by using a bridg-

ing technique so that when a reporter asks a question you can


redirect the conversation to get your message across. For ex-

ample, “Yes, but the important thing about …”

If a reporter contacts you for an interview, asking the following

questions will help you prepare:

What is the story about?

Who else will you be interviewing?

When will it be published (or aired)?

Is there anything else you need from me (such as back-

ground information, graphics, photos, supplementary

documents, etc.)?

You do not need to answer reporters’ questions or provide an

interview at the spur of the moment. If a reporter calls at 9 am

for a deadline at 2 pm, he’d rather you call back at 1 pm with a

well thought out message and talk to you for five minutes than

talk to you for an hour at 9.

In preparing for an interview, also determine what is the worst

question (or the three worst) the reporter can ask and how you

would respond. If you do not know the answer to a question,

you can say: “I don’t know that, but here’s what I do know….”

It is important to have a single individual in the organization

that deals with media – whatever form it takes in your commu-

nity. This person should be as high up in the organization as

possible (an authoritative voice) who is well spoken and a good

communicator.

Marilyn shared some excellent handouts, including a media

relations workbook. If you want more information or need ac-

cess to those documents, contact Meredith or your consultant.

: Kristin Kells, Forestburg Public Library

Literacy in Motion introduces preschool children (age 3-5) to a

new kind of library programming. A program that relies on the

strength of its instructors to deliver sessions that are engaging,

energetic, educational and professional.

Literacy in Motion combines Family Literacy theory and practic-

es with Kids Yoga to deliver a strong 1 1/2 hour program that

enhances the love of learning and movement. A main compo-

nent is storytelling combined with yoga to not only stretch and

strengthen the body but also to cultivate the mind of children.

The program is facilitated by Joanne McMahon and Bridgette

Ponto. Forestburg Library trustees, Kristy Jackson and Caitlyn

Prehn, had previous connections to Joanna and Bridgette and

initiated contact for the partnership with the library.

Each session has a different theme. For example, one day it

was based on Eric Carle's book Brown Bear. The book was read,

Bridgette showed yoga poses for each animal, how to breathe

deeply to calm down, and follow the leader exercises. Joanne

had exercises for the kids which included matching, cutting,

gluing, and colour sorting. We've also had a session all about

feelings.

Joanne has a Bachelor of Education with 20 years teaching ex-

perience in Battle River School Division and countless profes-

sional development courses and workshops focusing on Early

Childhood Development and Learning. Bridgette is certified in a

variety of Yoga including Rainbow Kids Yoga / Yoga for Class-

rooms; Hatha, Vinyasa and Bikram, Yin Yoga; Yoga specific for

Athletes; Yoga specific for Seniors; Pre/Post - Natal Yoga.

This program teaches a multitude of skills to preschool age chil-

dren ranging from fine and gross motor skills to balance and

coping skills that benefits both child and caregiver.

As program participant Krysta Keufler describes, “Me and my

daughter, who is 3 and a half years old, really enjoy the pro-

gram. It's really nice to get to do projects with her and see how

she interacts with the other children. She really enjoys doing

the crafts and the hands on playing that they offer.”

My kids (Noah & Emma Kells) love it and continue to sing the songs once we're home. Two favourites are 'gray squirrel' and 'head, shoulders, yoga pose'. They also like to show off their yoga moves to their older sister and dad.

The Literacy in Motion program has accomplished more than the instructors could have imagined. “The program has been a complete success,” Joanne and Bridgette elaborate, “We have appreciated the flow and rhythm of the sessions and appreciate the Mothers who have so actively participated. This program has focused on increasing body awareness, fine motor skills, gross motor skills, social skills and early literacy and numeracy.

“We, the instructors, feel this program has absolutely accom-plished these things in an environment of fun and trust.”


: Tammy Nischuk, Olds Municipal Library

Olds Municipal Library recently expanded

their book clubs to include a cookbook club

called Tasty Pages. Founded by one of the

staff members, Tammy Nischuk, as a solution

to the doldrums of cooking for one. “I knew

our library had a great selection of cookbooks

and I wanted to cook more at home. Howev-

er, it was hard staying motivated when cook-

ing by myself. Starting a cookbook club was a

natural way to find other enthusiastic cooks in

the community. Each month we encourage

each other to experiment. It’s been fun being

challenged to cook from new recipes each

month.”

Each month the attendees get to vote on a

broad topic, and everybody picks out a cook-

book that reflects the theme. Past themes

include Cookies, Celebrity Cookbooks and

Vegetarian Recipes. Once everyone has a

book they like, each cook attempts three reci-

pes during the month. Next session everyone

critiques their recipes and gives an opinion

overall on the book.

So far the club is small but enthusiastic. With-

out being prompted, members have been

bringing samples of their recipes to share.

Shared dishes have ranged from homemade

Indian pudding to vegetarian burgers and

chocolate mint cookies. December’s meeting

is another chance to test out holiday recipes

instead of using the family as guinea pigs.

Tammy has plans to partner with the Olds and

Area Good Food Club in order to grow Tasty

Pages in the community.

Tasty Pages recommends

these cookbooks.

For authentic English reci-

pes:

The Unofficial Harry Potter

Cookbook by Dinah Bucholz

For celebrity cooking:

Gordon Ramsay’s Great Es-

cape: 100 of My Favourite

Indian Recipes by Gordon

Ramsay

For a Canadian experience:

You Gotta Eat Here! By John

Catucci

Lightly mix

2 cups extremely ripe persimmon pulp (may

substitute pumpkin)

2 teaspoons baking soda & set aside

Cream together

2 cups shortening

2 cups sugar

Mix

4 cups flour

2 cups nuts

2 cups raisins

1 teaspoon each of cinnamon, cloves & nutmeg

Alternate mixing together wet & dry ingredients. Scoop 2 tablespoons of batter for each cookie. Leave space for spreading. Bake

at 350 for 10-12 minutes. Yields close to 5 dozen cookies.

Sometimes the best recipes are ones passed down from generation to generation. The origins of

this recipe are lost to time. Yielding tender, puffy, moist cake like cookies with light golden brown

tops what follows is a Nischuk family favourite at Christmas time. It was passed on to me,

scrawled on a yellow post-it stained with food residue. –Tammy


quatrefoil winter 2015

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