Library 2.0 http://alatechsource.org/taxonomy/term/8/all en The Digital Divide Inside the Library http://alatechsource.org/blog/2009/08/the-digital-divide-inside-the-library.html <p>Technology and reference are intertwining strands of public service. The task of keeping up with Librarians (and their jobs) is getting techier. As our systems get more sophisticated and our desire to overhaul and remake those systems gets more intense, libraries need librarians who are tech savvy and back office staff who are pure tech. It's not uncommon to hear librarians declare that "Technology is Reference", but is that a one-way street? There's no doubt that reference librarians need a strong technology skill set, but do our techies need to have public service experience or skills?</p><p> </p> <p>I often tell people that I have a Sesame Street job. That is, "librarian" is a job that just about everyone has heard of and everyone has some idea of how it works. Of course, as we all know, most people believe that we read books all day and are incredulous that graduate school is required for wielding a date stamp (I once told a doctor that we had a "whole semester on using that stamp"). But I suspect that doctors, police officers, firefighters, teachers and everyone else with a Sesame Street job has the same problem with outsiders' perceptions of their work. I can't tell you how disappointed I was when I learned that astronomers had to be really, really good at math.</p> <p>As with any job that <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZJlkplvYdgA">we've watched a muppet perform</a>, it can be surprising to folks outside of libraryland that getting a first library job is often a challenge. Like many professions, we subject ourselves and our pools of applicants to a newbie paradox: you need experience to get a job, but how do you get a experience without a job?</p> <p>"Experience" in this case, usually means something fairly specific: public service. Like many other librarians, I leveraged retail experience in an interview for my first job at a reference desk. Librarians are frequently mid-life career changers, so we are often open to letting people learn on the job when it comes to many aspects of library work. Despite that, we never want to gamble when it comes to face-time with our patrons.</p> <p>In large part, this is due to the <a href="http://37signals.com/svn/posts/262-danny-meyer-hospitality-is-king">unteachable aspects</a> of working with people. It's much easier to teach someone to use an ILS than it is to teach a new hire to be personable. Technology can be learned in a way that service skills can't. Sort of.</p> <p>Technology and reference are intertwining strands of public service. The task of keeping up with Librarians (and their jobs) is getting techier. As our systems get more sophisticated and our desire to overhaul and remake those systems gets more intense, libraries need librarians who are tech savvy and back office staff who are pure tech. It's not uncommon to hear librarians declare that "Technology is Reference", but is that a one-way street? There's no doubt that reference librarians need a strong technology skill set, but do our techies need to have public service experience or skills?</p> <p>The answer may just be a personal one. I have been a back-office techie and found that I was somewhat unmoored by the experience. I felt that I was a walking bundle of solutions looking for problems. But I did have time to explore technology I wasn't as familiar with and I learned a lot. Keeping up with technology isn't something easily done from a public service desk.</p> <p><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/lynetter/421323707/"><img hspace="5" height="292" align="left" width="300" src="/files/images/newtech_0.jpg" alt="" /></a>The highs and lows are different, too. Every technology worker knows the doldrums of a seemingly unfixable problem and the ecstatic thrill of technojoy when a solution is finally found. Working with the public can provide similar ups and downs, but it more frequently offers a fuzzy middle. It's easy to see librarians as overly cautious, but that caution is often the result of the endless shades of gray that public service offers. Even the smallest decisions invite feedback, both good and bad. Librarians are secretly brilliant actors, maintaining a poker face and neutral body language no matter what the question or comment.</p> <p>That seemingly effortless neutrality does have a price, though. Human nature makes it easier for front line staff to remember (and try to avoid) complaints. Public service also puts staff in constant contact with the library's least tech-savvy patrons. Dedicated librarians see themselves as advocates for their patrons, which, when combined with sufficient time on a public desk can result in a more tempered enthusiasm. There's a reason our tech folk often start sentences with "wouldn't it be cool if..." while librarians are seen as pushing back with "how is that going to work?" It's not that public service makes us negative, just that it inspires a let's-think-about-this-a-minute outlook that can come as a cold splash of water.</p> <p>Each area of librarianship offers a valuable perspective, but I see a lot of snark online that's veering towards a dismissive attitude toward public service librarians who seem hesitant about techie insights and ideas. Like any good bipartisan, I think it's important to remember that we're all driven by the same goals--we want to provide the very best to our patrons. Often, that librarian with the "negative" perspective is thinking of patron complaints she has handled in the past. Chances are, those angry patrons have been mollified and assuaged by the very person who seems to be raining on everyone's parade. That's not always the case, of course, but if we think it's important to listen to our crankiest of patrons, shouldn't we also pay attention to our coworkers who help them?</p> <p>I've been advocating for kindness as a guiding principle for working with patrons, but it's an equally important value for working with each other. We can celebrate each other's "wouldn't it be cool" moments and projects with fervor and still appreciate the learned caution of the public service staff. Rather than rolling our eyes about unions or veteran librarians who haven't mastered the new CMS, kindness encourages us to ask those front liners about their concerns and get to the root of their caution. Online, librarians are focused on pushing forward those who are resistant to change. We vent on twitter and blogs about the luddite librarians who don't understand why they can't change the text in an image on their library's website or who panic at the prospect of migrating to an open source ILS.</p> <p>Libraries need change and we need to get better and quicker at adapting--there isn't room for actual luddites in the library. But when it comes to working with our colleagues, I think we're headed toward a double standard. We need our front line staff to understand tech, to be sure, and even in the short time that I've been a librarian, I've seen huge leaps forward in that area. Tech savvy is increasingly like public service experience--it's something organizations are unwilling to take a chance on. We expect librarians to keep up with tech and be willing to learn more about it, but we're less skilled at differentiating between problematic resistance to change and thoughtfulness.</p> <p>In any organization, the IT staff has a lot of power. They know things the rest of us don't. Passwords, how to get the printer to work, why the screen on that public machine is upside down...but I think we're doing them a disservice if we don't give them access to our end-users. Our patrons are at the heart of our libraries and time spent with them shapes and informs staff perspectives. It's easy to huff at experienced librarians who seem slow to learn new technologies and dismiss their concerns, but it's also lazy and immature. We owe it to our users and our colleagues to take the time to look for insight from all corners of our organization.</p> http://alatechsource.org/blog/2009/08/the-digital-divide-inside-the-library.html#comments Libraries as Organizations Library 2.0 Reference Services Thu, 13 Aug 2009 15:17:33 +0000 Kate Sheehan 520 at http://alatechsource.org Planning technology for the next 30 years http://alatechsource.org/blog/2009/06/planning-technology-for-the-next-30-years.html <p>I don't often post specifically about things I'm involved in at my real job (Head of Library IT at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga), and try instead to examine general technology useful to libraries of all types. But this month, I'd like to talk about something that I've been involved in for almost 2 years that has recently come to a head (especially as it concernstechnology). I've spent the better part of the last month hip-deep in planning the technology for UTC's brand new academic library.<br /> &nbsp;</p> <p>We had some scares over the last couple of week regarding the funding for the new library, but it's officially part of the budget now. We've locked down the floorplans, are about to lock down the exterior look of the building, and I'm working on pulling together the technology infrastructure plan. This new building is being designed to have a lifetime of 30 years, so some of the decisions we're making will resonate for decades, in the same way that decisions made over 30 years ago are still affecting us in our current building. So how do you plan for technology 30 years out? What are we trying to do with the technology for the new building, both for the infrastructure and the front-line tech? Over the next year, I'm going to try and cover at least some of the decisions we've made about the technology in the new building.<br /> &nbsp;<br /> We decided very early on in the process that we believed that technology use in the library is never going to lessen in importance. We are going to try and embed technology in as transparent a way as possible for the end user, with the exception of a few showpiece objects. However, as many of you know, transparent for the end user is far, far from transparent for the library staff.<br /> &nbsp;<br /> One of the challenging parts of the planning is that because of the rules on spending the capital funds set aside by the State, none of the building budget can actually be spent on PCs or other non-infrastructure technology. We are going to have to find another funding source for computers, but we are trying to ensure that the infrastructure that we can spend money on is top tier.<br /> &nbsp;<br /> We are currently planning on having about 2000 Cat-6 ethernet jacks in the building, in addition to wireless coverage on all 5 floors extending outside the building onto the patio and seating areas. The network is being designed to be redundant to failure of individual hubs, as well as to limit any double failures to only half of any floor in question. More fail-safes are being added on floors with the heaviest patron usage.<br /> &nbsp;<br /> We are planning gigabit connections throughout the building, with the potential to run fiber in the future if it becomes needed. In addition to the pipes that we need to be able to do really anything in the building, there are a ton of pieces that we still have to plan for. Signage systems, webservers, fileservers, RAID systems, cameras, card swipes for doors...just a ton of technology.<br /> &nbsp;<br /> What technology do YOU wish had been planned for when your library was built?</p> http://alatechsource.org/blog/2009/06/planning-technology-for-the-next-30-years.html#comments Library 2.0 Tue, 23 Jun 2009 15:30:26 +0000 Jason Griffey 506 at http://alatechsource.org A TechSource Blogger Forum: E-Readers and Libraries http://alatechsource.org/blog/2009/04/a-techsource-blogger-forum-e-readers-and-libraries.html <p>The release of the Kindle 2 has set of a firestorm of speculation about how e-readers are going to transform (destroy?) the publishing industry. Anything with the potential to transform reading has the potential to transform librarianship. If widely adopted, these e-readers have the potential to allow libraries new ways to house and circulate material. But could there be downsides as well?&nbsp; Jason, Tom and Cindi weigh in with their predictions on how e-readers are going to change librarianship in coming years.<br /><br /><b>Jason Griffey:</b> There are a myriad of downsides to the Kindle, and to any existing commercial e-reader. For the Kindle specifically, the biggest hurdle seems to be Amazon's DRM model. As with most DRM media, it's true that you don't really own it, you're only accessing it at the whim of the holder of the DRM. If you buy a book from Amazon with the Kindle, you are limited in ways that you can't be with a physical book. You can't make a copy of a section of it for ILL purposes, and you can't move it to another device (unless that device is also blessed by Amazon, like the Kindle iPhone app). The current DRM model for Amazon allows for a single purchased book to be read on up to 6 Kindles simultaneously, a model that works well for families, but not so well for libraries. The DRM allows me to buy 6 Kindles, link them to my institutions Amazon account, spend $9.99 on a NYT bestseller, and then sync it to all 6 Kindles. It's as if I'm getting a 6 for 1 deal on the books themselves, but as Cindi points out below, there is <i>no way to buy the book multiple times</i>. Is this legal for a library? I have no idea, and neither does anyone else. That's the problem.<br /><br />The eventual truth is, though, that none of this matters. E-books are the future of reading in a very real way, simply because at some point they will be too cheap to not use. One of my staff brought a receipt to me this week for a laptop that the library bought in 2000. It was $3600. I just priced netbooks for my library, and can get a machine that is ridiculously more powerful than the year-2000 laptop for under $350. The Kindle, and most other e-readers, are hovering around the $350 or so dollar mark right now. In ten years, what will they cost? How can paper continue to compete with Moore's Law?<br /><p><br /><b>Tom Peters:</b> &nbsp;Well, I have to admit that the idea of near-instantaneous delivery of hundreds of thousands or millions of e-books to just about anywhere I happen to be at the time is pretty appealing to me. Traditional ILL will still be useful and used for relatively obscure documents, but I think the Kindlesque way of delivering reading content is the wave of the future. Add to that the TTS (text-to-speech) feature that can convert any book (well, until the Authors Guild pitched a fit) into an audio book on the fly, and the Kindle becomes even more attractive. (NB: This is all still a thought experiment for me. &nbsp;I've yet to actually use a Kindle.) &nbsp;</p><p>I've long been a defender of auditory reading as a valid, useful form of reading, and I think TTS has a bright future. Did cell phone sound quality have to surpass that of land-lines before most of us migrated to cell phones? &nbsp;Nope. Having said that, though, there are truly troubling aspects to the Kindle breakaway. &nbsp;As far as I can tell, it leaves libraries in the lurch in a way that other interesting reading developments, such as downloadable digital audio books and things like the Playaway, do not. Of course, the price point for the Kindle and content for it is nowhere near the point where 99 percent of all American households will own at least one Kindle anytime soon. Nevertheless, the development of the Kindle and similar personal, portable reading, communicating, and gaming devices raises some basic &quot;two cultures&quot; questions. Will the info elite all migrate to Kindles and iPhones and such stuff, leaving print and libraries for the underclass? The same types of fundamental issues are facing other basic public good institutions, such as public water supplies (for awhile there, before the green issue rose to the fore in the bottled water sphere, it seemed like only the &quot;great unwashed&quot; would stoop to actually drinking tap water) and public school systems. Another big issue concerns what will happen to the right of first sale (i.e., the right to lend, give, or re-sell the copy of a book you own to someone else). &nbsp; <br /><object height="300" width="400"><param name="allowfullscreen" value="true" /><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always" /><param name="movie" value="http://vimeo.com/moogaloop.swf?clip_id=4258836&amp;server=vimeo.com&amp;show_title=1&amp;show_byline=1&amp;show_portrait=0&amp;color=&amp;fullscreen=1" /><embed height="300" width="400" src="http://vimeo.com/moogaloop.swf?clip_id=4258836&amp;server=vimeo.com&amp;show_title=1&amp;show_byline=1&amp;show_portrait=0&amp;color=&amp;fullscreen=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" allowscriptaccess="always"></embed></object><br /><a href="http://vimeo.com/4258836">Kindle 2 Text-To-Speech demo</a> from <a href="http://vimeo.com/griffey">Jason Griffey</a> on <a href="http://vimeo.com">Vimeo</a>.</p><br /><b>Cindi Trainor:</b> My library is in the midst of planning how to circulate digital content using Kindles and iPods (Touch). We are very excited about the pilot project, the plan for which is to involve the book that our freshman class will read, as well as books related to major lecture events on campus.&nbsp; One roadblock that I'm not sure we're going to be able to get past is the model under which digital content, including books sold at the Kindle store, via iTunes or Audible.com, is distributed.&nbsp; We are a single institution that wants to buy several copies of the same title, but the software via which these&nbsp; titles are bought only allows the purchase of a single copy.&nbsp; Witness iTunes: if I click on a song that I've already purchased, iTunes stolidly reminds me of said purchase and asks if I want to download the title again without additional charge.&nbsp; If institutional purchase is not being considered at all, have libraries already lost this battle?&nbsp; How can we make our collective voices heard?&nbsp; Libraries *want* to purchase and circulate digital content the &quot;right&quot; way, i.e., legally, but major vendors are currently making this impossible.&nbsp; Constructing impenetrable walls between potential content purchasers (libraries)and potential consumers (our users) drives our users to sites like Pirate Bay.</p> http://alatechsource.org/blog/2009/04/a-techsource-blogger-forum-e-readers-and-libraries.html#comments E-Books Internet and American Life Library 2.0 Time-Shifting with Technology Tue, 21 Apr 2009 15:42:22 +0000 Daniel A. Freeman 483 at http://alatechsource.org Enjoying the Community: The Beginnings of Virtual Common Spaces at Lisle Library District http://alatechsource.org/blog/2009/04/enjoying-the-community-the-beginnings-of-virtual-common-spaces-at-lisle-district-librar <p><img src="http://ts.ala.org/files/images/LisleNings.png" alt="" style="width:476px;height:469px;" /></p> <p style="font-family:Arial;"><font size="2">Last month, we took a look at one library using the free DIY social networking tool Ning to create an online community. In <a href="../../../../../../blog/2009/03/exploring-the-virtual-commons-using-ning-to-build-a-community-at-lafayette-public-libra">"</a><a href="../../../../../../blog/2009/03/exploring-the-virtual-commons-using-ning-to-build-a-community-at-lafayette-public-libra">Exploring the Virtual Commons: Using Ning to Build a Community at Lafayette Public Library,"</a> we spoke with Pam Sahr about Lafayette readers. After that post went live, I was pleased to hear from the folks at <a href="http://www.lislelibrary.org/">Lisle Library District</a>  here in Illinois. Back in January some of the staff attended a technology retreat I did for area libraries and got inspired to pursue a technology new to them - Ning. They've added links to the virtual communities via their <a href="http://www.lislelibrary.org/LLDReaders.htm">Reader's Advisory Services page.</a></font><font size="2"><a href="http://www.lislelibrary.org/LLDReaders.htm"><br /></a></font></p> <p style="font-family:Arial;"><font size="2">For Part Two of this series on creating community with free tools, I fired off some questions to the good folks at Lisle. Jen Ohzourk, Assistant Director, Adult Services, got back to me with some insights about where they are in the process of creating these new spaces:</font><b><font size="2"><br /></font></b></p> <p style="font-family:Arial;"><b><font size="2">Michael Stephens: I'm impressed with the focus for this project on reader's advisory. We saw it last month as well. What communities did you create?</font></b><font size="2"><br /></font></p> <p style="margin:0px;font-family:Arial;font-style:normal;font-weight:normal;"><font size="2"><i>JO: We created five different communities (we actually call them online discussion forums) – one for each book group and one for our film group.   Our forums are: <a href="http://justthefacts.ning.com/">Just The Facts (non-fiction) group</a>, <a href="http://rabookgrouplld.ning.com/">RA book group (fiction),</a> <a href="http://lislesffbookgroup.ning.com/">Science Fiction/Fantasy group</a>, <a href="http://murderamongfriends.ning.com/">Murder Among Friends (mystery) group</a>, and <a href="http://justbetweenframes.ning.com/">Just Between Frames (film group).</a></i></font></p> <p style="margin:0px;font-family:Arial;font-style:normal;font-weight:normal;"><font size="2"><br /><b>MS: I appreciate how each community has its own look and feel. Graphics, color and theme fit each topic. I usually <a href="http://tametheweb.com/2009/03/29/lis768-group-projects-day-two/">have a group project</a> or two <a href="http://tametheweb.com/2009/03/28/lis768-group-projects-day-one/">per semester</a> focused on using Ning to create a community and the students seem to enjoy all the bells and whistles and ease of use. Now Ning has embedded applications, just like Facebook. But more importantly, the students explore what it takes to engage users.  What has the response been from library users?</b></font></p> <p style="margin:0px;font-family:Arial;font-style:normal;font-weight:normal;"><font size="2"> </font></p> <p style="margin:0px;font-family:Arial;font-style:normal;font-weight:normal;"><font size="2"><i>JO: There has been a very positive response from our patrons.   We have been publicizing the groups on our library’s home page, in our newsletter, and handouts for each group, and have even put the information on signs in the library that advertise the upcoming groups’ meetings.  Some of the groups have more members than others, and we have noticed that some members are more comfortable interacting than others.  </i></font><font size="2"> </font></p> <p style="margin:0px;font-family:Arial;font-style:normal;font-weight:normal;"> </p> <p style="margin:0px;font-family:Arial;font-style:normal;font-weight:normal;"><font size="2"><b>MS: I was glad to see your guidelines for using the spaces. Each Ning has this statement: <i><span style="color:rgb(34,34,34);font-style:normal;">We encourage the personal expression of opinions, but ask that anyone posting please be respectful of the opinions of others. Content is moderated by the Lisle Library District. We reserve the right to remove any objectionable content posted at any time, without warning. By posting here, you agree to follow the TOS of Ning. It's straightforward, fair and links use back to the TOS of Ning. I like the fact you promote respect in the communities. Have there been any surprises?</span></i></b><br /></font></p> <p style="margin:0px;font-family:Arial;font-style:normal;font-weight:normal;"><font size="2"> </font></p> <p style="margin:0px;font-family:Arial;font-style:normal;font-weight:normal;"><font size="2"><i>JO: I have been happily surprised by the responses from the science fiction book group – there are a lot of people who are technologically savvy in that group, and some have really been posting a lot to our Ning page.   However, even though some of our library patrons are not very “tech-savvy,” some of them have told me that they enjoy just looking at all of the things that the forums offer, such as information about upcoming events, and continued discussions of the books/film.</i></font></p> <p style="margin:0px;font-family:Arial;font-style:normal;font-weight:normal;"> </p> <p style="margin:0px;font-family:Arial;font-style:normal;font-weight:normal;"><b><font size="2">MS: I noticed that your Nings are open to the world for viewing, instead of just for community members. What was the thinking there?</font></b></p> <p style="margin:0px;font-family:Arial;font-style:normal;font-weight:normal;"><font size="2"> </font></p> <p style="margin:0px;font-family:Arial;font-style:normal;font-weight:normal;"><font size="2"><i>JO: We decided to make the communities open for several reasons -- open communities really promote the library and the groups, and they also allow anyone (even if they aren't from Lisle) to see everything on the pages, even if they don't choose to participate. The facilitators do control what is posted by members (all postings need to be approved, as well as all new members).</i></font></p> <p style="margin:0px;font-family:Arial;font-style:normal;font-weight:normal;"> </p> <p style="margin:0px;font-family:Arial;font-style:normal;font-weight:normal;"><font size="2"><b>MS: What do you think of Ning as a community building tool?</b></font></p> <p style="margin:0px;font-family:Arial;font-style:normal;font-weight:normal;"><font size="2"> </font></p> <p style="margin:0px;font-family:Arial;font-style:normal;font-weight:normal;"><font size="2"><i>JO: It’s definitely a wonderful tool, especially for providing people with a way to communicate with each other beyond their monthly meetings at the library.  I personally know of a few people who can’t always come to the monthly book group meeting, but then they are able to participate via Ning.   It’s also a great way to get to know the people in the groups beyond just talking to them once a month.   The other facilitators have had similar experiences, and we all really enjoy using Ning.</i><br /><br /></font></p> <p style="margin:0px;font-family:Arial;font-style:normal;font-weight:normal;"><b><font size="2">Ms: How are you evaluating the community so far?</font></b></p> <p style="margin:0px;font-family:Arial;font-style:normal;font-weight:normal;"><font size="2"> </font></p> <p style="margin:0px;font-family:Arial;font-style:normal;font-weight:normal;"><font size="2"><i>JO: Right now, since the communities have only been active for a short time, each of the facilitators monitor their own forums and keeps track of members and whether people other than the facilitators are posting anything (comments, blog postings, etc.).   We are open to feedback at any time, and as yet, have only received positive comments.  In the future, we may look at statistics (postings per month, etc.), but right now, we’re just enjoying providing these forums for our patrons.</i><br /></font></p> <p style="margin:0px;font-family:Arial;font-style:normal;font-weight:normal;"><font size="2"> </font></p> <p style="margin:0px;font-family:Arial;font-style:normal;font-weight:normal;"><font size="2">I appreciate Jan taking time to tell us about their work creating the users' commons online with Ning. More importantly, the fact that these new endeavors are being given time to grow slowly and organically is a useful take away. <br /></font></p> <p> </p> http://alatechsource.org/blog/2009/04/enjoying-the-community-the-beginnings-of-virtual-common-spaces-at-lisle-district-librar#comments Library 2.0 Tue, 07 Apr 2009 17:57:34 +0000 Michael Stephens 476 at http://alatechsource.org The Space had to say "Wow!" - The Hammes Information Commons at IUSB http://alatechsource.org/blog/2008/08/the-space-had-to-say-wow-the-hammes-information-commons-at-iusb.html <p><a href="../../../../../../imce/browse#"><img border="0" align="left" alt="" style="width:357px;height:362px;" src="../../../../../../files/images/hammes1.png" /></a>I recently had the chance to visit with long-time colleague and friend Michele Russo, Dean of Library Services at the <a href="http://www.iusb.edu/~libg/">Franklin D. Schurz Library at Indiana University South Bend</a>. We've known each other awhile--she taught reference classes while I was in the MLS program. While at SJCPL, Michele and I would have lunch occasionally and catch up on our library-related conversations.  I was glad that she and I reconnected this summer, because a couple of years ago she had told me about her plans for bringing an information commons space to the library. After visiting the spaces at <a href="http://www.alatechsource.org/blog/2008/05/student-centered-digital-learning-at-loyolas-information-commons.html">Loyola</a> and <a href="http://www.alatechsource.org/blog/2008/08/keeping-the-library-relevant-a-tour-of-the-georgia-tech-library-learning-commons.html">Georgia Tech</a>, I was intrigued to see a commons at what I consider to be one of my "hometown" libraries."<br /><br />We had lunch and chatted about the processof designing and reconfiguring the space. She also gave me some background about the project:<br /><br /><em>Indiana University South Bend is a primarily commuter campus offering undergraduate and graduate degrees to approximately 7500 students from north central Indiana and southwestern Michigan.  The six-story, 86,000 square foot Schurz Library was built in 1989, just prior to the dawn of the age of the Internet.  The reference room was located off the main lobby in an enclosed room with two doors which channeled users either to the right or left of the reference desk.  It was designed to house an almost entirely print collection and to provide a quiet, subdued space for individuals to research.  Over time, of course, computers were retrofitted into the space to allow access to library databases, but students had to move to the computer lab in another part of the building to use the productivity software to write their papers.  As the Library created more of a virtual presence, the “library as place” was becoming less important to students, particularly as they increasingly valued social learning.  This was a situation that we wanted to turn around.</em><br /><br />After lunch, we toured the space. The reference room I remember was long gone! I was so impressed, I asked Michele if she might tell us about the transformation. Happily, she agreed.<br /><br />MS: I vividly remember working on my weekly reference assignment in 1993, sitting on the floor in the huge row of book stacks with various social science books. Now, those stacks are smaller, with more space for seating, computers and other technologies. What were your goals for transforming the space?<br /><br />MR: Working with Instructional Media Services and Information Technologies, we envisioned making the Library a true teaching-learning-research center by creating an Information Commons where content, technology, and services provided by reference librarians, technology assistants, and multimedia specialists were available to students and faculty in one place.  We wanted to create a space where students could work individually or in groups – at computers or in comfortable seating areas and for this to be a gathering place open to everyone where they could access and create knowledge and where they could their share ideas.  We wanted this to become the place that students would choose to spend their unscheduled time.   <em>And to do that, we knew that this space had to say Wow!</em><br /><br />We shared this vision of what would happen in the space with our design firm, Maregatti Interiors (out of Indianapolis) in January 2007 who quickly grasped the concepts that we were describing.  They also brought to our attention other important factors that should impact the design.  First, they believed it important to respect the vision of the original architect and to recognize that the renovated space would still be an integral part of the rest of the library building which is in a very traditional style.  While it could have a much more updated look, the design would have to complement its surroundings.  Our designers were also committed to issues of sustainability and kept this in the forefront as they recommended furniture, carpeting, and lighting.  <br /><br />Maregatti translated our words into a design that not only met our needs but far exceeded any of our expectations.  Anyone walking into the Hammes Information Commons immediately senses the openness and vibrancy of this space and "Wow!" is a word we hear often from people who see the space for the first time. <br /><br />MS: That's what I said when we arrived at the library for the tour after lunch! I could see the attention to making the space inviting and more open. <a href="../../../../../../imce/browse#"><img border="0" align="right" alt="" style="width:342px;height:340px;" src="../../../../../../files/images/hammes2.png" /></a>The ceilings actually had light panels that looked like clouds. I advocate for library spaces to be encouraging, comfortable and exciting. You really captured it. What changes did you make?<br /><br />MR: To send the message that this was a welcoming place, the wall separating the room from the lobby was removed.  The stacks were turned 90 degrees which allowed natural light to flow from the windows between the aisles to the center of the room.  <br /><br />The new service desk was also designed to send a welcoming message.  It allows space for librarians, IT consultants, and multimedia specialists to work at one of two levels.  The counter-height level allows service to people as they walk into the Commons, while the lower desk-height permits one to work at eye level with students in a wheelchair or with those who want to be seated as they receive more in-depth assistance.<br /><br />The sense of vibrancy comes, in part, from the use of bright colors and patterns in the carpet.  The use of “clouds” not only provide acoustical treatment and help define space, they also contribute to the Wow! factor.  <br /><br />MS: Like other Commons spaces I've visited this year, it seems the almost every aspect of the space and its contents were carefully planned as well as focused on students and their needs.<br /><br />MR: Yes, the area also offers a variety of workspaces to allow for a diversity of learning styles of our students.  There is a “computer bar” with ten workstations and a café height area with four computers for students working alone.  We use the Herman Miller Resolve system for an additional twenty-eight workstations.  This system is accurately described as providing “open, friendly work spaces” which “encourage people to connect for interaction and collaboration.”  The Resolve system separates each work area with screens which defines a sense of privacy while being located in a very open space.  Each work area provides space for individuals or groups to work comfortably.  In addition to computer workspace, the Commons also has a variety of large and small tables which allow students to spread out their materials while studying or researching.  There is also an abundance of comfortable soft seating.  <br /><br />While the feeling of vibrancy is an important aspect of the space, the room also feels warm and inviting.  This is accomplished, in part because of the use of a warm blue paint on two walls.  The variety of pendant and cloud lighting also add to the warmth.<br /><br />The designers also took special care in planning the Adaptive Technology Room for use by students with disabilities.  The color pattern on the carpet continued into that space and appropriate comfortable and attractive seating and workspaces were selected.<br /><br />MS:How has the response to the new space been? What have you observed?<br /><br />MR: We opened the Commons in mid-September 2007 and the positive responses from our students and faculty have been overwhelming. Our gate count and the number of reference questions have increased as has the use of printed reference materials.  There is seldom an empty seat anywhere.  Students work individually or together in small groups.  The room buzzes with energy – the energy of learners engaged with each other, engaged with cutting edge technology, and engaged with knowledge.  <br /><br />We conducted an informal survey in the spring and the results clearly show that this has become the place that students choose to spend their unscheduled time.  More than 80% of the respondents said that the Hammes Information Commons was their preferred study spot on campus.  More telling is that there is seldom an empty seat anywhere.  We receive nothing but positive comments such as these:<br /><br />**The new improvements are wonderful.  I love the thought-out variety of workspaces.<br />**Great place to work and do homework.  Comfortable, convenient, helpful.<br />**Looks great.  Makes me feel welcome.<br />** Great help; I now have all that I need to get my assignments done in one place.</p> <p><br />It was gratifying to witness a student showing the Commons to his father and proudly telling him this is the place that he now “hangs out” between classes.  The Commons has also received much attention in the community.  Once at a checkout line at a local store, I overheard the young clerk tell her colleague that she would be starting classes at IU South Bend in January.  When I mentioned that I worked at the Library, she told me that she had heard that we had a “really cool new place.”</p> <p>MS: That's exactly the kind of stories we want being told about the library. Thanks for sharing your planning process and ideas for student centered, welcoming soaces, Michele!<br /><br />______________________________________<br /><br /><em>About the space: <br /><br />The </em><a href="http://www.iusb.edu/~libg/ic/index.shtml"><em>Hammes Information Commons</em></a><em> houses the Schurz Library's 10,000 volume print reference collection, along with nearly 50 workstations to access to the Library's digital collection of over 150 databases and nearly 30,000 electronic journals. There is also productivity software students need to complete their projects. Many of the spaces for workstations are large enough for students to work collaboratively and for faculty to coach them. There are also informal learning spaces to encourage small groups of faculty and students to continue conversations begun in the classroom. The Hammes Information Commons also hosts technology to facilitate production of multimedia. Additionally, there is a large flatbed scanner and a 42" mobile plasma display monitor for use by faculty or large groups anywhere in the Hammes Information Commons. There is also an Adaptive Technology Room with specialized software for students with disabilities. Wireless network connection is available throughout.  The Hammes Information Commons is named for the primary benefactors, Jerry and Dorene Hammes.  </em></p> <p> </p> <p> </p> http://alatechsource.org/blog/2008/08/the-space-had-to-say-wow-the-hammes-information-commons-at-iusb.html#comments Library 2.0 Wed, 03 Sep 2008 15:52:50 +0000 Michael Stephens 278 at http://alatechsource.org Tech-Savvy Teens Can Help Design Your Library http://alatechsource.org/blog/2008/08/tech-savvy-teens-can-help-design-your-library.html <p>I think one of the coolest things about a library is that in addition to the service that it provides directly, it is also a forum. Each library serves a community and in turn, that community uses the library to discuss and learn more about who it really is, what its needs are and how they can be addressed. Libraries are the leaders in serving their communities, but only because they allow these communities to lead them.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"></p> <p></p><p>For public libraries, young patrons are particularly important. A young library user is likely to be a lifelong library user, so the library must be a place where children and teenagers can feel like their needs are going to be met. In Massachusetts libraries are taking some <a href="http://www.boston.com/news/local/articles/2008/08/21/teens_gain_guiding_role_at_libraries/">exciting new steps</a> to ensure that teens have direct input. Libraries across Massachusetts will be served by advisory boards with teenagers that will help design and develop new facilities.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"></p> <p></p><p>It’s important that public libraries follow Massachusetts’ lead on this. It is clear that there is <a href="http://www.tennessean.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080729/OPINION01/807290353/1008">tremendous support for public libraries</a> and an increased demand for library services in this difficult economy. Teens are among the technically-savvy patrons, and are always to be on the cutting edge of the newest Web 2.0 trends. The marketing industry is already using social networking to <a href="http://www.mediapost.com/publications/?fa=Articles.showArticleHomePage&amp;art_aid=88911">capitalize</a> on this, so there’s no reason libraries can’t as well.</p> http://alatechsource.org/blog/2008/08/tech-savvy-teens-can-help-design-your-library.html#comments Library 2.0 Tech Trends Mon, 25 Aug 2008 17:04:42 +0000 Daniel A. Freeman 276 at http://alatechsource.org Keeping the Library Relevant: A Tour of the Georgia Tech Library Learning Commons http://alatechsource.org/blog/2008/08/keeping-the-library-relevant-a-tour-of-the-georgia-tech-library-learning-commons.html <p><span style="font-family:Times;font-size:16px;" class="Apple-style-span"></span></p> <div style="margin:0px;padding:.6em;background-color:rgb(255,255,255);color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', Tahoma, Verdana, sans-serif;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;font-weight:normal;font-size:13px;line-height:19px;"><p><img align="right" src="http://ts.ala.org/files/images/bobGA.png" alt="" />While in Atlanta in May for SOLINET, Michael Casey and I had the opportunity to tour the Georgia Tech Library Learning Commons. I've followed the blogging of <a href="http://tametheweb.com/2007/03/22/ubiquitous-insight-academic-libraries-again/">Brian Mathews</a> for some time at <a href="http://theubiquitouslibrarian.typepad.com/the_ubiquitous_librarian/">The Ubiquitous Librarian</a>, and am always happy to read about some new innovation or way of thinking about academic libraries at his institution. Joining us for the afternoon was Laura Savastinuk, Michael's co-author for <span class="srTitle"><a href="http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/85018094&amp;tab=holdings?loc=46545#tabs">Library 2.0: A Guide to Participatory Library Service,</a> and Elissa Checov,  Gwinnett Technical College Library Director.</span></p><p>Brian wasn't there the day we visited but we were very lucky to be guided around the library by Bob Fox. Bob is the Associate Director for Public and Administrative Services and has been leading the changes at Georgia Tech's library. To open, he said he had received a charge from the Dean for the GA library:</p><ul><li>Create campus partnerships</li><li>Keep students using the library</li><li>Keep the library relevant in changing times</li></ul><p>Bob and his staff met the challenges head on. The first step was partnering with the OIT at GA Tech to staff student help desks and computing areas for 24 hours a day. Two IT staff work in the library full time as "bridge positions" tying the two campus divisions together, along with the student assistants. I like this idea. I've written before about the perception that in many university settings, the library is one silo and IT is another, sometimes behind a locked door. </p><p>Bob also outlined some organizational changes--staff across the library were "repurposed" as 8 service points were reduced to 3.</p><p>Fox, Mathews and the other folks at Tech took the important step of convening a focus group to ask students what they wanted in the library. The list Bob shared was fascinating:</p><ul><li>Students want a comfortable, attractive space</li><li><span style="font-family:Times;font-size:16px;" class="Apple-style-span">Students want</span> refreshments</li><li>Students want access to all types of  information technology in library space</li><li>Students want flexible space for use in the library</li><li>Want to feel ownership of the library</li></ul><p>These results lead to the creation of spaces in the Learning Commons East and West that were inspiring, useful and flexible. We talked about creating an experience for students, making the library a memorable place. Bob said one goal would always be to "engage students from the beginning." I was reminded of the Welcome event Brian write about: poker, DDR, speed dating and more welcomed freshman to the library!</p><p>One thing Bob kept emphasizing: </p><p>"We don't build walls here."</p><p>Spaces in East included <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/michaelsphotos/2484807638">a HUGE computing area with multiple workstations</a> and staffed help desk and a<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/michaelsphotos/2484809332">Presentation Rehearsal Studio for working on those oh so important group presentations</a>. An adjascent<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/michaelsphotos/2484810802">Multimedia Lab</a> "kicked it up a notch" with access to high end Macintoshes, video editing software and suites of content creation apps.  </p><p>Via email Brian had arranged the tour with Bob for us and signed off with: "Don't miss Zone 3." In the West Commons, the library staff had developed some prototypical spaces according to the student focus groups: Zones 1, 2 and 3. Michael, Laur, Elissa and I were a aflutter about exploring these spaces with Bob as we moved through the connector to the newer side of the library. </p><img align="left" src="http://ts.ala.org/files/images/charlieGA.png" alt="" /><p><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/michaelsphotos/2484812280">Zone 1 is a presentation space</a>, just off the student cafe and vending area. Bob told us that the space could be configured and re-configured for presentations, faculty lectures, mixers, etc in minutes. Furniture on wheels, ingenious power outlets in the ceiling and a media projector were all part of the mix. Bob noted the space can be changed in just minutes from one set up to the next.</p><p><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/michaelsphotos/2484814590">Zone 2 is a collaborative computing space</a>, with more work stations, scanners and other technologies.</p><p><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/michaelsphotos/2484815336/">Zone 3 is a flexible space</a> - it could be anything! The furniture was carefully chosen for its comfort and ease of movement so students could configure any type of space they'd like. Movable screens create nooks and "pods" for student users as well. Although the space was quiet, it was easy to imagine it busy and vibrant with students once Fall semester begins.</p><p><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/michaelsphotos/2484819378">Georgia Tech Library's Charlie Bennett</a> joined us for the tour of the Zones and added a lot to the information shared. </p><p>Looking toward the future, Bob noted that he sees the library having more and more flexible spaces for students and faculty to interact with information, each other and the world. Thanks to everyone who guided us and informed us on this remarkable visit.</p><p> </p><p>See my Flickr set here: <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/michaelsphotos/sets/72157605007764127/">http://www.flickr.com/photos/michaelsphotos/sets/72157605007764127/</a> and Michael Casey's set here: <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/michaelcasey/sets/72157604989581021/">http://www.flickr.com/photos/michaelcasey/sets/72157604989581021/</a></p></div> <p> </p> http://alatechsource.org/blog/2008/08/keeping-the-library-relevant-a-tour-of-the-georgia-tech-library-learning-commons.html#comments Library 2.0 Mon, 04 Aug 2008 17:12:08 +0000 Michael Stephens 268 at http://alatechsource.org Gaps and Bridges, Bridges and Gaps http://alatechsource.org/blog/2008/07/gaps-and-bridges-bridges-and-gaps.html <p><a href="http://flickr.com/photos/trucolorsfly/2636839411/in/set-72157605903679015"><img style="border:medium none;padding:0px 10px 10px 0px;float:left;" alt="Susan McKinlay and Jason griffey" src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3015/2636839411_e065fc6a61_m_d.jpg" /></a>There are many stories from the 2008 ALA Annual conference in Anaheim, from Google being MIA on the exhibition floor to what happens when a few hundred librarians descend onto Disneyland. But my favorite story from my time in Anaheim starts like this...</p> <p><a href="http://citegeist.com">Cindi Trainor</a> had wrangled myself, <a href="http://davidleeking.com">David Lee King</a>, and <a href="http://www.rachelvacek.com/">Rachel Vacek</a> out of the Hilton Anaheim in order to shoot a few portraits. We were heading around the edge of the building when we were stopped by a librarian reading that day's LA Times. Susan McKinlay was reading <a href="http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/news/business/la-fi-rhapsody30-2008jun30,0,4255455.story">a story that involved the Apple iPod</a> and stopped us to ask if we knew anything about them. Susan had, following up on her interest in the story, polled all of the librarians in line for Starbucks coffee as she exited the Hilton, and <em>not one of them had an iPod</em>. </p> <p>Then she runs into the four of us...possibly the highest concentration of librarian gadgetry possible. </p> <p>Each of us had an iPod with us, ranging from the older clickwheel-type, to my iPod Touch and David with a iPhone. I even had both an iPod Touch and a Zune, of all things. We took some time to explain the differences, and talked a bit about how iTunes worked with the iPod, how Rhapsody was different from both, and showed off what the newer touchscreen iPods could do besides just music (video, calendars, email, etc). We talked a little about the fact that my library and many others are starting to circulate iPods, but that no, they aren't nearly as rare as her informal poll might lead her to believe. She seemed to be surprised when we told her that everyone we know owns at least one of them, and was terrifically surprised at what the newest generation of them can do. The Touch and iPhone are basically small but fully-functional computers, that just happen to fit in your pocket. </p> <p>We spent maybe 10-15 minutes talking to her about technology, exchanged cards so that she could get in touch with us later if she had questions, and proceeded to let Cindi take <a href="http://flickr.com/photos/trucolorsfly/sets/72157605903679015/">some pretty amazing pics of us</a>. </p> <p>So what is the (as they say in the business world) take-away from this chance encounter? What does this tell us about librarians and librarianship? I would not have put any amount of money on polling people in line at a Starbucks and having <em>not a single one own an iPod</em>...not in any city, anywhere. Apple has sold over 140 million of them, and they are without a doubt the market leader in mobile music. To have a couple dozen librarians in one place and none of them have an iPod shows how we, as a profession, are demographically out of step...especially with American youth (the demographic almost guaranteed to own one). </p> <p>On the other hand, it illustrated to me the intrinsic willingness for librarians to ask questions, and seek out information on things with which they are unfamiliar. Each of us walked away from the encounter smiling, thrilled at the honest joy with which she really wanted to understand this "new" technology. It made me more determined than ever to find ways to extend the community of librarians who are technologically plugged in to the rest of librarians. Too often we insulate ourselves from each other, and it's time to find ways to increase communications. If the majority of librarians don't understand the iPod, how can we get to social software, semantic web, and other technologies? We do it by making these technologies available, by having technology playgrounds/toolchests for people to get familiar with them. </p> <p>It was a really phenomenal reminder of the gaps, and bridges, that still exist in librarianship.</p> http://alatechsource.org/blog/2008/07/gaps-and-bridges-bridges-and-gaps.html#comments Digital Divide Library 2.0 Mon, 28 Jul 2008 21:06:13 +0000 Jason Griffey 265 at http://alatechsource.org YouTube and the Library World http://alatechsource.org/blog/2008/06/booklist-editors-read-for-fun-2007.html <p>Earlier this week, some of our colleagues at Booklist became Internet celebrities when the video “Booklist Editors Read for Fun 2007” became a spotlight video on YouTube.</p> <p><object width="425" height="350" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" data="http://www.youtube.com/v/mFjwltA2iwA"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/mFjwltA2iwA" /><!--[if IE]><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/mFjwltA2iwA"type="application/x-shockwave-flash"wmode="transparent" width="425" height="350" /><![endif]--></object></p> <p> </p> <p class="MsoNormal">This video got me thinking about how YouTube has the potential to be a powerful vehicle for Reader’s Advisory and for library services in general. As it turns out, libraries all over the country are way ahead of me, and are already using YouTube to post book reviews, book discussions and even guides to Reader’s Advisory.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"></p> <p></p><p>The <a href="http://www.lagrangelibrary.org/lagrange/">Lagrange Public Library</a> in suburban Chicago has teamed up with their local High School’s public access channel and filmed book talks that are broadcast on local television and available on YouTube.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"></p> <p></p><p>Meanwhile, the <a href="http://www.arapahoelibraries.org/">Arapahoe Library District</a> in Colorado has set up <a href="http://www.arapahoelibraries.org/go2.cfm?pid=7545">ALD Live</a>, where users can view book and movies reviews on YouTube directly from their website. Videos like this one give the library a great way to promote reading and the library itself using video without paying a cent in advertising fees.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"> </p> <p><object width="425" height="350" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" data="http://www.youtube.com/v/MPcZ9Yos9aI"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/MPcZ9Yos9aI" /><!--[if IE]><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/MPcZ9Yos9aI"type="application/x-shockwave-flash"wmode="transparent" width="425" height="350" /><![endif]--></object></p> <p>YouTube is a tremendously useful 2.0 tool for libraries. It provides a means for promotion, a forum for discussion and is a cutting-edge way to expand the reach of the library. It seems likely that what we see here is just the beginning of an exciting new trend.</p> http://alatechsource.org/blog/2008/06/booklist-editors-read-for-fun-2007.html#comments Library 2.0 Thu, 19 Jun 2008 20:30:49 +0000 Daniel A. Freeman 252 at http://alatechsource.org On the Information Experience: An ALA TechSource Conversation with John Blyberg http://alatechsource.org/blog/2008/06/on-the-information-experience-an-ala-techsource-conversation-with-john-blyberg.html <p><img align="right" alt="John Blyberg" src="http://www.ts.ala.org/files/images/BlybergTS08.png" style="width:347px;height:258px;" />I find myself returning to <a href="http://www.blyberg.net/2008/01/17/library-20-debased/">John Blyberg’s post “Library 2.0 Debased” </a>of a few months back. Last semester was busy: classes to prep, teaching in St. Paul as part of Dominican’s partnership with the College of St. Katharine, and speaking engagements here and there. <a href="http://tametheweb.com/2008/01/17/blyberg-on-the-debasing-of-l2/">I dashed off a quick TTW post</a>, pointing to John’s words, and stating:<br /><br /><em>I applaud John for articulating so many of the thoughts I’ve been mulling over of late: has L2 been co-opted by vendors?  Is talking about “cool technologies” used in the library a solution to all of our problems - the be all end all? Or is it more of a cultural and ecological shift in philosophy, planning and engagement? </em></p> <p>John said some pretty amazing, and frank things: Second Life does sometimes seem weird, empty and a little scary. Throwing a wiki (or a blog or a meebo box or whatever the flavor of the day may be) at your users and congratulating yourself on how “2.0” you are is well and good, but I’ve come to realize of late that if a change in library services, technology-based or otherwise, isn’t well grounded in our core values and mission, it just looks funny. I am all for libraries being technology leaders and for offering access to emerging technologies and delivery methods, I am also eager to see what the true library innovators will do next. What’s next for the outstanding libraries many of us follow across the US and around the world? What models will <a href="http://www.darienlibrary.org/">Darien Library</a> create for staffing, workflow and (gasp) reference as <a href="http://www.darienlibrary.org/newlibrary/blog/">they gear up for their new building?</a> (Disclaimer: John works there, the folks at Darien Library know exactly what they are doing!)<br /><br />What I really appreciated in John’s “debased” post was this:<br /><br /><em>So we need to understand that, while it’s alright to tip the balance and fail occasionally, we’re more likely to do so if we’re arbitrarily introducing technology that isn’t properly integrated into our overarching information framework. Of course, that means we have to have a working framework to begin with that compliments and adheres to our tradition of solid, proven librarianship. In other words, when we use technology, it should be transparent, intuitive, and a natural extension of the patron experience. If it can’t be transparent, then it should be so overwhelmingly beneficial to the user that it is canonized not by the techies, but the users themselves.</em></p> <p><br />That’s the key: the foundations of librarianship meets emerging technologies. “Oh, Dewey would just die,” some folks might have said <a href="http://www.ts.ala.org/blog/2007/07/raising-arizona.html">about what Marshall Shore and the great folks at Maricopa county library did with their BISAC experiment. </a>Would he really? Or would Mr. Dewey acknowledge that users have changed and his system should probably change as well. Also, the users should be creating the new library landscape. Last month, in chatting with Cliff Landis, we agreed that library Facebook pages "fanned" by 30 or 40 librarians is not a good way to gauge success. The users, as John so eloquently points out, should be the ones guiding the popularity of a particular tool, service or extension of library service.</p> <p><br />It's <a href="http://www.ts.ala.org/blog/2006/01/on-the-l2-train.html">been a long time since I chatted with John Blyberg here at TechSource</a>, so I thought I’d give John a good 'ol friendly virtual shout out and see if he’d want to talk about this further:</p> <p><br />JB: Thanks for the shout-out Michael.  You said an interesting thing:  “I’ve come to realize of late that if a change in library services, technology-based or otherwise, isn’t well grounded in our core values and mission, it just looks funny.”  I posed a question to some of our peers on Twitter a few weeks back to the effect of, “how do we measure success in the library?”  Certainly, traditional metrics give us a frank indication of use, but that doesn’t necessarily translate to the fulfillment of our mission. If it did, really successful libraries would be little more than fee-less hybrids of Blockbuster and Borders. </p> <p>Most of us agree that we’re charged with a deeper significance that goes beyond the distribution of popular materials and the provision of internet access. That’s because we exist within the context of the communities we serve.  The difference now, as opposed to even five years ago, is that we also operate within a global context that empowers us to quickly recall data and assemble it into our own personal nebulae. In other words, information use has become an expression of self--that’s not something libraries ever accounted for.  When I talk about this, I refer to it as the “information experience” because, for the growing number of us who participate in the hive, we build our own network of information and interaction that accompanies us through our lives.  We literally construct highly-personalized information frameworks and place a huge amount of personal reliance upon them.  Ten years ago, this wasn’t the case.</p> <p><br />Libraries are ill-equipped to respond to this--we weren’t built for it.  Most librarians are not technologists; we’re saddled with integrated library systems that force us to into outmoded business processes; long-tailers like Netflix and Amazon underscore our inability to develop effective distribution channels; and DRM has effectively shut us out of an emerging and potentially huge media market. </p> <p>Library 2.0 is our attempt to redress librarianship for this new ecosystem by doing real work.  We can debate the semantic merits of the term all we want, but it won’t change the inevitability of things like the Open Source ILS, the emergence of collaborative reference platforms, or the fact that people like Marshall Shore have the courage to buck the establishment in favor of finding a better way to serve users.  You don’t take that kind of risk if you’re feeling ambivalent toward libraries.  It takes a deep-seeded passion and love for the industry to put your career on the line like that.</p> <p><br />I’m interested to know what library students are feeling about these changes.  Typically, schools run a few years behind trends like this, but you’re out there on the bleeding edge.  What kind of response are you getting from your students?  Are they concerned, excited, apprehensive about what they’ll find, post-graduation?  Are library students passionate?</p> <p>MS: John, many are passionate - passionate about making a difference in their chosen career, passionate about embracing the next thing to see how it stacks up as a service enhancer or extension of the library, and of course passionate about libraries in general. The folks drawn to the field each bring a unique perspective of the how and the why they found their way to librarianship. Some are there because they love technology, others are there because they love the printed word. I think most are excited to get through the program and get their first professional position or promotion.</p> <p><br />I’m lucky that I get a class each semester of brand new students for the Intro course. We can discuss these changes in the profession and I take every chance I get to say “Look, the social OPAC is just an extension of what we’ve been doing a long time but in a new way and in ways that our users have come to expect.”</p> <p><br />One interesting thing is the fact that our classes at Dominican are made up of folks returning to school after a few years or more in the workforce and those coming right from their undergrad degrees. So we get all levels of experience in the same room for discussion and maybe even some debate. This is good because these people will graduate and find themselves in a similar work situation. I have one student in a class this semester who spent a few years working in corporate IT - she’s shared some wonderful insights and stories.</p> <p><br />The most interesting thing is when someone in my intro class or even later on in the tech classes I teach realizes -- and maybe even says it aloud or blogs it -- that where the profession is going is not what he or she ever imagined. When I went through the IU program back in the early 90s, I felt the same way as the Internet was appearing in our library and things started moving so quickly.</p> <p><br />My thought then, to return to your first point, is how do we measure the success of our teaching in LIS? Sure, I grade papers and correct grammar and note how students have improved their critical thinking, but isn’t it more important to set the stage for these folks to be curious explorers, not timid about dealing with change, and absolutely ready to integrate themselves into the “information experience” of the users they will serve? And in fact, help create that experience in some ways, enhance it and encourage it. The skill set required for creating an info experience seems much different than those two semesters of cataloging some schools mandate. For me, library services in the 21st Century will focus on designing environments for engagement and exploration, for satisfying needs, wants and those "I didn't know I needed that" discoveries while carefully planning for and using technology.</p> <p><br /><img align="left" alt="" src="http://www.ts.ala.org/files/images/DannyMeyer.png" />JB: That’s exactly right, I think.  The mechanics of making a library run can be understood by just about anyone who is interested enough to learn.  The art of making a library successful is a different quality altogether.  What you’re doing is teaching your students how to learn, and one of the ways you’re doing that is by giving them the knowledge needed to navigate the Internet and a fundamental understanding of the relationship between all the various technological components that drift onto and off of our palate.  And honestly, when we look at what is at our disposal, it becomes apparent that all the pieces are just raw materials waiting to be assembled into whatever form we can imagine.</p> <p><br />Here at the Darien Library, we’re big fans of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Danny_Meyer">Danny Meyer</a>, the successful restauranteur and author of <a href="http://www.unionsquarehospitalitygroup.com/"><em>Setting the Table</em></a>.  One of the many great take-aways from his book is his notion of the 51% employee.  He writes that every position he hires can be split 49% by 51%.  The 49% represents the skills necessary to do the job--etiquette, procedure, etc.  The conspicuous 51% is hospitality and an intrinsic desire to serve other people and make them feel good about themselves.  The 51%ers take pride in the fact that they help provide a fulfilling experience to someone. I think it takes a 51%er to step out beyond the boundary of what is comfortable and imagine a different type of library that engages patrons collaboratively. </p> <p>It’s true that we are the voice of authoritative knowledge, but we can package that in ways that are not so paternalistic and present ourselves as partners in discovery.  None of this requires technology, but technology has become the nexus of collaboration.  It certainly enables us to retrieve, compile, and share information much more efficiently and rapidly.  I think librarians are struggling to understand how it all fits together and many are just looking for the handbook that tells them how to do it.  Nothing like that exists, of course and our success, ultimately, comes down to what our philosophy on the dissemination of knowledge is in this digital era.</p> http://alatechsource.org/blog/2008/06/on-the-information-experience-an-ala-techsource-conversation-with-john-blyberg.html#comments Library 2.0 Wed, 18 Jun 2008 18:24:37 +0000 Michael Stephens 251 at http://alatechsource.org Evergreen and Equinox with Karen G. Schneider http://alatechsource.org/blog/2008/05/evergreen-and-equinox-with-karen-g-schneider.html <p>Most everyone reading this blog is familiar with <a href="http://www.ts.ala.org/blogs/karen-g-schneider">Karen G. Schneider</a>. As a recent member of the Techsource team, she has helped us all understand technology a little more clearly. Her new job as Community Librarian for <a href="http://esilibrary.com/esi/">Equinox Software, Inc</a>. involves working to expand library and librarians knowledge about the Open Source ILS, <a href="http://open-ils.org/">Evergreen</a>.</p> <p>I was able to track her down, and ask her a few questions about Evergreen, libraries, and the ILS. As always, she never fails to inform.</p> <p><strong>What does Equinox and Evergreen bring to libraries that "traditional" ILS vendors and products might not? </strong></p> <p>First, Evergreen has robust, contemporary code—not that hodgepodge of old code typical of older, legacy products. It’s not even module-based; it’s built from the ground up around service-oriented architecture, which makes it uniquely compatible with the needs of libraries seeking to wed their ILS with other products. It’s great out of the box, but it’s inherently friendly to other products as well. Plus if you aren’t hiding your code, it’s much easier to interoperate with other products.</p> <p>Second, the open source model is very different, and completely changes the conversation. In the old model, the proprietary code was the vendor’s prize product, to be hidden away (though sometimes they were hiding it for other reasons—like how bad it was). Librarians thought they were in the business of buying these products. But what happened? Buyer’s remorse quickly set in as soon as the librarians realized that this old model almost forces vendors to skimp on the real products—which are service and forward development.</p> <p>The library environment is particularly well-suited for open source. We’re by nature a sharing profession, and we play well with others. Yet we’re never extravagantly funded and most of us are in the role of being careful stewards of the public’s money. The commercial open source model allows us to pay for support and this time, actually receive it, and it also means we are no longer subject to that most traumatic experience, vendor abandonment. I know librarians who were actually trained on Taos, the product DRA never delivered. I know librarians who signed contracts with companies that knew they were being bought out or going out of business and said nothing. Over and over again, old-style legacy companies made promises they couldn’t or wouldn’t deliver on, and we stood there waiting and waiting, and then had to turn to our stakeholders and say, “We wuz robbed!” With open source, we own our own code—and therefore, our own destiny.</p> <p>Naturally, the closed-source vendors spread a lot of FUD (fear, uncertainty, and doubt) about open source, and administrators who came of age in the old paradigm can be susceptible to those stories. My favorite FUD of the moment is that open source isn’t “mature.” In our profession we are dragged down by software so “mature,” it cannot handle high transaction loads(Georgia PINES recently had a 100,000-circ day,and Evergreen didn’t bat an eye), cannot integrate with newer products, and looks and feels not a whole lot different than the DOS screen on my 1985 Commodore PC clone.</p> <p>You know how you can tell open source works? First of all, people make money at it. (For another silly piece of FUD, I’ve been told “it took a lot of coding to turn Linux into Red Hat.” That’s all kinds of silly, not the least of which is that it’s not true… but this kind of nonsense underscores the desperation of a waning industry.) Second, every proprietary software company I can think of trusts open source software enough to use it in their own code.</p> <p><strong>How many libraries are currently using Evergreen, and what's the growth rate of adoption?</strong></p> <p>We’re updating stats this weekend. The growth rate has been nothing less than impressive, particularly in the consortial arena (though we know of one user who installed it for his home library!). Take a look at our news: <a href="http://esilibrary.com/esi/news.php">http://esilibrary.com/esi/news.php</a></p> <p><strong>Is Evergreen better suited to a certain type or size of library, especially in regards to upkeep? </strong></p> <p>Remember that there’s Evergreen and Equinox. A library with developers can if they wish roll their own Evergreen migration. Equinox is there to support any size library. One PINES library is 300 square feet, while near the other end, another is 75,000. EG scales. I know square footage isn't the typical measurement used by data people, and it is important to look at *what* a library is doing, but coming from experience as a rural library director, I know what it's like to run a library smaller than 1,000 square feet, and you need software you can rely on. When you scale up, you need software comfortable with consortial capabilities, such as huge transaction loads and good deduping and the ability to manage different policies site to site.</p> <p>But a particular strength of Evergreen is that it is designed to scale up very elegantly to large consortial settings, and is adeptly designed as a CLS—a Consortial Library System. (See <a href="http://esilibrary.com/blog/?p=34">this post</a>  for more discussion.) This wide-area resource sharing is becoming hugely important to many libraries, and requires a system that is designed around large databases, high transactions, local policy preferences, deduping, and rapid real-time updates. It’s challenging but rewarding to move to massive resource-sharing, and it’s a Good Thing when the software not only doesn’t stand in the way but helps libraries connect.</p> <p><strong>You've said in the past that free software is sometimes free like kittens...how much like kittens is Evergreen? </strong></p> <p>All free software is free like kittens, in the sense that as soon as you install it you commit to its long-term care and feeding (unless it’s just some fly-by-night product you’re playing with on a whim, and we all have those). The question is how do you want to handle its care and feeding? When I go on a family trip, I call Aunt Judy (her professional name!) who takes care of our cats while we’re away. It’s not that I’m not capable of tending for a cat, but when I’m away that’s just not possible. Equinox is there to be Aunt Judy for systems that choose to purchase support, and it’s also there to help guide and lead development of new services. It’s not simply a question of what you can or can’t do; it’s a question of where you want and are able to spend your time. The great thing is, with open source software, you make that decision.</p> <p>Incidentally, because Evergreen is open source, some libraries commit development time to participating in the design of Evergreen’s newer services. That way we can all work together to get the software we want and need, and we’re many steps closer to the real user experience. How often have we waited for an amazing new version of some ILS module only to feel underwhelmed, and to wonder if they had ever spoken to a real librarian? Open source puts us back in the driver’s seat.</p> <p>For that matter, I would think many of our vendor partners will welcome library-driven development; think about the book vendors we work with and the backflips they have to go through to work with the typical less-than-ideal acquisitions module. It should be easier for them and for us to do acquisitions—it’s such a fundamental process. I like to think of the acquisitions services in development as a fresh take on a classic service.</p> <p><strong>What advice would you give libraries that are looking at a new ILS in the near (1-3 years) future? </strong></p> <p>Think very carefully not only about your requirements but what services you would like to deliver to your users if only your software would let you.</p> <p>Think about the future and think about partnerships. Think big. Do you want to scale? Do you want to grow? Do you want to be able to do real consortial sharing? If so select very carefully. Set aside assumptions and look methodically at prevailing and emerging products. Be very careful about FUD and dogma… we’re susceptible to both in this profession, but you owe it to your users to take an evidence-driven approach to product selection and to avoid (and question) off-the-cuff pronouncements. Of course, I’m going to say talk to people running Evergreen, but talk to any librarian working with open source library software for perspectives that can illuminate why open source is the future for library software. Finally, don’t make your decision after you’ve seen the wowza demo. All of us can do wowza demos; but after you’ve cut the cake and the guests have left, you want a partnership with software that will be with you for the long haul. Talk to your peers, investigate the software, install it (if they let you install it—and if you can’t install a product in advance, that tells you something, too).</p> http://alatechsource.org/blog/2008/05/evergreen-and-equinox-with-karen-g-schneider.html#comments Library 2.0 Tech Tools Tue, 03 Jun 2008 19:16:54 +0000 Jason Griffey 246 at http://alatechsource.org Teaching a Dog New Tricks http://alatechsource.org/blog/2008/05/teaching-a-dog-new-tricks.html <div class="auth">When you are training a dog, you do not start with something complicated. You begin with something small and easy: sit. From sit, you move on to tricks that build on that one skill, like shake and lie down. You never start with lie down or shake, because a dog has to be sitting to do those things.</div> <p><img src="/files/media/blog/Pullo%20with%20Ball.jpg" alt="Pullo with Ball" style="margin:0px 1.2em .5em 0px;float:left;" title="Pullo with Ball" /></p> <p>When we teach children to read, we sing them the ABCs first and then teach them how the letters form words. We do not show them words and then teach them the alphabet. We know that to learn a skill there is a logical progression of learning. We know this, but often, when dealing with technology, we forget about it. Like all other knowledge acquisition, learning how to use technology tools should follow a logical progression. We should start with cornerstones before constructing the building. If you are a technology trainer, consider what cornerstones are already in your staff's arsenal when planning a training.</p> <p>In the midst of looking at technology tools for our libraries, we often consider the skill level or training needed for the new technology. What we rarely consider are the technologies currently in use that can help our staff learn the new tool. Staff are often reluctant to learn yet another tool even if it is the tool that you believe is going to make their professional lives easier and their job smoother. To busy and harried staff members, you are asking them to take time out of a packed day to learn something from the ground up.</p> <p>But what if they did not have to start at the bottom? Next time you need either to convince staff of a tool's merits or train them on the use of a tool, make a list of technology already in place in your library. In what ways is the new tool similar to one or two of the more beloved tools, even print tools, at your library? What skills do staff already posses that will make learning a new tool easier? Are there aspects of the work flow of an older tool that mirror work flow of the new tool?</p> <p>When Reference staff relied entirely on print resources, there were indexes for every subject. Indexes had commonalities regardless of the subject being organized. They were alphabetical. They gave specific citation information for the resources listed. Subjects were cross listed in a (mostly) logical manner in which the cross listings referred to one another. Once you had mastered the way indexes worked, you could then transfer your skills to other indexes. We do this today with databases. All serve the purpose that indexes once did, and they all have some sort of search function. Searching and learning is what librarians have always done.</p> <p>As a trainer, I think it would be wonderful if we could use this idea of transference that we have used with indexes and databases when learning technology tools. I believe thinking about tools in this way may help us to find new ways to appeal to resistant co-workers. This approach may help to overcome the idea that I have heard expressed often in training, "There is always something new on the horizon. If I spend time learning Tool X, I will just have to invest more time I do not have tomorrow learning Tool X.1 or Tool Y. Why should I waste my time?"</p> <p>With that in mind, I have created a list of things that I believe most Web 2.0 tools have in common. Keep in mind this is a simple list for beginners. Though these similarities will not teach a new user how to use the tool in its entirety, they will build confidence with the tool. A confident learner is one who is less likely to give up early. Start with something easy and then progress to things that are more complicated.</p> <p><span style="font-weight:bold;">Tools are made to complete a task.</span></p> <p>A Web 2.0 tool, like any physical tool, serves a purpose. It may look graphically more appealing than a ratchet set, but an online tool still serves a function. Do not let the fancy packaging either persuade or dissuade you of the usefulness of a tool. As a user, you should always ask, "What does this tool help me do?" If the function of the tool, like keeping a <a href="http://www.rememberthemilk.com/">to do list</a> or keeping <a href="http://www.dopplr.com/">track of your travels</a>, is not of use to you or your staff, this may not be the tool for you. The usefulness of the purpose of a tool will sell the tool to staff at a higher rate than a tool that is simply pretty.</p> <p>On a side note, never choose a tool based on its shiny factor only. If it is pretty, it also should work.</p> <p><span style="font-weight:bold;">Online tools are accessible from anywhere.</span></p> <p>At least in my opinion, the good ones are anyway. For your staff, this means a username and password. The number of usernames and passwords can be overwhelming sometimes, so encourage your staff to use the same or similar strong passwords for all their online tools. Have them create usernames that are similar so that they are not guessing, forgetting, and getting frustrated at this easy first step. Many tools are abandoned on the learning curve because of simple things, like lost passwords and forgotten usernames.</p> <p><span style="font-weight:bold;">Just as in real life, Web 2.0 tools come with a circle of friends that can be cultivated and nurtured.</span></p> <p>Web 2.0 is about interconnectivity with people. Web 2.0 tools allow you to have a group of people whom you consider "friends". Sometimes, this group is labeled "contacts" but it all means the same thing. You are often able to send messages to people in your friends list within the tool itself. There is no need for people to know your real email address or contact information this way. For staff members who are very private, this will be seen as a bonus. You also always have the option of unfriending people which can sometimes come in handy. The functionality of a friends list will vary from tool to tool, but the basic abilities will remain the same. Once you have managed one friends list, you can manage others.</p> <p><span style="font-weight:bold;">Create a Unique Profile</span></p> <p>Upload an image of yourself or something to represent you. It is just like attaching a document to an email. Upload and viola! Like a friends list, once you have done this once, you can do it again.</p> <p><span style="font-weight:bold;">Find Out What is Going On</span></p> <p>Most tools come with some way to send you updates on either your friends' activities or things happening around the web based on your profile. RSS is usually the behind the scenes tool that makes this work, so if your staff are already using RSS readers, you can incorporate this aspect of a new tool into the use of a tool with which they are already familiar.</p> http://alatechsource.org/blog/2008/05/teaching-a-dog-new-tricks.html#comments Library 2.0 Tech Tools Web 2.0 Sun, 30 Mar 2008 18:28:25 +0000 Michelle Boule 235 at http://alatechsource.org Peppy le Pew and Snidely Whiplash http://alatechsource.org/blog/2007/10/peppy-le-pew-and-snidely-whiplash.html <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in 0in 0pt;"><font face="Arial"><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:Arial;">For the past few days I've been an early morning denizen of the Denny's restaurant at the corner of Munras and Fremont in </span><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:Arial;">Monterey</span>/&gt;<span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:Arial;">, </span><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:Arial;">California</span>/&gt;/&gt;<span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:Arial;">.<span>  </span>It's close to my hotel and always open.<span>  </span>If you're an early morning person in the Midwest, you're a REALLY early morning person on the West Coast. </span></font></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in 0in 0pt;"><font face="Arial"><span> </span></font></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in 0in 0pt;"><font face="Arial">Lee Rainie from the <a href="http://www.pewinternet.org/">Pew Internet and American Life Project</a> was the opening keynote speaker on Monday, the first day of the <a href="http://www.infotoday.com/il2007/default.shtml">Internet Librarian Conference</a> being held here.<span>  </span>I fondly refer to Lee as Peppy le Pew because he's very animated and energetic (in a NY/NJ kinda way) and he works for Pew, not because either his message or his<br /></font></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in 0in 0pt;">person stinks.<br /><span>  </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in 0in 0pt;"><img title="home detention anklet" style="float:right;margin:0px 0px .5em 1.2em;" alt="home detention anklet" src="/files/media/blog/home%20detention%20anklet.jpg" />Lee spoke about 2.0 and the Internet World.<span>  </span>This new digital ecosystem has several key characteristics.<span>  </span>Home and mobile media gadgets and omni-functional cell phones are major components of this emerging information landscape.<span>  </span>I reckon home detention anklets are the seamy underbelly of that tech trend.  They serve only one purpose (as far as I know) and they keep you homebound, not mobile.  <span>  </span><br /><br /></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in 0in 0pt;">Rainie reported that nearly all teens now regularly use the Internet, and three out of every four American adults regularly do.<span>  </span>Online social networks have become the dashboards for the social lives of teens.<span>  </span>Approximately one out of every five young adults has created an avatar in virtual worlds.<span>  </span>In the minds of many, rating content and online experiences has been perceived as an obligation to the online community.<span>  </span><br /><br /></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in 0in 0pt;">To understand the meaning of all these developments, Rainie encouraged conference attendees to examine the Three A's:<span>  </span><span> </span>Assets (gadgets), Actions, and Attitudes of these networked individuals.<br /><br /></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in 0in 0pt;">Based on data collected and compiled within the Pew Internet and America Life Project, Rainie divided technology users into nine groups, with non-users being the tenth group:<br /><br /></p> <ol><li><div><u>Omnivores</u> (8 percent of the U.S./&gt;/&gt; population):<span>  </span>They enthusiastically use everything related to mobile communications technology.</div></li><li><div><u>Connectors</u> (7 percent):<span>  </span>This group, trending toward older females, really uses the communication aspects of these technologies.</div></li><li><div><u>Lackluster Veterans</u> (8 percent):<span>  </span>They use the Internet frequently, but are less avid about cell phones.<span>  </span>(If self-placement is permitted, I think I would classify myself as a lackluster veteran.)<span>  </span></div></li><li><div><u>Productivity Enhancers</u> (8 percent of population):<span>  </span>They have strongly positive views about how technology helps them increase their productivity at work and at home.<span>  </span></div></li><li><div><u>Mobile Centrics</u> (10 percent of the population):<span>   </span>They fully embrace the functionality of their cell phones, but don't use the Internet much.<span>  </span></div></li><li><div><u>Connected But Hassled</u> (10 percent):<span>  </span>They find all this connectivity intrusive and information something of a burden.<span>  </span>They often experience information overload.<span>  </span></div></li><li><div><u>Inexperienced Experimenters</u> (8 percent):<span>  </span>These casual users occasionally take advantage of interactivity. </div></li><li><div><u>Light But Satisfied</u> (15 percent):<span>  </span>They have some technology, but it does not play a major role in their lives.<span>  </span>They love TV and radio.<span>  </span></div></li><li><div><u>Indifferents</u> (11 percent):<span>  </span>They proudly proclaim that they don't like this technology, but they begrudgingly use it a little.<span>  </span></div></li><li><div><u>Off the Network</u> (15 percent):<span>  </span>They have neither a cell phone nor an Internet connection.<span>  </span>Older females dominate this group. <span> </span></div></li></ol> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in 0in 0pt;">The most schizophrenic session of the day (actually, of all the conferences I've attended in many moons) was one about strategic approaches to the new academic library.<span>  </span>Tomalee Doan, Head of MEL/&gt;, the Management and Electronics Library, at Purdue University, gave an interesting but predictable “how-we-done-it-reel-gud-in-our-lieberry” presentation about effecting change in an academic library.<br /><br /></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in 0in 0pt;">Then Bruce Krajewski from Texas Woman's University, like a fox in a chicken coop, spoke about how surprised he is that librarians do not consider and discuss more the broader social, political, and economic implications of the Library 2.0 movement.<span>  </span>He's an English professor, not a librarian.<span>  </span>He's concerned that libraries are becoming too chummy with economic interests, captains of industry, and that portion of the population that has perhaps nefarious reasons for encouraging the entire population to use the Web more. His final slide contained a doctored image of the Starbucks logo with the phrase "consumer whore" added.  <br /><span> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in 0in 0pt;"><img title="Nelson shuttlecock" style="float:right;margin:0px 0px .5em 1.2em;" alt="Nelson shuttlecock" src="/files/media/blog/Nelson%20shuttlecock.jpg" />His message was as refreshing as an onshore breeze off Monterey/&gt; Bay/&gt;/&gt;, but the studied snideness--albeit mild-mannered--of his delivery was troubling.<span>  </span>The studied snideness of much academic discourse is offputting to me.<span>  </span>Where and why do they all learn to do that?<span>  </span>I guess we can refer to Bruce as Snidely Whiplash. <span> </span>He read his paper, which is common at many academic conferences, but not at librarian conferences.<span>  </span>The medium, the message, and the delivery were unsettling in a provocative way.<span> <br /> </span><span> </span><br /></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in 0in 0pt;">Erica Reynolds from the <a href="http://www.jocolibrary.org/">Johnson County Library</a> in Kansas/&gt;/&gt; gave a great presentation about how library website redesign teams can gain inspiration from a visit to their local museum of art.<span>  </span>Her main point:<span>  </span>Library websites should be redesigned to incorporate and convey the splendor, whimsy, and visceral engagement of works of art, such as the gigantic shuttlecocks on the lawn of the <a href="http://www.nelson-atkins.org/">Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art</a> in Kansas City/&gt;/&gt;. <br /><br /></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in 0in 0pt;">I'll be in Monterey--breakfasting unfashionably early at Denny's--only through Tuesday, so hopefully my weight and cholesterol levels will not balloon like they did for that guy who ate exclusively at McDonald's for an entire month.<span>  </span><br /><br /></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in 0in 0pt;"></p> http://alatechsource.org/blog/2007/10/peppy-le-pew-and-snidely-whiplash.html#comments IL2007 Internet and American Life Library 2.0 Mon, 29 Oct 2007 23:18:44 +0000 Tom Peters 218 at http://alatechsource.org Be The Change You Want to Be, and Other Best Practices for Social Software in Libraries http://alatechsource.org/blog/2007/10/be-the-change-you-want-to-be-and-other-best-practices-for-social-software-in-libraries.html <p>In just 12 months, from the time ALA Techsource published <a href="http://www.techsource.ala.org//web-20-and-libraries-best-practices-for-social-software.html">Web 2.0 &amp; Libraries: Best Practices for Social Software</a>, the influx of 2.0 type tools, books, articles about the tools, and conference presentations has been overwhelming. So much excellent content to take in! <br /><br /><img title="Cover of Michael's recent Library Technology Report" style="float:right;margin:0px 0px .5em 1.2em;width:204px;height:310px;" height="310" alt="Cover of Michael's recent Library Technology Report" src="/files/media/blog/LTRcover.jpg" width="204" />For my report this year -- <a href="http://www.techsource.ala.org//web-20-libraries-part-2-trends-and-technologies.html">Web 2.0 &amp; Libraries, Part 2: Trends and Technologies</a> –- I wanted focus the “Best Practices” on the bigger picture instead of a list for each specific tool. There are so many <a href="http://oedb.org/blogs/ilibrarian/">wonderful bloggers</a> and <a href="http://www.libsuccess.org/">Web sites</a> that offer concise, in-depth examinations of how to use social tools, maybe this wider focus will be helpful as well -- for planning, buy in and evaluation.<br /><br />So use these ideas as a guide to move forward with whatever tool you're adding to your 2.0 cadre: a library blog, IM reference, or a wiki. Remember, Web 2.0 tools won't solve all your problems, but you may find some solutions that will make your work-life easier.  Here are some selected best practices from my new report:<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Create a Prototype</span><br /><br />Want to sell your social software project to your boss, your director or dean, or governing body?  Start with a prototype.  <a href="http://dbl.lishost.org/blog/2007/07/03/applied-prototyping-designing-for-buy-in/">Brian Mathews said it well at Designing Better Libraries:<br /></a><span style="font-style:italic;"></span></p> <blockquote><p><span style="font-style:italic;">When I speak with librarians who are excited about new social technology, they often mention the roadblocks they encounter. The best advice I can give is to use prototyping. Build a proof-of-concept, test it with a few users, and then present it to the powers-that-be. Instead of giving them the chance to shoot down your idea, let them see it first hand, educate them about it, and show them see how it can be adapted. The secret is user needs — if you can demonstrate how your idea addresses a patron (or staff) need then you'll have greater chance of success.<br /></span></p></blockquote> <p>Many of the tools in my report are free to use for experimentation and discovery.  Within minutes, you might create a prototype <a href="http://alamembers.ning.com/">Ning network</a> or <a href="http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1Y1-110509216.html?Q=Tech+Tips+for+Every+Librarian+Embedding+a+Librarian+in+Your+Web+Site+Using+meebo">embedded Meebo Me widget</a> to show off at the next big meeting. Mathews's points are solid: educate the powers that be and demonstrate how users benefit from the prototype. And administrators — <span style="font-weight:bold;">trust your staff</span> to point the right way.  Listen to them.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Learn the Tools / Teach the Tools</span><br /><br />If you haven't already, take a look at the <a href="http://plcmcl2-about.blogspot.com/">Learning 2.0 course sponsored by the Public Library of Charlotte &amp; Mecklenburg County</a>.  Any library can adapt this free program, or we could learn from it ourselves individually.  Do the course for your library, your consortium, all the libraries in your area, or on a statewide level.  I just spoke at two library association meetings and I urged both to ponder a Learning 2.0 initiative at the state level for ALL libraries.<br /><br />Try the same for hardware.  Have staff bring their newest gadget to a “technology encounter session” staff meeting.  Do things first, because staff should be comfortable with tools and technologies early on.  I interviewed <a href="http://www.library.nashville.org/teens/tee_staffprofile_MNKyle.asp">Kyle Cook from Nashville Public Library</a> for the new report, who agreed: “Make sure you spend adequate time with staff so they understand how to use the tools.” <br /><br />Then, be a <span style="font-weight:bold;">Technology Learning Leader</span> for your users — teaching them about tools and technologies.  Make the library the place to be for cutting-edge technology and knowledgeable, savvy staff instruction.  Teach blogging, Flickr, MySpace, Facebook, Twitter, and the next tool.  I'm reminded of <a href="http://tametheweb.com/2006/11/ttw_mailbox_on_the_gadget_gara.html">Princeton Public Library's “Gadget Garage”</a> — a cabinet housing gadgets for hands-on play in the library's training room.<br /><br />Don't miss <a href="http://ihcpl2.blogspot.com/">Harris County Public Library's adaptation of Learning 2.0 for patrons</a>.  (thanks <a href="http://supercrazylibrarianguy.wordpress.com/">SuperCrazyLibrarianGuy!</a>)<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Give Real World Services a Virtual Space</span><br /><br /><img title="book discussion group" style="float:left;margin:0px 1.2em .5em 0px;" alt="book discussion group" src="/files/media/blog/bookdiscussiongroup.jpg" />Use the social tools to give your real-world services a virtual presence.  Give each <a href="http://brooklynbooktalk.blogspot.com/">book discussion group a blog</a>.  Build a <a href="http://www.libraryforlife.org/subjectguides/index.php/Harry_Potter">wiki for reader's advisory</a>. Embed a librarian Meebo widget on<a href="http://www.darienlibrary.org/contact.php"> your “Contact Us” page</a>.  Record a podcast tour of your library, or ask your teen group to help make the recording.<br /><br />Creating an extension of the real world library online can engage users that might only be looking for the library in those spaces.  Or the user might not even know the library is there and that sense of discovery may surprise them.  “Hey — I didn't know the library used IM!”<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Be the Change You Want to Be</span><br /><br />I also spoke with <a href="http://www.library.nashville.org/teens/tee_staffprofile_MNKyle.asp">Kyle Cook</a> about implementing 2.0 tools on the <a href="http://www.library.nashville.org/teens/teenweb.asp">Nashville Public Library Teen Web</a>.  His advice is valuable for all of us initiating change with social tools.<br /><span style="font-style:italic;"></span></p> <blockquote><p><span style="font-style:italic;">We decided to use <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/nplmainteens/1443520899/">flickr for our pictures</a>. We wanted something that would allow the librarians and add their own pictures without having to go through the web team. Also, the librarians were already familiar with flickr, so it wasn't too intimidating. Like, del.icio.us, flickr lets the teen staff create their own sets of items — they're controlling the content. It also lets the teens to go in and make comments and maybe link their own photo collections.<br /></span><br style="font-style:italic;" /><span style="font-style:italic;">We created a prototype to demonstrate our ideas. This prototype showed what we were after and it didn't take long to build — just paste in two pieces of code. Use someone else's flickr photos for the badge. You can use your own del.icio.us account for the link example.<br /><br />When we pitched the changes to our library managers, we had a rationale for each. That's important. We chose del.icio.us and flickr because they offered a solution to link maintenance and the addition of photos. At the same time, they made maintenance of the site easier. These were problems we had for some time. Showing your reasons behind changing course and trying something new tells your managers that you aren't just doing something to be cool. Your changes need to have a purpose.</span><br /></p></blockquote> <p>I use the Nashville PL Teen Web in my talks now as a case study of enhancing a Web presence with social tools, many of them free to use and play with -- and as a perfect example of bringing humanity to the library web.  Take a look at the library staff avatars, the faces of the teens at library programs and their shared bookmarking to see this in play.<br /><br />It also illustrates how we can streamline Web work -- a case, as Kyle demonstrates, that's a good one to make to library managers and admin folk. The next stage, after implementation, is planning for evaluation -- gathering data, evidence, and stories about how the tools are used or how they might enhance the library's online presence.<br /><br />I want to thank all the librarians who offered their time for interviews and shared their expertise for my new report.  Also, thanks to my editor Judi and the folks at ALA Techsource.<br /></p> http://alatechsource.org/blog/2007/10/be-the-change-you-want-to-be-and-other-best-practices-for-social-software-in-libraries.html#comments Library 2.0 Tech Tools Web 2.0 Thu, 18 Oct 2007 20:35:58 +0000 Michael Stephens 216 at http://alatechsource.org Xanadu & Libraries. Seriously. http://alatechsource.org/blog/2007/09/xanadu-libraries-seriously.html <p>I had the honor of giving my <a href="http://www.techsource.ala.org/blog/2006/11/the-hyperlinked-organization-radical-transparency-crummy-meetings-micromanagement.html">"Hyperlinked Library"</a> talk at the prestigious <a href="http://www.nypl.org/">New York Public Library </a>last week. The question-and-answer session following was wonderful: questions about levels of service with technology, reaching out to the under-served who may not have access to newer types of tech and what working in a 2.0 world means to a large library system. I've heard that staff are given internal blogs to communicate, and there are some other wonderful digital projects on tap with the new Director of Digital Strategy and Scholarship, <a href="http://www.epistemographer.com/2007/05/02/greetings-new-york-public-librarians/">Josh Greenberg</a>. <br /><br />Another perk of the trip was staying an extra day to attend Friday night's performance of <a href="http://xanaduonbroadway.com/index2.html">Xanadu at the Helen Hayes Theatre</a>. You remember <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xanadu_(film)">Xanadu</a>, right? A 1980 movie musical that starred Gene Kelly, Olivia Newton John and Michael Beck concerning a muse who comes to earth to inspire two men to create their dream: <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/michaelsphotos/1421040230">A Roller Disco</a>! I was 15 years old and was rather taken with the film and the soundtrack! (What was your guilty pleasure from the 80s?)<br /><br />Anyway, the juxtaposition of the time spent with some fired up NYPL Librarians and a night spent watching <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/michaelsphotos/1421015342/in/photostream/">a new take </a>on one of my favorite soundtracks makes me realize that the library muse is alive and well and inspiring librarians all over the world to innovate and design their own “Xanadus.” Have you encountered the library muse? Does she roller skate?<br /><br /><img height="257" alt="picture of women dancing, from the movie Xanadu" src="/files/media/blog/muses.jpg" width="442" align="right" /><br /><br />"...bring all your dreams alive.."</p> <p>Bear with me a bit longer -- <a href="http://www.techsource.ala.org/blog/2006/02/are-you-dreaming.html">I've written about dreaming here before</a> and I think it's an important thing we should do as information professionals in an age of Google, MySpace and Starbucks. I think the muse strikes when we look at our services and wonder how we might extend them or augment them.</p> <p><a href="http://www.geocities.com/xanadupreservation/music/album/album.html">"Forget about the blues tonight<br />Sweet thing<br />Forget about the rules tonight<br />Sweet thing"</a><br /><br />Maybe the muse speaks most clearly when we examine the policies and rules that have built up over time in some of our institutions. Maybe that makes it easier for the dreams and inspiration to come into focus. Recently, McMaster University Librarian Jeff Trzeciak posted about <a href="http://ulatmac.wordpress.com/2007/08/23/elimination-of-food-regulations/">the elimination of food regulations in the campus library</a>, and just this week announced the <a href="http://ulatmac.wordpress.com/2007/09/26/library-eliminating-charge-for-alumni-card/">elimination of fees for the alumni card</a>. <br /><br />Maybe the incident at Harrison Public Library, <a href="http://librarygarden.blogspot.com/2007/09/sigh.html">noted by Janie Hermann at Library Garden</a>, could have been avoided if more attention was paid to making human connections and remembering that everything that happens within the library's walls is part of that library's story. Although the library apologized for demanding the payment of a deceased woman's fines by her daughter, the last line of the <a href="http://www.thejournalnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070926/NEWS02/709260369/1018">news story</a> sums up what may be most memorable about the story for the folks in that town: “In any event, she said, <a href="http://www.thejournalnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070926/NEWS02/709260369/1018">‘I will never set foot in the Harrison library again.'</a>”<br /><br /><a href="http://www.geocities.com/xanadupreservation/music/album/album.html">Got some dancin' to do<br />Got some dancin' to do</a><br /><br />I think the muse inspired Brian Mathews and the folks at the <a href="http://www.library.gatech.edu/">Georgia Institute of Technology Library</a> to create <a href="http://theubiquitouslibrarian.typepad.com/the_ubiquitous_librarian/2007/08/celibration-200.html">CeLIBration 2007,</a> an introduction to the library for students featuring poker, speed-dating and dance dance revolution. <br /><br />He articulates his insights at his blog and I hope other academic librarians take these words to heart:<br /><br style="font-style:italic;" /><span style="font-style:italic;">It doesn't always have to be about the library. That's the key really. We're not blasting them with Boolean or databases or policies. We want to get freshmen in the door, showoff our space, and hopefully make them feel comfortable. Let them see that we are approachable and not stogy. We want to set the bar high and raise their expectations of what the library is or can be. We also want to tap into their minds early on—before they even step foot in the classroom—they all know where the library is now. We really need to do this type of thing (library branded entertainment activities) more often, I'd say at least twice a semester. If we can offer a mixture of fun and academic events geared toward freshmen throughout the first semester—I think it would pay off in the long run. Just a theory.</span><br style="font-style:italic;" /><br />Who knew we'd be considering library-branded entertainment activities as part of our work? <br /><br /><a href="http://www.geocities.com/xanadupreservation/music/album/album.html">Whenever you're away from me<br />Wherever you go<br />You're never far away from me<br />I want you to know</a><br /><br />Steve Butzel from <a href="http://blogs.nashualibrary.org/reference/">Nashua Public Library in Nashua, NH</a> wrote to me this week about my article in the current issue of <em>Computers in Libraries</em> entitled <a href="http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1Y1-110509216.html?Q=Tech+Tips+for+Every+Librarian+Embedding+a+Librarian+in+Your+Web+Site+Using+meebo">Embedding a Librarian in Your Web Site Using Meebo</a>. Pondering how easy it is to embed a librarian IM widget in a web page, Steve was surely muse-inspired when he emailed: <br /><br />“I have been toying around with adding a Meebo widget to our reference department web page, and we are soon going to add it to our Teen Services page. I am also exploring the possibility of putting our Meebo widget on other sites in cyberspace, for example, on the town's City Hall web page, or the local newspaper webpage, etc. It certainly would be a way to reach beyond the walls of the library. Do you know of other libraries that have done this?”<br /><br />Zing! Excellent idea, Steve. I haven't heard of any libraries doing this yet but the mere thought of it is inspiring -- has anyone done this? Are you going to give it a try now? I like the idea of finding an embedded librarian while I'm surfing the local animal shelter page or newspaper. Please, TechSource readers, if the library muse inspires you to try this, let me know.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.geocities.com/xanadupreservation/music/album/album.html">Building your dream<br />Has to start now<br />There's no other road to take<br />You won't make a mistake<br />I'll be guiding you</a><br /><br />From <a href="http://meg20.blogspot.com/2007/08/transformation-lab-library-innovation.html">Meg 2.0</a> comes this note about the Transformation Lab at a library in Denmark that she calls "true inspiration." View the YouTube video of this fascinating and surely muse-inspired lab here:<br /><br /><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TpFO_L_jA1c">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TpFO_L_jA1c</a><br /><br /><a href="http://www.geocities.com/xanadupreservation/music/album/album.html">Everybody all around the world<br />Gotta tell you what I just heard<br />Everybody walkin' down the street<br />I know a place where we all can meet</a><br /><br />I was glad to see <a href="http://stephenslighthouse.sirsidynix.com/archives/2007/09/impressive_mysp.html">Stephen Abram post about the excellent MySpace creations from Hennepin and Charlotte Mecklenburg</a>. These two libraries certainly have built some engaging spaces online for their teen users to experience. Abram, at his blog, notes about Hennepin's own Xanadu-style online space: “It has the OPAC on their main page (and paste it into your MySpace page)," "Music plays when you arrive," and “They'll share their secrets with you too.”<br /><br /><a href="http://www.geocities.com/xanadupreservation/music/album/album.html">And now, open your eyes and see<br />What we have made is real<br />We are in Xanadu<br />A million lights are dancing<br />And there you are, a shooting star </a><br /><br /><img height="409" alt="picture of the poster for Xanadu the play" src="/files/media/blog/xanadu.jpg" width="315" /><br /><br />Kitschy? Maybe. But <span style="font-style:italic;">seriously</span> - thanks for reading. I truly believe we are standing before a great opportunity. The profession is in a very unique position to dream and create some truly outstanding library services. If we let the muse speak to us. If we take down the barriers that might stand in our way. If we think about extending our services into realms we may have not yet considered - physically or virtually. If we open our eyes we might just see the dreams we can make very real.<br /></p> http://alatechsource.org/blog/2007/09/xanadu-libraries-seriously.html#comments Library 2.0 Tech Tools Fri, 28 Sep 2007 21:23:07 +0000 Michael Stephens 214 at http://alatechsource.org
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conformsTo: http://bibnum.bnf.fr/WARC/WARC_ISO_28500_version1_latestdraft.pdf