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December 28, 2005

While I'm thinking about it....

We've got a bunch of specialized search engines:

In Yahoo! we can search Creative Commons content here. We can do the same in Google here.

We can search U.S. government sites here.

I can search university and college sites alone here.

I can search a lot of public blogs here.

I can limit by domain and country. Some topical searches are possible, but I am always getting questions like:

1. What public libraries have cool audiobook/talking book sites?
2. What are the interesting kids' sites? Anyone doing online story hours?
3. What are the best ideas in teen sites?
4. What's working for seniors now?
5. Who's doing innovative stuff in virtual book clubs?
etc. etc.

I see lots of cool stuff but my brain's Rolodex is weak. Meat cleaver searches on library stuff in generic Google is very unsatisfactory and still mixes wheat and chaff. I want just the public library context and searches just don't satisfice me right now.

I know about Peter Scott's great LibDex: The Library Index here. It only finds libraries - try searching 'teen' and get null results.

Soooo - Why can't I search the content of all North American (or international) public library sites in one place? I'm not talking about their catalogues or OpenWorldCat. I mean their pages. How do we easily find all the cool stuff that public libraries have done?

Am I missing something somewhere? Does this exist already? It seems like such a useful thing for library website developers, owners and strategists to have. Right now searching for innovation in the public librarysphere just feels so hunt and peck. Could someone create a targeted harvest using a list of URL's? Then we could share best practices, get better more quickly, allow innovation to diffuse more quickly, build on success... seems like a no-brainer.

At the stroke of midnight on Dec. 31st, that magical time, I think I'll wish for this in 2006 (right after peace, health and happiness).

Just a thought.

Happy New Year!

Stephen

Posted by stephen at 3:38 PM | Comments (3)

December 27, 2005

Searching the Tagosphere

Have you tried the Wink.com beta? It's here.

As their website says:

"Warning: This isn't your Dad's search engine... Wink lets you search across the Tagosphere. If you're using del.icio.us, Digg, Slashdot, and/or Yahoo MyWeb, this is your search engine. Find the latest links that people like you think are great. Enjoy!"

It's an interesting proof of concept for a search engine driven by social tagging.

If you need some help understanding tagging you can find a short explanation here at del.icio.us. I had one friend who called it amateur cataloguing and indexing! Anyway, it's fast, cheap and works for some on the Flickr stuff.

Stephen

Posted by stephen at 3:19 PM | Comments (0)

December 23, 2005

And all of the other celebrations

May 2006 be a year of tolerance, understanding and togetherness for all

Peace,

Stephen

Posted by stephen at 4:27 PM | Comments (0)

Happy Hanukkah too

A happy holiday season to all.

Celebrate,

Stephen

Posted by stephen at 4:24 PM | Comments (0)

Merry Christmas

All the best for the Christmas holiday.

Cheers,

Stephen

Posted by stephen at 4:15 PM

Jargon Watch: Mashup

OK I am using the jargon word 'mashup' in the last two posting. And jargon I personally just learned about recently so I should have defined it. It's so new that even Google Define doesn't have it yet! Three lashes for me with a newspaper rod.

MASHUP or MASH-UP(from here)

"The term mash-up refers to a new breed of Web-based applications created by hackers and programmers (typically on a volunteer basis) to mix at least two different services from disparate, and even competing, Web sites. A mash-up, for example, could overlay traffic data from one source on the Internet over maps from Yahoo, Microsoft, Google or any content provider. The term mash-up comes from the hip-hop music practice of mixing two or more songs. This capability to mix and match data and applications from multiple sources into one dynamic entity is considered by many to represent the promise of the Web service standard (also referred to as on-demand computing)."

There you go. Using it will be cool for about a week - so impress your teens over the holidays by sprinklig it liberally through your conversation. (The mashup songs are usually pretty cool, and fun. there are a few seasonal ones right now.)

Stephen

Posted by stephen at 8:55 AM | Comments (0)

Branch Map Mashups Using Google

Steven Cohen, of Library Stuff fame, points us to a map of Chicago Libraries (and not just public libraries!) as well as other cultural institutions. You can see it here.

It reminds me of the SirsiDynix mashup of those Gulf libraries affected by Hurricane Katrina and Rita. See it here.

I've been saying in my talks lately that libraries need to keep Google Local in mind. Go to Google Local for your area and search 'library' or 'libraries' or 'books' and see how your library and branches fare in the results. You may be shocked, especially if Google decides to default their search engine to local instead of national in your area to generate local advertising income too. Learn how to get yourselves in Google's results lists here.

Either way, these mashups with Google Maps may be a unique content addition to your library website, even if it's just for directions to your branches.

Stephen

Posted by stephen at 8:40 AM | Comments (1)

Political Contributions by Zip Code

Graph/Map Political Contributions by Zip Code

Here's a cool mashup done by a student, Matthew Kane at Indiana Unversity. Enter a zip code anywhere in the United States (or enter multiple zip codes in a single query) and you get two pie charts and a Google map of campaign donors; you can check it out here.

The map maps out the donors in the zip code area with red and blue markers. Click a marker and you'll get a name and address, the amount they donated, and to whom they donated. Hmmm - target list by branch!

Obviously it does have some limitations as he notes "that due to limitations in the geocoding as well as my data source this system does NOT work very well for zip codes representing a small population and contributions under $200 are not required to be present in the public databases." Also this is just maps of contributions for the two major parties in the 2004 presidential campaign so it is just a snapshot. The donations were not just to the two primary presidential candidates, but also to the DNC, RNC, and other candidates like Clark and Dean.

However, it is grist for the mill for those libraries that have local fundraising campaigns and foundations. Gives you a sense of what people will pay for something they believe in - like libraries.

In addition to your own zip codes (work and home), try 90210 for fun.

Stephen

Posted by stephen at 7:59 AM | Comments (0)

December 22, 2005

e-Learning and Libraries

Two recent reports are pretty good.

I've already mentioned the Educause report on Students & Information Technology here which reviews student perceptions of IT, including that they see curriculum & technology as intertwined.

This week the Canadian Association of Research Libraries (CARL) released Libraries and E-Learning – Final Report of the CARL E-Learning Working Group . "The Report finds that libraries’ ‘pull’ service model agrees well with progressive higher education teaching and learning models. However, although library staff work closely with faculty at the local level on course design and content, librarians have not yet assumed these responsibilities in broader online learning policy or Learning Management System design."

John Teskey, CARL President stated “This report clearly identifies some of the key areas where libraries can partner within the Academy to provide an enhanced learning environment for our students”.

Stephen

Posted by stephen at 2:25 PM | Comments (1)

December 21, 2005

Talking to Teens

I always found the book "How to talk so kids will listen, and how to listen so kids will talk" very good (as a parent and school volunteer). It's running about $6 used on Amazon right now and free at your local library. It's pretty useful in terms of 'attitude' to help do those teen focus groups and advisory panels.

Here's a short article/paper that Jill Ann Hurst pointed to on her blog, Digitization 101. It's easy to digest and forms a manifesto of sorts.

It's called "How to talk to teens" by Josh Shipp. You can find it here.

Anyway, you might find it useful for those libraries that need something simple for a lunchtime brown bagger discussion. This one seems wiser than others.

Stephen

Posted by stephen at 10:13 AM | Comments (1)

December 20, 2005

Something for the Special Librarian

Here's an interesting study that you can get for free here.

Bersin & Associates Research Survey Shows Costs of Time Searching for Information Can Exceed $50,000 Annually for Each Executive

NORWOOD, Mass., Dec. 20 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Books24x7(R), a subsidiary of SkillSoft PLC (Nasdaq: SKIL) and the developer of online Referenceware(R) for IT, business, engineering, financial and government professionals, today announced the availability of a new research report, "How Executives Stay Informed: A Study of Resources Used and Time Spent Locating Critical Business Information." The study, written by Bersin & Associates, finds that most senior-level executives spend hours each week searching the Internet in frustration for business-related information that will help them stay informed and current. The largest group of respondents, 37%, reported spending four or more hours each week searching for information; 36% spent twoto four hours each week on information searches.

"The most surprising finding in this survey is the large amount of time executives spend searching for information," said Josh Bersin, president and founder of Bersin & Associates. "At today's executive salary levels, four hours of search time can cost companies $1,000 or more per week -- not including the cost of lost opportunities, delayed decisions, or other work not completed. If you apply this estimated figure to Fortune 500 companies, the money spent adds up to $60M each year."

Other study findings include:

* 91% of executives routinely use the Internet when searching for business-related information. Respondents relied on the Internet more than any other source, including trade journals, books, newspapers, and webinars.
* 47% indicate that unproductive searches and the need to sift through "too much information" are primary challenges associated with using the Internet.
* A majority of executives spend four or more hours reading each week to stay informed and current. More time is spent reading at home or while traveling than in the office.
* 67.5% of respondents said they don't read books or articles in entirety but read summaries, skim, or read specific sections.
* 14.4% read seven to ten business books a year, 21.4% read four to six books, and 45.8% read one to three books. 74.9% of respondents said they'd like to read more, but are limited because of time.

"This research supports our belief that executives are information seekers who place highest value on information that is current, easy to find, to-the-point, and written by reliable sources," said John Ambrose, general manager of Books24x7. "While executives regularly use the Internet to help locate information because of its speed and ease, they also indicated that they are repeatedly frustrated by too many irrelevant web results. The best resources for this audience combine powerful search technologies with highly relevant and credible information."

"The highest, most mature level of corporate learning is learning on demand," said Bersin. "While executives would never use this phrase, "learning on demand," that's exactly the way they learn. They want the ability to obtain highly specific, relevant information whenever and wherever it's needed. Companies should factor this need into the learning resources made available to their senior executives."

Of the study's 202 respondents, 43% were over age 50 and 40% were between 36 and 50 in age. The vast majority, 84%, were male. 49% of respondents had C-level or vice president titles; 51% had director-level titles.

A copy of the full report can be downloaded at here.

This definitely looks like a Christmas gift for special librarians (and others who have executive type behaviours in the trustees and decision makers).

Stephen

Posted by stephen at 9:56 AM | Comments (0)

December 19, 2005

Defining your Market Area

Bob Molyneux, Dr. Data and Chief Statistician at SirsiDynix has a nice entry on his blog here.

Basically he is describing a quick and easy way to use the Normative Data Project to understand the nature of the community that surround your public library branches.

And Christie Koontz, Director, GeoLib www.geolib.org/PLGDB.cfm also asks the question of why we don't use this data more now that it's so easy. She's an expert in the use of GIS for libraries.

Both are going to do free SirsiDynix Institute sessions on this topic in the new year.

Interesting.

Stephen

Posted by stephen at 10:34 AM | Comments (0)

December 18, 2005

American Literacy

Just released:

A First Look at the literacy of America's Adults (12/15/2005)
This report provides a “first look” at the literacy skill levels of the nation’s adults in 2003. It includes results by various background characteristics (such as gender, race/ethnicity, and educational attainment) as well as information on changes in adult literacy performance between 1992 and 2003.

Some highlights:

- The National Assessment of Adult Literacy found little change between 1992 and 2003 in adults' ability to read and understand sentences and paragraphs or to understand documents such as job applications.
- African Americans scored higher in 2003 than in 1992 in all three categories, increasing 16 points in quantitative, eight points in document and six points in prose literacy. Overall, adults have improved in document and quantitative literacy with a smaller percentage of adults in 2003 in the Below Basic category compared to 1992.
- Whites, African Americans and Asian/Pacific Islanders have improved in all three measures of literacy with a smaller percentage in 2003 in the Below Basic category compared to 1992.
- Hispanic adults showed a decrease in scores for both prose and document literacy and a higher percentage in the Below Basic category.
- The report also showed that five percent of U.S. adults, about 11 million people, were termed "nonliterate" in English, meaning interviewers could not communicate with them or that they were unable to answer a minimum number of questions.
- White adults' scores were up nine points in quantitative, but were unchanged in prose and document literacy.
- Hispanic adults' scores declined in prose and document literacy 18 points and 14 points, respectively, but were unchanged in quantitative literacy.
- Asian/Pacific Islanders' scores increased 16 points in prose literacy, but were unchanged in document and quantitative literacy.
- Among those who spoke only Spanish before starting school, scores were down 17 points in prose and document literacy between 1992 and 2003.

This is the sort of data that can be compared to the data in the Normative Data Project and the role of library strategies can be improved.

Stephen

Posted by stephen at 10:26 AM | Comments (0)

December 16, 2005

Non-English Language DVD's

Bob Molyneux, Dr. Data, has also done an interesting dip into the NDP database.

He asked the question - "What foreign (created first in non-English languages) movies circulate best?".

He discovered that by far the best circulating foreign movies, primarily in non-English languages were what we loosely term 'art' or 'genre' films.

No way of knowing for sure but it gives us pause. Two things that come to mind:

1. Art films are circulating to English speaking users who are reading the subtitled versions as most DVD's released in North America have closed captioning in many languages and/or are dubbed.

2. Our English DVD collections are cicrulating to many people who speak English as a second or third language. They can then use the dubbed or subtitled options. Again, I have been told by many people who needed to learn English they use the English version to improve their English speaking skills.

Either way this seems to imply an underused marketing option for many underserved aspect of our communities with our DVD collections since DVD's have so many more options and features than the traditional videotape versions. I'll have to look at a few MARC records in our OPACs and see if we're covering all of the language and ADA options that are available now.

Stephen

Posted by stephen at 10:43 AM | Comments (2)

December 15, 2005

Web 2.0 Stuff

Phil Bradley has created a webpage that pulls together some of the Web 2.0 applications that you mght want to experiment with. You can link to it here.

The page is a classified list of utilities that help you do stuff you want to Web 2.0 applications - applications that allow you to do things such as share bookmarks, do interesting things with RSS, set up online calendars, create networks, share research and so on. It now lists over 300 different applications.

It's worth a look. You might also want to check out the associated weblog as well.

His main blog is pretty interesting too. It's about "Internet searching, web design, search engine developments and anything that will interest librarians!"

Stephen

Posted by stephen at 9:21 AM | Comments (1)

Photo Test

Whoooeeey. I finally figured out how to add pictures to my blog postings. It was actually real easy, I just had to find the time (1:30 in the morning seems to work!) to play a little. Here's me being happy . . .

Now I can get out that digital camera and have a little fun, eventually.

Stephen

p.s. There has to a fortune to be made in advertising on that forehead!

Posted by stephen at 12:31 AM | Comments (1)

December 13, 2005

LibraryThing

Here's another cool tool that talks about the social aspects of reading. It is called LibraryThing and you can look at it here.

There are apparently some mini-librarians out there! There may even be enough to be drawn to this site which allows them to:

- Catalog their personal books online.
- Show everyone your library, or keep it private.
- Find people with the same books that you own and get reading suggestions from people who like what you like.
- Tag your books such as is done on Del.icio.us and Flickr (eg., wwii, magical realism, knitting, christian living, cats).
- Search Amazon, the Library of Congress and 30 other world libraries.
- Export your data or import from almost anywhere too.
- Free to a point - enter 200 books for free, as many as you like for $10 (year) or $25 (life).
- Put a widget on your blog to show people what you're reading.

Hmmm. Here's a next generation application that could teach something to libraries and Amazon alike. Maybe we're too hasty in universally cleansing reading profiles a la USA PATRIOT Act. Maybe we could provide services like this and promote the social nature of reading - with the informed consent of our users. At what point do we cross the line between protecting our users or potentially infantilizing them and removing the personal right for them to make independent decisions about their level of privacy? The Amazon and eBay lesson seems to be that many users will supply some information in an informed way to personalize or enhance their web experiences. A larger debate probably needs to occur on this front. All those 2.0 ideas and opportunities might be nullified by too dogmatic or paternalistic an apporach to these ideas. Then again, maybe not. It's still worth a better discussion than is occuring now.

Hmmmm.

Stephen

Posted by stephen at 11:39 PM | Comments (7)

Library Elf

I have been remiss in not blogging this one earlier. Maybe everyone knows this cool tool from a Canadian company already .

Check out LibraryElf.

It basically keeps track of all your library books (from different libraries) which are out, and sends you email reminders before they are due. It works with RSS readers as well. It only takes a few minutes to signup and add your library cards to a single account.

Take a look at their demo (http://www.libraryelf.com/Demo.aspx).

Here's what it says on their site:

Who uses Elf?
- Anyone who wants to reduce overdues
- Families with children and lots of books
- Individuals with several library cards
- Anyone who requests a lot of holds

What's delivered?
- Email and/or RSS alerts before items are due
- Email and/or RSS alerts on overdues and holds
- Consolidated list of yours or your family's library loans and holds
- Cellphone text message alerts for holds (US and Canada)
- Real-time checking by browser

What are the benefits?- Avoid overdues with email alerts
- Check multiple library cards
- Track books, DVDs, CDs, videos, etc.
- Join for free

It apparently works particularly well with the Horizon ILS. It is not related to SirsiDynix and is just the sort of end-user personalized application that will become more prevalent in the Web 2.0 world. It must be filling a niche need as well.

Stephen

Posted by stephen at 7:51 AM | Comments (0)

December 12, 2005

What to call it....

Ever sit in a meeting listening or contributing to one of those endless debates about what to label a button your website? We have all learned that real users just don't get our professional initialism and acronyms (OPAC, ILL, RSS, etc.) Unfortunately, that doesn't stop many library sites (including some I've been involved in!) from using these types of labels.

John Kupersmith maintains a little webpage called:
Library terms evaluated in usability tests and other studies

In a simple three column chart he lists the research sources for 'What didn’t work' (terms reported as being misunderstood, not understood, or not preferred) and 'What did work' (terms reported as being understood or preferred; successful strategies for presenting or explaining terms.

It is worth bookmarking. Take look and think about what you see on your site. Test something new.

I heard recently that several libraries increased the usage of their "Ask A Librarian" buttons/links by renaming them to "Ask A Person" - indeed it increased manyfold.

Hmmmm. Want more work, check out your labels. Need to reduce users finding you, try some of the labels that don't work as well. Wemasters, want to play drive the phone staff crazy. . . ?

Tongue firmly in cheek,

Stephen

Posted by stephen at 11:07 PM | Comments (2)

December 9, 2005

Gartner forecasts second internet revolution

InfoWorld reports on a Gartner report and says: "During the next year, chief information officers (CIO) should pay acute attention to how technologies such as blogging and podcasting will affect their businesses and be ready for innovation with those technologies by their competitors, Gartner analysts said Thursday. Those innovations are driving a second Internet revolution, a time when businesses can't afford to be content that they are simply online, said Mark Raskino, a research fellow at Gartner. Podcasting and blogging are affecting businesses both internally and externally, he said.

"I think the point of the second Internet revolution is it will catch people out," Raskino said. "The reason why it will catch people out is complacency and arrogance to some extent."

The recommendation to pay attention topped Gartner's annual list of resolutions for CIOs in the coming year."

Read it here.

Here are their 10 tactics for business but it's not a huge leap to apply these to our enterprises.

"Choose 2006 tactics towards a 2008 strategy

1. Educate your business about the second Internet revolution before someone else does.

2. Set some "do not migrate" orders in advance.

3. Target 2008 for major innovation delivery.

Insist on agility in the heart of the organization

4. Get yourself and your team ready for your next jobs.

5. Start a significant "software as a service" implementation as a trial and education.

6. Organize your merger and acquisition capability.

Push beyond 2005 comfort zones in value, focus and technology

7. Revisit capitalization with your chief financial officer.

8. Build your brand and your team.

9. Refresh your meetings with the chief executive officer.

10. Check out some 2006 "hot" technologies."

Yet another warning about another sea change. I'll bet this one hits the not-for-profit sector first this time. Libraries be ready.

Stephen

Posted by stephen at 1:35 PM | Comments (0)

Yahoo! bought del.icio.us!

From the del.icio.us/blog:

"We're proud to announce that del.icio.us has joined the Yahoo! family. Together we'll continue to improve how people discover, remember and share on the Internet, with a big emphasis on the power of community. We're excited to be working with the Yahoo! Search team - they definitely get social systems and their potential to change the web. (We're also excited to be joining our fraternal twin Flickr!)"

This social networkig thing is going on steroids. Add this to Yahoo!'s involvment in the Open Content Alliance and you have something interesting emerging.

Stephen

Posted by stephen at 1:27 PM | Comments (0)

December 7, 2005

Journal of Usability Studies

I keep forgetting to pst this link to the new Journal of Usability Studies. It's here.

It has invited and peer reviewed articles from the Usability Professionals' Association. Here are the current contents:

Usability for the Masses
Author: Jakob Nielsen

Usability Testing of Mobile Applications:
A Comparison between Laboratory and Field Testing
Authors: Anne Kaikkonen, Aki Kekäläinen, Mikael Cankar, Titti Kallio, and Anu Kankainen

Iterative Usability Testing as Continuous Feedback:
A Control Systems Perspective
Author: Alex Genov

Towards the Design of Effective Formative Test Reports
Authors: Mary Theofanos and Whitney Quesenbery

Usability Testing of Travel Websites
Authors: Deborah S. Carstens and Pauline Patterson

I couldn't find a feed but I've bookmarked it.

Stephen

Posted by stephen at 10:54 PM | Comments (0)

The Shop Window

The latest SirsiDynix OneSource Newstletter just went out. You can read my contribution, "The Shop Window: Compelling and Dynamic Library Portals " here.

Stephen

Posted by stephen at 4:23 PM | Comments (0)

December 6, 2005

The Wisdom of Crowds

MaisonBisson.com notes:

"The TV studio audience of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire guesses correctly 91 percent of the time, compared to “experts” who guess only 65 percent correctly."

This is apparently from, The wisdom of crowds: why the many are smarter than the few and how collective wisdom shapes business, economies, societies, and nations by James Surowiecki (New York: Doubleday, 2004). I've been meaning to read it for so long. I'll have to pick it up at the airport this week.

Hmmm.

Are librarians experts? Do we fail to see the right path or know the correct information too often? I doubt that's the right interpretation. We can be a crowd too! Between social networks, collaboration spaces and blogs and discussion lists (remember them?), we should be able to think through anything and adapt and invent new modalities as the world shifts. It might also help if we asked questions outside our own comfortable circles more often.

Stephen

Posted by stephen at 5:31 PM | Comments (2)

Are Google Users Different?

Maybe.

A study reported in InfoWorld says that Google users are wealthier and more Net savvy in comparison to Microsoft, Yahoo!, and America Online. It also says that the longer people have been using the Internet, the more likely it is that they'll use Google.

Read more here.

"Google also emerged as the search engine of choice, with 52 percent of respondents choosing it as their primary engine for general Web searches. Yahoo came in second with 22 percent, while Microsoft's MSN and AOL tied for third place with 9 percent. Ask Jeeves Inc. rounded out the top five with 5 percent. (Google powers AOL's general Web searches.)"

Hmmmm

Stephen

Posted by stephen at 1:44 PM | Comments (0)

New OCLC Research Survey

OCLC has released a new study of end users. It is called Perceptions of Libraries and Information Resources (2005) summarizes findings of an international study on information-seeking habits and preferences.

OCLC commissioned Harris Interactive Inc. to do an online survey of a representative sample of information consumers in June of 2005 from Australia, Canada, India, Singapore, the United Kingdom and the United States.

The report provides the findings and responses about:

- Library use
- Awareness and use of library electronic resources
- The Internet search engine, the library and the librarian
- Free vs. for-fee information
- The "Library" brand

You can download it here.

OCLC reports that "the findings indicate that information consumers view libraries as places to borrow print books, but they are unaware of the rich electronic content they can access through libraries. Even though information consumers make limited use of these resources, they continue to trust libraries as reliable sources of information."

Yet another clarion call to get our marketing and portal acts together!

Stephen

Posted by stephen at 1:38 PM | Comments (0)

December 5, 2005

Looking for a Library-themed Holiday Gift?

Here's the perfect holiday gift for this season for any librarian you may know. In past years we've settled for action figures. I also covet the librarian graphic novel which I've requested from my loved ones this year.

But nothing tops this. It's even quite romantic for that special someone.

Madeleine Lefebvre, University Librarian at Halifax's Saint Mary's University, past president of the Canadian Library Association, and occasional actress has finally seen her book arrive in the flesh (paper?).

Madeleine scoured the globe for stories of people who have met and fallen in love in libraries. The result is The Romance of Libraries published this week by Scarecrow Press. You can order it here.

From the website:

"In the halls of knowledge, amidst the towering stacks of books, more than just facts and fiction await. The Romance of Libraries is a collection of true accounts of emotional attachments formed in and with libraries and the library field. Madeleine J. Lefebvre has gathered personal narratives from around the world from people who work in or use libraries. From the very young to those in their nineties, these people share their tales of love. While most accounts are about romances that developed in a library setting, some are about romances with libraries themselves. Loosely arranged by context, the stories - happy, sad, or bittersweet - share an over-arching theme of the transformative and emotive power of libraries in our lives. Lefebvre's underlying message is that the physical library can play a role in our affections that the virtual library never can."

Anyway, I hear that there is much speculation about the identities of some of the star(library?)-crossed librarian lovers. This book will generate more fun than the initials in the society column!

Stephen

Posted by stephen at 10:19 PM | Comments (0)

Wireless Device Primer

Another article in the latest issue of CIO Magazine (You can subscribe for free on their site) is about "Mastering Mobile Madness". There's a great chart called "Your Mobile and Wireless Device Primer". I can't find the online version but it's on page 80 of the Dec. 1, 2005 issue. Print does charts so well - grin.

Anyway, a couple of facts from this piece:

1. "Last year (2004) marked the first year that converged mobile device sales surpassed those of regular handheld PDAs."

2. "The 180 million wireless subscribers in the United States used more than 1 trillion mobile minutes last year. Worldwide there are more than 1.5 billion wireless subscribers."

3. In May 2005 notebook sales topped desktop sales for the first time."

People are voting with their pocketbooks. And they're voting for mobility. Consumers are just another form of library user. We ignore this trend at our peril.

Stephen

Posted by stephen at 5:06 PM | Comments (0)

"Are the Laptop's Days Numbered?"

My latest issue of CIO Magazine (Dec. 1, 2005, p. 19 - the sidebar is here) contains an interesting sidebar. It is written by Thomas Wailgum and quotes Richard LeVine, an expert in mobile device security at Accenture. He is quoted as saying, "In three years, more people are going to be using smart phone devices than laptops in some cases."

I started to think about who is primarily 'mobile' right now, today. The actual market today is among those who will, and can afford to, pay - mobile business users. Their Blackberry addiction (called Crackberries by some) and Palm Treo hip holsters define the current caricature of the business road warrior of our era. That's great but what are the consequences for libraries if most phones are smart phones and the price comes down to the easier to afford range that we already in the Pacific Rim and Europe? Remeber when cel phones were exhorbitantly expensive? Heck, I remember when calculators were hundreds of dollars! So, who will want to adopt mobility oriented services when teh prices come down, soon?

Who is mobile? Students for one. Many libraries depend on the student for their enterprise use. Meeting their commuication, learning, music entertainment, and networking needs on a single device. Hmmm. Sounds easily addictive, beyond their cel phones and text messaging today. In ths space teens and scholarly users could overlap.

Who else is mobile? Mothers for another. Mothers (working and home based) are constantly moving about to work, to shop, to childcare, to ballet and sports, and more - with and without kids in tow.

Who else is mobile? The home-based small business owner. They are using their PDA's and cel phones to be constantly connected to their offices while appearing to be just like the big guys.

Add a few addictive features to the smartphone - music subscriptions, gaming, stock quotes, golf reservations - ooops, all of these are already done. We're on our way!

As I thought about it, it seemed that very few of libraries' major categories of users won't be impacted by this trend. Then again, if we ignore it, we'll only see the ones who lag and not the early adopters indicative of the trends.

Sounds to me like libraries better be ready for this next transiton. XML coding is essential to allow our content and services to sense the device the user is using. Portal development needs to be aware of this. Better check out what we look like on those handhelds!

Stephen

Posted by stephen at 4:42 PM | Comments (0)

December 4, 2005

Streaming Media - More than we think!

OK - Last one for today. I am in Phoenix to talk at the CNI, Coalition for Networked Information, Fall Meeting about the Normative Data Project.

Anyway, this article and statistics caught my eye. It's called Streaming Media Grows Up by Susan Kuchinskas at Internet News in collaboration with the good folks at StreamingMedia.com. Here are some tidbits:

1. "Consumers between the ages of 35 and 54 years old accounted for more than 45 percent of all online video watched in August 2005."

2. "35 to 54 year-olds are 20 percent more likely to watch online video than the average Internet user, while 25 to 34 year-olds are 12 percent more likely than the average Internet user to watch a stream online."

3. "The study also found that more than 100 million users access online digital media via streams and downloads in the U.S. in a month."

4. "Video consumption crosses all times of the day and demographics, with primetime and daytime showing particular strength."

5. "Nearly two-thirds of all U.S. Internet users in August streamed audio or video through a portal, and almost 50 percent did so from an entertainment site."

So, with regard to streaming media, it's clearly not just kids and it's not just trendies and it's not just early adopters. It's not only college kids and it's not just for nighttime entertainment. It's not just a minority of Internet users.

Well, I'll be danged!

Clearly library users are ready for more.

Coincidentally, as I read this I also read the latest issue (Nov. 15, 2005) of Library Journal. They've done a great article by Norm Oder based on a survey called "The DVD Predicament". You can read it here.

Either way, we better put more energy into understanding this streaming thing. I have been in libraries lately that had large collections of vinyl front and center in their media areas! One library director recently suggested selling of their DVD collection due to high theft rates - only to be turned down. I'm certainly not advocating either tactic. I just think we need to experiment with this content container more and find new ways to integrate it into our service portfolios. And for those of you who are going to enter a comment that not everyone can handle this format type, digital divides, technoliteracy stuff, forget it. New formats never arrive fully capable of being used by everyone. When the book was invented most people couldn't read! That wasn't a barrier to collecting and cataloguing them and providing access. I once heard a statistic from the head of Rogers Telecommunications that, in the 90's, almost half the world has never seen a phone, let alone made a call. We don't stop offering phone services because of that. Libraries level the playing field for those that can't. Let's not lag in understanding streaming as a trend and ensurng that we serve everyone.

Stephen

Posted by stephen at 5:43 PM | Comments (1)

Tennant's Wisdom

Roy Tennant's latest column Digital Libraries, "What I Wish I Had Known" is great. You can read it here.

I love the part where he writes, "I wish I had known that the solution for needing to teach our users how to search our catalog was to create a system that didn't need to be taught - and that we would spend years asking vendors for systems that solved our problems but did little to serve users. I wish I had known that we would come to pay the price of our folly by seeing our users flock to commercial companies like Google and Amazon."

Wise insights! He spends two thirds of his column with seven lessons learned. Read. Learn. He knows whereof he speaks.

Stephen

Posted by stephen at 4:34 PM | Comments (0)

December 2, 2005

Post Reading Literacies

Alane pointed me to an excellent PDF. It's really worth reading. Even though it's a tiny bit academic, it is eminently readable.

You can find it here.

It is called:

Why Johnny And Janey Can't Read, And Why Mr. And Ms. Smith Can't Teach: The challenge of multiple media literacies in a tumultuous time
By Mark Federman who is Chief Strategist for the McLuhan Program in Culture and Technology at the University of Toronto

Basically Professor Federman takes us through the last time a major shift happened - from the oral to print traditions. This section alone is pretty interesting. Then he starts to describe the emerging new post-reading tradition as we shift past print literacy dominance. He points us towards a world he calls the "UCaPP world – ubiquitously connected and pervasively proximate – which is a world of relationships and connections. It is a world of entangled, complexprocesses, not content. It is a world in which the greatest skill is that of making sense and discovering emergent meaning among contexts that are continually in flux. It is a world in which truth, and therefore authority, is never static, never absolute, and not always true."

Anyway, I found it worthwhile and feel better informed. And besides, it sounds like a fantastic world for libraries and librarians as long as we develop Librarian 2.0.

Stephen

Posted by stephen at 3:48 PM

Trendwatching

One of my favorite e-newsletters is Trendwatching. You can subscribe for free here. They've just released their year-end issue here.

It is a special issue and a little longer than usual. It's called "Virtual Anthropology". I just loved it. My undergrad degree is in social anthropology and I took a keen interest in tool using behaviors and the relationship of tools to culture. No wonder I find this interface design stuff so interesting.

Anyway, this issue goes through ways to do modern observational anthropology on the web and points to a whole group of cool sites that are on the leading edge of the new web behaviors.

The two principles it ties to these observations are:

1. Live the lives of your customers.
2. Roam the world's most inspiring places.

Who can hate a mantra that says library vendors should have librarians on staff (SirsiDynix has loads of us) and says to travel a bunch too (virtually and for real).

It also talks about the proces of "life caching". Learn more about this here.

There appear to be loads of insights here for savvy (and trendy) librarians.

Stephen

Posted by stephen at 11:32 AM | Comments (0)

December 1, 2005

Yahoo! too

Tipmonkies has created the ultimate guide to Yahoo!'s services. Check it out here. It's interesting to compare this to Google's list. While Google's product line seems to be more about search and discovery, the Yahoo! product line seems to have a distinct entertainment flavour.

I also think that Yahoo!'s products line up more clearly buckets of 'questions' - finance, entertainment, news, weather, shopping, music, sports, kids...

I wonder how their research into consumer needs compares to research into the needs (questions) of public library users?

Maybe the diferences in the strategies of Google, Yahoo! and MSN have something to tell libraries.

Stephen

Posted by stephen at 5:18 PM | Comments (0)