Stephen's Lighthouse: September 2007 Archives

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September 28, 2007

Blogging Tips

iLibrarian has a nice list of the 18 different kinds of blog posts - with links to examples. Fun.

Stephen

Posted by stephen at 10:45 PM | Comments (0)

E-Info Global Symposium for Academic Libraries

In 2006, SirsiDynix sponsored a niche conference for academic libraries organized by the team at The University of Alabama at Huntsville lead by Dr.Wilson Luquire. I gave a session and was joined by a very interesting group of academic library folk. This year, Dr. Luquire honoured me by asking me to chair the 2007 edition of the conference. So, Jane Dysart, conference planner extraordinaire, volunteered to help and we have planned a pretty neat two days.

You can find more about the e-Info Global Symposium, which is sponsored by the University of Alabama and covers topics related to Information Delivery & E-Access in Academic Libraries.

We focused on innovation and transformation in academic libraries. I'll be excited to be there. Feel free to join us.

Stephen

Posted by stephen at 10:30 PM | Comments (0)

Next Two Weeks

I am excited about the next two weeks.

I head out today to visit Australia again for the second time in a month. Such a cool country! I'll visit the State Library of Victoria and see their amazing Learning 2.0 launch. Over 1,000 library workers are signed up statewide to learn new things quickly. Wow! I don't think Helene Blowers could have dreamed how big her little 15 minutes a day project would get or I couldn't have imagined what my little coluimn about chunked learning could be a pebble thrown into the pond. Now hundreds of libraries and thousands of library workers are working through the things they need to experience and learn. Amazing initiatives and ideas are growing like daisies! I even visited a client last week, Indiana's Allen County Public Library, that launched their 21 Things project. Their cool innovation is that they've invited their community of users to learn along with them. As Michael Stephens' would say "How hot is that?!"

I am visiting CAVAL in Melbourne and interviewing a bunch of Millennials. These sessions are the most fun I have. These kids are always amazing and so interesting.

I am then heading to Adelaide to do a session for the Australian School Library Association Conference. I adore teacher-librarians and everyone in school libraries.

Then we all head to CODA (our customer conference in Canberra) for the Asia-Pacific region. That will be great fun.

Then I return to London to keynote the Internet Librarian International conference. I am missing Thanksgiving at home but couldn't resist. (Hopefully Stephanie will forgive me.) I've attended most ILI conferences and they're excellent.

On the way home I head back through Richland County Library in South Carolina. They're cool and 'green'. We just launched the SchoolRooms project with the SC State Library, statewide. Very exciting.

And to top it off I head to Iowa for the first time. I keynote the Iowa LA conference and visit with some local SLA members too.

I'll arrive home tired but with a wealth of new insights and perspectives.

Stephen

Posted by stephen at 11:07 AM | Comments (0)

Impressive MySpace Presences

OK - some public libraries have really pulled out all the stops in MySpace!

One of my favourites is Hennepin County's. Check it out at:

http://www.myspace.com/hennepincountylibrary

It has the OPAC on their main page (and paste it into your MySpace page).
Music plays when you arrive.
They're hitting 1,000 friends (some are library folk)
You can connect to the Ask a Librarian service
New book, DVD and music lists and you can place holds.
They'll share their secrets with you too.
Animation tools! and displays.
Their blog is promoting a teen YouTube contest, the Harry & The Potters concert, and clubs.
And much more...

LibraryLoft at Imaginon (Public Library of Charlotte & Mecklenberg County)

http://www.myspace.com/libraryloft

I like that they don't label it as a library site.
MySpace safety tips
Gaming tournaments (Super Smash Brothers)
Summer reading
Celebrity YouTube interviews (by the cardholders)
OPAC access
IM via Meebo to the library
Library calendar
User podcasts
User created projects - poetry and lyrics
Decloaked staff by name!

OK, I'll admit these are some of the most creative SirsiDynix clients. They've won awards for this stuff. What is amazing is that they don't just get the first iteration out there, receive kudos and stop. They just keep getting better and adding new stuff. And that's worth respect and attention.

Let's remember that every kid we don't get into the library is one less borrower, one lonelier book on the shelf, one more empty chair in our space.

Theft of ideas is the sincerest form of library flattery! Steal these ideas.

Any favourites of your own? Add them in the comments.

Has anyone published a book about MySpace in Libraries yet? I've seen the library oriented Wiki, blogs, IM and RSS books. I'd like to buy a MySpace primer / survey.

Stephen

Posted by stephen at 10:38 AM | Comments (1)

YouTube for Nonprofits

Most libraries are non-profit. They do however still need some cash, somehow.

Many libraries have been posting amazing videos to YouTube. I am in awe of the creativity our colleagues demonstrate.

Google launched its nonprofit program this week. I especially like YouTube for Nonprofits. It was a launch partnership with the Clinton Global Initiative. There are 13 other participants including the American Cancer Society (I love their Second Life presence!), Friends of the Earth, March of Dimes (another Second Lifer) and YouthNoise.

Basically it offers features to more easily connect with your members, registrants, enrollees, users, cardholders, etc. With it you can more easily create dedicated YouTube channels, and optionally adopt Google Checkout for Nonprofits, integrate it directly into your website and solicit donations safely, securely for free (at least through 2008). It promises to simplify the process of managing the donor and communication relationship.

Maybe you've already got a PSA (public service announcement) for your local PBS or NPR affiliate. It might be worth while to experiment with this tool.

Check it out here.

Stephen

Posted by stephen at 10:21 AM | Comments (1)

USB 3.0 Thumbdrives

Jump drives, USB drives, thumbdrives, whatever we call them, they're pretty useful. I haven't touched, let alone used a 3 1/2 inch diskette in years, and I only occasionally cut a CD (and then just to avoid upload boredom).

So, this new USB 3.0 stuff being introduced in 2008 is very exciting.

While USB 3.0 is backwards compatible with USB 2.0 that we know so well now, it offers amazing improvements. The biggest difference is in improved transfer speeds - ten times faster. Put into more easily undertstood terms:

1. It takes about 2/10ths of a second to tranfer one song, longer for an audiobook. With USB 3.0 we're talking 3,000 songs in a minute (vs. 10+ minutes before). Libraries could lend music and audiobook collections instead of just singletons! Imagine lending an IT support library - can even fit the word Dummies or Idiots and our logo on a thumbdrive?
2. A 27GB HD movie would take 15+ minutes in 2.0 and will take less than 70 seconds in 3.0.
3. Ultimately you could transfer an entire CD (600 MB) in a few seconds. That means a small database relevant to a specific course, 3 hours of English language language instruction or ppodcast storyhours in 20 seconds.

Multimedia services in libraries will be transformed.

Lots of libraries sell USB drives to their users. Many have made the USB drive visible on the front of their CPU's or using cables or octopuses from the hidden dirves on teh back of the CPU. Either way, it appears that this is the norm. Someone once told me that you know something is normal when it goes on a keychain.

Libraries can't, with a straight face, claim to be bridging the digital divide, if we don't support the basics of document portability - Google Docs, Zoho, USB access, etc.

USB 3.0 wll put the whole works on steroids. (I'm afraid to imagine what's next...)

Cheers,

Stephen

Posted by stephen at 10:03 AM | Comments (0)

Ten Technologies that will change the world

Here is ABC News view of ten technologies that will change the world:

1. Wii
2. iPhone
3. The New Space Race: Private Tourism
4. OLPC: Public vs. Private Technology
5. Vizio (Plasma TV)
6. HD Movies on your computer
7. Mobile Cell Phone Payments
8. Google Apps
9. Rough and Tumble Gadgets
10. Better Solar Power

Link to them here.

Stephen

Posted by stephen at 8:44 AM | Comments (0)

September 26, 2007

What do people do on Facebook?

Thanks to iLibrarian for pointing to this:

What do people do on Facebook, the third most popular destination on the Web in terms of page views - a sample from August 2007:

- 21 million people browsed their own or their friends’ user profiles
- 14 million people interacted with Facebook Applications (this activity took the most time per visit)
- 16 million people browsed photos
- 8 million people joined or visited groups
- Only half a million added friends
- Only a mere 80,000 “poked” someone

Read more in the Compete report: 14 million people interacted with Facebook Applications in August

Stephen

Posted by stephen at 4:37 PM | Comments (0)

Librarians and Innovation Diffusion

Here's my latest column for SirsiDynix OneSource newsletter:

Challenges to Innovation in Libraries
Sept. 2007

Stephen

Posted by stephen at 4:05 PM | Comments (0)

September 25, 2007

Next SirsiDynix Institute

At the Elbow: Understanding Users' Perception of Process and Effort

Presented by:
Ulla de Stricker - Consultant, de Stricker Associates

Tuesday, October 2, 2007, 11 a.m. - noon Eastern / 8 a.m. - 9 a.m. Pacific

A key step in designing any user oriented service is recognizing the fact that people are careful investors of their time. When clients perceive a process to be too lengthy or cumbersome in relation to the benefit it produces, they will generally ignore it or seek an easier or faster alternative. Therefore, it is essential that we "sit at their elbows" to gain a detailed understanding of the activities they perform in their work and how they experience "us" (or not!). Whether we are constructing intranets or supporting research, we need to know when and where we ought to "pop up" to make them an offer they can't refuse - because it meets an immediate requirement, because it is effortless, and because the investment of time pays off for them.

Ulla de Stricker, in consulting practice since 1992, helps clients deal with the full gamut of knowledge management challenges, bringing to bear decades of experience. Since the late 1970s, Ulla de Stricker held information industry positions with responsibility in the areas of strategy, design, and market client relations. She managed the Canadian operations for DIALOG in the 1980s and built the electronic publishing venture for a Canadian unit of Thomson in the early 1990s. She is well known for her bold vision of the future of the library profession and is a popular speaker at information conferences internationally. www.destricker.com

If you have missed previous SirsiDynix Institute events, or are unable to make this one, we have an extensive archive posted at http://www.sirsidynixinstitute.com/archive.php. You can check them out at any time.

More 2007 SirsiDynix Institute events at http://www.sirsidynixinstitute.com/.

Stephen

Posted by stephen at 1:07 PM | Comments (0)

September 24, 2007

Trust

Trust is a pretty essential component of the library worker's relationship with their clients.

If you've got a minute, read this short post of David Maister's four dimensions of trust:

1. Credibility
2. Reliabilty
3. Intimacy
4. Self-Orientation

How is trust earned? What causes trust to increase or decrease? How do you do it right?

Discuss in small groups. Making the trust dimensions visible makes teams great.

Stephen

Posted by stephen at 11:03 PM | Comments (0)

Charity and One Laptop Per Child

This is a limited time offer and it's not a scam. Starting Nov. 12th 2007 you can buy one of the One Laptop Per Child (OLPC) $100 US XO Laptops! Note the cute WiFi antenna.

There is a catch? You can only do it for just two weeks. It's only open to folks in the United States and Canada and you actually have to buy two of them - one for yourself and one for a child in the developing world. But that's not too tough to take. All in all it'll cost about $399.00 US. If you're even more altruistic you can buy one for a kid in a developing country for $200.00 US. (I'll bet that most of you are just too curious so will buy two - check it out, write blog posts and reviews - and then give another one away!)

Links to more info here and here.

The offer is the OLPC Foundation's way of meeting their goal of getting more laptops into needy kid's hands. They also sell copies direct to governments for about $188.00 US.

"Via Curt Priest, a tech guru at LINCT, here are some details from the Boston Globe: “For consumers in the United States, the interest in the laptop may not be based on its operating system, but on its easy-to-use interface; its adorable attributes, including the XO tattoo on the back that can be customized in different colors; and its altruistic mission."

And if you're just interested in seeing what's under the hood of MIT's Nick Negroponte's big idea . . .

Or if you're looking for a year end giving opportunity....

Stephen

Posted by stephen at 10:49 PM | Comments (0)

Intranets for Info Pros

Congratulatoins to Jane Dysart and Mary Lee Kennedy on the publication of their book, Intranets for Info Pros which is being published by Information Today. Along with Jane and Mary Lee, authors include such conference speaking stalwarts as Deb Wallace, Craig St. Clair, Jose Claudio Terra, Cindy Ross Pedersen, Avi Rappoport, Mike Crandall, Eric Hards, Ian Littlejohn, Cory Costanzo, and Angela Abell. Knowledge management guru, Tom Davenport wrote the foreword!

Stephen

Posted by stephen at 10:31 PM | Comments (0)

Using Online Video for Training

Here are two examples (that I think are pretty good) to explain elecronic applications to users for introducing such training in libraries:

One explaining Google Docs, Spreadsheets, Gmail, etc.

Google Docs in Plain Englsh
http://www.googlizationofeverything.com/2007/09/great_little_video_explains_go.php

Delicious & Social Bookmarking Explained in Easy to Follow Video

http://www.searchenginejournal.com/delicious-social-bookmarking-explained-in-easy-to-follow-video/5704/

Neither look too hard to do.

Stephen

Posted by stephen at 10:24 PM | Comments (0)

September 23, 2007

Relationships

My wife and I were walking through MoMA in New York recently. At the back of my mind was the question how to build 'real' and 'virtual' social networks for libraries and how far apart the two concepts are.

We came across a work by Sigmar Polke. (German, born 1941) called Mao (1972). It was a combination of printed fabrics, political imagery, news headlines, consumer items and fashion. It has references to American Pop art, Warhol and Lichtenstein.

Polke asks the question: "Does meaning create relationships or do relationships create meaning?"

It's a good question in art and society. I suspect that the answer to my quest is somewhere in there.

Anyway, I am always intrigued when art connects us to insight.

Stephen

Posted by stephen at 10:06 PM | Comments (1)

Dissertations!

Sometimes dissertations have an image of being dated and irrelevant. Sometines they're amazingly up-to-date and interesting. You just never know.

My favourite dissertation is Donna Brockmeyer's about the passion of librarianship. She published it later as a book called On Sibyl's Shoulders: Seeking Soul in Library Leadership. You can buy it here. I loved it. (Ego alert: I and a bunch of my friends and colleagues are in it.)

This week I can alert you to two recent dissertations on blogging.

The esteemed Michael Stephens from Tame The Web blog has an excerpt from his PhD dissertation here. This is segment is called "Librarian - Why Do You Blog?" I know more will follow.

Leslie T. Crang has posted his Masters Dissertation in full entitled Blogging and Libraries (An evaluation and impact of social media On libraries) September 2007here and here and the PDF (81 pages).

Anyway, who says library research isn't topical and modern?

Stephen

Posted by stephen at 9:28 PM | Comments (1)

Second Earth

I've been talkinng lately that it might be sort of web 3.0+ when Facebook and Google Earth and Second Life type epxeriences merge - Second Earth social networks anyone?

I thought I was just dreaming out loud and people sometimes tell me that I am way too out there. So check this out.

"Arizona State University's students have the opportunity to test a new product "that will be publicly launched later this year". The invitation page mentions that the product is developed by "a major Internet company" and there are hints that the application is related to social networking, 3D modeling and video games. To complete the questionnaire and get the opportunity to test the product, you need to be a student at ASU."

Speculation in the post is that it's probably Google.

I wonder if avatars have a role here? That would align with Gartner Groups prediction that 85% of Internet users will be using avatars by 2012.

Maybe my speculations aren't so nuts after all.

Stephen

Posted by stephen at 10:36 AM | Comments (2)

Ning Milestone

One of my favourite private label social networking sites, Ning, passed a milestone this weekend. There have been 100,000 user-created social networks built on Ning. "That’s up from just 30,000 in February when they launched a new version of the service. The company is also saying that page views have been growing 40% month over month over the summer." More here.

Ning, home to Library 2.0 and more library and education-related social networking sites, is a great way to assemble classes, book clubs, associations. committees, and more.

Stephen

Posted by stephen at 10:27 AM | Comments (0)

Google's Endgame

So what is Google ultimately trying to create? What is their end game? Are they responding to the Facebook threat, etc.?

John Battelle has Google's Plan to Out Facebook Facebook.

Michael Arrington has Google To “Out Open” Facebook On November 5.

Reporting on a secret meeting at Google on Sept. 20th:

"The short version: Google will announce a new set of APIs on November 5 that will allow developers to leverage Google’s social graph data. They’ll start with Orkut and iGoogle (Google’s personalized home page), and expand from there to include Gmail, Google Talk and other Google services over time." ...

"And Google is also considering allowing third parties to join the party at the other end of the platform - meaning other social networks (think Bebo, Friendster, Twitter, Digg and thousands of others) to give access to their user data to developers through those same APIs.

And that is a potentially killer strategy. Facebook has a platform to allow third parties to build applications on Facebook itself. But what Google may be planning is significantly more open - allowing third parties to both push and pull data, into and out of Google and non-Google applications."

The remarks from many web bloggers and luminaries in the comments are interesting too.

If you're unaware of all of Google's properties that can be mashed up here, check out this chart or here and review Google Labs.

Now this speculation starts to approach some of the things I've been talking about lately. It won't hapen instantly but it will happen fast. An awful lot of social data will become available to library developers too...

Stephen

Posted by stephen at 9:54 AM | Comments (0)

Banned Books Week 2

From the PLA Blog:

"American Library Association’s Office for Intellectual Freedom (OIF) is pulling out all the stops with this year’s Banned Books Week, September 29–October 6, 2007, by taking the show on the digital road, so to speak, with events and official listings in Web 2.0 spaces like MySpace (no account required to view), Facebook (you need an account to view and join the Banned Books Week group), and Second Life."

There's more at PLA Blog here.

This is a great way to spread the word.

Stephen

Posted by stephen at 9:51 AM | Comments (0)

September 22, 2007

Learning Management Systems

Most libraries focused on learning are stepping up to the plate with distance learning, e-learning and learning management systems products, services and strategies. It's a pretty clear place where institutional strategies are going (and the budget and investment money too). So following the money, here are a few good reports.

Learning Management System research report.

"Survey Results from Thousands of e-Learning Professionals

For this report, LMS market share ratings were based on data from more than 2,300 respondents and satisfaction ratings were based on data from more than 1,200 respondents. In addition, we surveyed over 930 e-Learning professionals who represented more than 840 different organizations to definitively show just what the state of the industry is when it comes to Learning Management Systems. Due to the size of the data pool and the use of the Guild's powerful analytic tools, this report reveals, for the first time, key industry findings such as:

- The cost per learner to acquire, configure, and customize an LMS for large corporations ranges from $15.11 to $57.02.
- Skillsoft enjoys greatest overall satisfaction in large corporations with a large number of learners impacted (greater than 5,000 employees and learners).
- 29.58% of survey respondents plan to upgrade their LMS and 10.69% plan to abandon their current LMS and move to a different vendor.
- Moodle (yes, Moodle) enjoys both the largest market share and satisfaction in smaller corporations with a smaller number of learners impacted (fewer than 5,000 employees and learners).
- 11% of survey respondents indicate that they have not received a return on investment from their investment in a Learning Management System.
- SumTotal is the market share leader in large corporations with a large number of learners impacted (greater than 5,000 employees and learners).
- 21% of survey respondents use more than one LMS.
- SAP and KnowledgeImpact enjoy the largest percent of users that report a good return on investment. "

Learning Management Systems (LMS) Gotchas

"Gotcha #1 – Starting With an Unrealistic Expectation of What You Need
Gotcha #2 – Missing a Key Stakeholder
Gotcha #3 – Failing to Get Agreement on the Process with Key Stakeholders
Gotcha #4 – Failing to Identify Key Differentiating Use Cases
Gotcha #5 – Coupling Content Authoring with LMS Selection
Gotcha #6 – Not Testing a LMS
Gotcha #7 – Failing to Ask a Critical Question or Two
Gotcha #8 – Poor Contract Negotiations
Gotcha #9 – Tripping on the Models
Gotcha #10 – Customization"

LMS Satisfaction and LMS Barriers and Features.

These few links are a few things to give you a leg up on your relationship management strategies with the elearning team in your place.

Stephen

Posted by stephen at 11:36 AM | Comments (0)

Hundreds of Useful eLearning Tools

HeyJude points to some great resources for e-learning.
She notes that Jane’s E-Learning Pick of the Day (recommended add to your RSS feeds) has "gathered people’s favourite Top Ten Tools for Learning from 100 educators around the globe. Over 400 different tools were named in total, but the final list was created in order of popularity. The top 100 tools received 3 or more (positive) mentions. The results can be seen here in a neat comparison table with links to sites providing the tools."

These are very useful lists for anyone who works in learning environments (and what environment isn't?".

Stephen

Posted by stephen at 11:29 AM | Comments (1)

Moore's Law

Is Moore's Law hitting the top soon? Gordon Moore thinks so. He has predicted the expiry of the "Law" that bears his name to occur within the next ten to fifteen years.

"Moore’s Law is a rule of thumb that states that the number of transistors that can be inexpensively placed on an integrated circuit doubles every two years (or thereabouts), and it has held up remarkably well since Moore coined it in the mid-sixties."

It's not the first time Moore has predicted the upper limit of the Law but basic physics would seem to dictate that it has to end. Then again, sometimes new theories and methods move the game to a different track. I remember when we were told that 2400 baud was the upper limit to bandwidth!

Stephen

Posted by stephen at 11:18 AM | Comments (0)

Hobbyists

Hobbies are a big part of public library reference questions and collections.
What do we really know about them? Anogther Pew Internet and American Life report to the rescue.

Hobbyists Online

9/19/2007 by Maggie Griffith, Susannah Fox

"A telephone survey conducted in February-March 2007 found that fully 83% of online Americans say they have used the internet to seek information about their hobbies and 29% do so on a typical day. Looking for information about hobbies is among the most popular online activities, on par with shopping, surfing the web for fun, and getting news."

View PDF of Report

What would your ranking of top hobbies be for your area...? When I was kid stamp and coin collecting was big. Now I suspect gardening and genealogy was near the top. Crafts, gaming, fantasy sports, scrapbooking, knitting, cookery (grin), etc. seem really popular too. I wonder if our collections reflect modern user interests. borrowing patterns, or retail store patterns. That would be an interesting analysis.

And then what does our promotion plan look like for the hobbyist segment.

Stephen

Posted by stephen at 11:09 AM | Comments (0)

Cool Screen

There's got to be a use for this in libraries, eh?

Fly Shelf with Integrated Projection Screen. "Nice bit of Italian design here sees the coming together of a slick wall shelf system and integrated projection screen. Very space friendly and useful if you’ve got a projector based home theatre system in place." here.

Stephen

Posted by stephen at 11:05 AM | Comments (0)

Flickr Ideas for Libraries

Jill Hurst-Wahl has done a useful post about 5 uses of Flickr for libraries.

Post screen shots of presentations.
Post information that you want people to review or comment on.
Post photos to use for instruction (formally or informally).
Store photos that you want to use on your organization's web site, then use a widget to display those photos.
Search photos for ideas.

Examples are on the post.

Find it here.

Cheap and cheerful!

Stephen

Posted by stephen at 10:58 AM | Comments (0)

Banned Books Week

One of the great things done by our library associations, primarily ALA is Banned Books Week. This year it falls on Sept. 29-Oct. 6. Participate.

Another great initiatve is FREEDOM TO READ WEEK which falls next year from February 24–March 1, 2008.

These are the sorts of initiatives that make me proud to be a librarian.

One question though - Why are they so focused just on books? When are we going to talk about banned websites week? When are we going to point to the most draconian filters? When a small library bans a single book title - that's awful and wrong - in my personal value system and under our professional ethics. But where's the focal point for the discussion when an entire library system's filter bans every website with the word 'specialist' on it because it the trademark 'cialis' is embedded in it? I know of many systems that banned all current affairs, government affairs, and business affairs websites becaise it contains the word 'affaris'. Bad filters are truly the modern game of whack-a-mole. When are we going to engage in a week where we discuss what it truly means to our freedoms when whole web properties like Facebook, MySpace, Blogger, etc. are banned by entire school boards? Is speech restricted when instant messaging and e-mail are banned on some public workstations? When elected officials suggest banning all social web sites for all publicly funded entities, have they forgotten our rights (at least in Canada and the US)? At what age do our freedoms kick in? Is there a difference when an electronic book is banned vs. the print book? Will the filters be able to distinguish between books alone? I'm talking about the big issue of these rights and not the hot button issues of porn. I think it's time for our community to re-align our projects and priniciples with the challenges of this new age.

Don't suggest for a minute that I know the answers to these questions. It's a personal opinion but I do think our associations are reaching the point where we'll need a broader discussion of these challenges. Libraries might be the only ones who think about this and can make a difference.

Are we ready to expand our notion of banned books to the broader information world? What's worse - banning Harry Potter or banning MySpace?

Are we able to take our bravery in print into the electronic world?

Stephen

Posted by stephen at 10:37 AM | Comments (1)

The Catalog’s Last Stand ?

A volley has landed. This would make a great conference panel debate.

The Catalog’s Last Stand
by Norm Medeiros (Sept. 21, 2007)

Abstract:
This article describes the uncertain future of the online catalog, and the tension that exists between creating a cataloging code that meets user needs while adhering to principles deemed important by the cataloging community. Underscoring this tension are the provocative questions posited by the Taiga Steering Committee, which call into question the future of libraries.

Source: OCLC Systems & Services

You can access the complete PDF here.

If you'd rather see its catalogue record, it's here. (irony symbol here).

Stephen

Posted by stephen at 10:30 AM | Comments (1)

September 19, 2007

Here's Who To Blame ;-)

The computer smiley officially turns 25 today. Arrrghhhh. This is where it started.

The smiley, written symbolically as :-), was created by Carnegie Mellon University professor Scott E. Fahlman in 1982. Carnegie Mellon University has created an official smiley anniversary page here.

"Language experts say the smiley face and other emotional icons, known as emoticons, have given people a concise way in e-mail and other electronic messages of expressing sentiments that otherwise would be difficult to detect". We all know that irony and humour are very difficult to do in text based e-mails - despite the number of forwarded jokes we get! (And that is ironic.)

"Fahlman posted the emoticon in a message to an online electronic bulletin board at 11:44 a.m. on Sept. 19, 1982, during a discussion about the limits of online humor and how to denote comments meant to be taken lightly".

" «I propose the following character sequence for joke markers: :-),» wrote Fahlman. «Read it sideways»."

Of course, now in IM we can just insert the actual colour emoticon.

Stephen :-)?

Posted by stephen at 12:57 PM | Comments (1)

September 18, 2007

TeacherTube

Did you know that there was site called TeacherTube to archive educational video content.

I'll bet this would be a great resource for those building the content for SchoolRooms sites.

Stephen

Posted by stephen at 6:06 PM | Comments (0)

Looking for a Good Lunchtime Debate?

There are a few topics that when you scratch a librarian you get a firmly held opinion. These topics are great for sparking internal debates in libraries and exploring the edges of our world views.

Here's one of my favourites questions:

What do you call the people you serve?

Users
Customers
Clients
Cardholders
Patrons
Learners
Students
Visitors
Gate Count
Colleagues
Clicks
Hits
Unique Vistors

Depending on your library type and role there is no one completely right answer.

Anyway, it's an interesting question to revisit since language can drive behaviour. And besides we love labels! Couldn't we just barcode the warm body units who pass through our doors and visit our websites and be done with it?

If you need a conversation starter, check out this post at Duct Tape Marketing.

Stephen

Posted by stephen at 5:49 PM | Comments (2)

Google Presentation

As predicted, the much anticipated Google PowerPoint clone was launched this week. Just like MS PowerPoint, Google Presentation allows you to create a series of slides with a mixture of text and graphics on each. With Google's applications you must be connected to the web while Microsoft's Office programs are installed directly on your PC.

Google Presentations is included in Google's free software bundle, called "Docs" . which Google will sell a souped-up version to businesses, universities and government agencies for $50 a year per user. .

You can play with it here.

I've lost count of all of these web-based office apps.

Maybe we need a 23 Things Learning 2.0 for all of the web-based free office applications?

They certainly expand our ability to bridge the digital divide without using MS Office on every public access PC....

Stephen

Posted by stephen at 5:33 PM | Comments (1)

Laptops

OK, all predictions are that internet enabled digital phones will be the dominant personal device within a few years. OK.

Laptops aren't going away though.

"Laptop ownership spikes among increasingly wired college students
By Nate Anderson | Published: September 18, 2007 - 12:39PM CT

Despite common wisdom about the poverty (and resulting legendary thriftiness) of students, American college kids are doing pretty well for themselves when it comes to gadgets. A new report from EDUCAUSE finds that nearly every college student in the US owns both a computer and a phone; 36 percent of students own two computers.

What type of computer do they favor? Laptops, of course. In only two years, laptop ownership on campus has surged from 52.8 percent of the student population to 75.8 percent, while desktop use peaked in 2006 and dropped to 62.8 percent this year.

If students no longer head off to campus without a computer, they also need a cell phone now. 86 percent of students say they own a simple one (without Web access), while another 12 percent have a smartphone. Though the report doesn't look into the matter, I for one would like to see some research into just why it is so difficult for students to silence their ringtones while in the campus library. My guess: the constant diet of pizza and Mountain Dew.

And then come the iPods. More students own an "electronic music/video device" (76 percent) than own a laptop. This has certainly cut down on the frequency of hard rock tunes blasting from an open dorm room window, but one sometimes wonders when these students find time to speak to each other. Between the allure of the little white headphones, the handset, and the computer screen (err, and the studying, of course), collegiate life is stuffed to the brim.

Students appear to take it all in stride, though. As the report notes, many students "have never known a world without personal access to information technologies, often take them for granted and integrate them seamlessly into their daily lives."

That integration takes plenty of time out of each week. The report found that engineering students spend an average of 21.9 hours a week doing online activities. The humanities are lower, at 18.7 hours, and education majors are at the bottom, spending only 15.9 hours a week online.

Disturbingly, a full six percent of those surveyed spent more than 40 hours a week online. That's either some serious dedication to learning or the result of a WoW addiction."

So, XML becomes increasingly important to be able to sense the devices using our e-serivces. Portlets and the JSR168 standard provide some flexibility. And out patron records need even more metadata - TXT MSG, Cel phone numbers, e-mail. IM, etc. . .

I heard someone call this the KIPPERS generation. Kids In Parents' Pockets Eroding Retirement Savings.

Stephen

Posted by stephen at 5:23 PM | Comments (0)

SpiralFrog

It's interesting to look at other library style distribuion models. NetFlix, iTunes, Audible.com, NetLibrary, and others give us ideas about how a world where digital content predominates might operate. A new one that has been closely watched for over a year, launched this week.

SpiralFrog, the free, ad-supported music store, has launched it's website with over 770.000 songs and 3.500 music videos from indie labels and Universal Music Group (one of the world's largest copyright owners). Originally EMI was involved but isn't now.

Anyway, each of these newish players in the content discovery and distribution business are interesting. to learn from. I'll bet there are lessons here we can copy.

In this case with SpiralFrog, while you can download music for free, there are a couple of small catches. Music can be downloaded to compatible devices with Windows DRM employed, and the transfer of music is allowed only twice. You’ll also need to renew your account every 30 days, which is similar to other paid music subscription services that charge on a monthly basis.

As DRM declines, wll free - and legal - prove to be a world beater here where others are surviving their own troubles (like Napster, Pandora, Limewire, KaZaA, etc.)? There's really nothing stopping this type of music and video service from adding articles and books.

Stephen

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

September 16, 2007

Batgirl was a Librarian

Nostalgia post.

Here's the original pilot from 1966 for Batgirl.

Link to it on YouTube here.

Library with secret panel and all.

Stephen

Posted by stephen at 9:57 PM | Comments (4)

Dump the Org. Chart: Get `Er Done!: Management for a 2.0 Library

Dump the Org. Chart: Get `Er Done!: Management for a 2.0 Library

Presented by:
Gina Millsap - Executive Director, Topeka & Shawnee County Public Library
Rob Banks - Deputy Director of Operations, Topeka and Shawnee County Public Library

Tuesday, September 18, 2007, 11 a.m. - noon Eastern / 8 a.m. - 9 a.m. Pacific

Did you get your MLS in the previous century? Is there a digital divide in your library, not just for customers, but for staff? Are innovation and risk organizational values or ... not so much?

Most libraries are using the same organizational structures and task-driven methods of organizing work and staff they've used for a century or more. The real work is understanding and delivering what matters most to our customers. Be a 21st century library leader from anywhere in your organization! Learn strategies for leading a library organization that shares a vision for exceptional service and works together in new ways to make it happen.

Gina Millsap is the Executive Director of the Topeka & Shawnee County (KS) Public Library. She's worked in libraries for 30+ years and received her MLS in the previous century. Her degree may be an antique, but her outlook isn't; she's a Library Journal 2007 Mover and Shaker (http://www.libraryjournal.com/article/CA6423399.html.) As a seasoned library director, first at the Ames (IA) Public Library and now TSCPL, she is convinced that leading a 21st century library means knowing and responding to what matters most to library customers and the people who serve them.

Rob Banks is Deputy Director of Operations at the Topeka and Shawnee County Public Library. He has held a number of positions throughout the library in the 18 years he has been with this institution. Rob came to the library as an acquisitions clerk at the time when PC's were just being introduced. He was present for the initial automation of the library and has proceeded to pester those who actually know what they are doing in the intervening years. He has worked throughout the hierarchy and understands the processes necessary to work with the denizens of each level or at least can fake it.

More 2007 SirsiDynix Institute events at http://www.sirsidynixinstitute.com/.

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

September 13, 2007

Visions of the Future

You might enjoy this curation at The Bibliothèque nationale de France. There is a wonderful online gallery of illustrations by Villemard from 1910 imagining what life would be like in the year 2000. It's part of a larger exhibition titled Utopia: The Quest for the Ideal Society in the Western World.

Anyway, just saying. Check it out here.

Stephen

Posted by stephen at 3:29 PM | Comments (1)

JISC Report on Students and ICT

Here's another report on the status of student expectations about technology and libraries.

" JISC Student expectations study

Publication date: 6 September 2007

JISC commissioned Ipsos MORI to undertake research among prospective university students to understand (This study, conducted in the UK, had in-depth interviews with 27 students between the ages of 15-18 in a focus group setting and a follow-up survey of about 500 students with ages between 16 and 18.):

- current levels of ICT provision at school/college
- expectations of ICT provision at university
- any difference between expectation of ICT provision and that which is provided by HE institutions

These objectives explored the hypothesis that there is a mismatch between student expectations of what they will be able to do in Higher Education (HE) institutions and what HE institutions can and do offer in terms of ICT.

This research is preparatory to the establishment of a Committee of Inquiry (being convened by JISC for Autumn 2007) into the changing learner experience. The Inquiry will look at the implications for HE institutions of the experience and expectations of learners approaching full-time higher education to inform senior management and provide advice to universities and colleges.

Download the full report here.

The full report is a 49-page, 1MB PDF document filled with interesting tidbits about these students' vision of technology.

Conclusions and implications

The research audience were all children of the digital age. They have simply grown up with more advanced technology than preceding generations, particularly in the field of communications. This is interwoven into their lives. They expect it to be just as present in their school life as it is at home, and thus assume it will also be present at university.

But it is difficult for them to project how they imagine technology helping them learn in ways that they have not experienced before. In part, this is because they basically find it hard to imagine the kinds of learning and teaching that they might meet at university, and try simply to map their current sixth-form experiences onto this new world. So, they are excited by technological options which they imagine will assist and complement their studies, but not by ones which they imagine will complicate or inhibit them, or take them out of their comfort zones with regard to teaching and learning.

These young people have grown up with technology as an intrinsic part of their lives, and expect that this will only increase with time. Although the students we spoke to in the discussion groups were generally unsure on their expectation of university ICT provision they were quite adept at evaluating different ICT options. It would follow that if they do not know what to expect when they get there, there will not be a mismatch between expectation and reality. However the research shows that they do know instinctively what works for them and what they prefer, when they are presented with it, therefore we can assume that they will be able to take decisions about any new technology they may meet at university.

While the students expect to be able to set themselves up, technologically, in the same way that they are perhaps used to now, they will not expect either their connectivity to decrease or for the technology to encroach on what they see as the key benefits from university – interaction and learning.

The traditional methods of teacher/pupil learning seem neither hierarchical nor outmoded to them. They see personal, face to face interaction as the backbone of their learning. It would be interesting and relevant to carry out a similar study with first-year undergraduates, who have begun to appreciate the many different ways learning can happen at university, to see if opinions differ significantly and if the potential for ICT is more easily understood once they have exThis age group suspects that if all learning is mediated through technology, this will diminish the value of the learningperienced the different teacher-learner relationships of university.

The audience for our research thinks that technology should:

- support established methods of teaching and admin
- act as an additional resource for research and communication
- be a core part of social engagement and facilitate face-to-face friendships at university

These principles run across all groups identified in the online research. Those who are leading edge users or have high use of ICT at school are perhaps more technology savvy and open to its use, but they do not want technology to encroach on their learning or social experiences.

Fundamentally, this age group suspects that if all learning is mediated through technology, this will diminish the value of the learning."

That's an interesting and unexpected insight. These digital natives are far more thoughtful about technology than some would assume.

Stephen

Posted by stephen at 3:12 PM | Comments (2)

Trying to Understand Higher Ed Students

The latest Educause study is out about students and technology. These are getting more valuable every year as they track he changes in this vital group's behaviours. We've got 4 years worth of consistent data now.

"This 2007 ECAR research study is a longitudinal extension of the 2004, 2005, and 2006 ECAR studies of students and information technology. The study, which reports noticeable changes from previous years, is based on quantitative data from a spring 2007 survey and interviews with 27,846 freshman, senior, and community college students at 103 higher education institutions. It focuses on what kinds of information technologies these students use, own, and experience; their technology behaviors, preferences, and skills; how IT impacts their experiences in their courses; and their perceptions of the role of IT in the academic experience."

Find the study here.

Stephen

Posted by stephen at 3:02 PM | Comments (0)

Library Events

Your library has events.

Author readings
Story hours
Research training
Gaming nights
Genealogy clubs
Book clubs
Teen programs
and lots more . . .

Mashable offers a neat list that migt help you plan and market your library's events faster and better:

35+ Ways to Find and Plan Events Online

Try some,

Stephen

Posted by stephen at 2:57 PM | Comments (0)

ALA Study on Internet Use

It's a 227 page PDF but well worth reading. This is the kind of data that provides insights into our challenges.

Executive Brief
The State of Technology and Funding in U.S. Public Libraries in 2007

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

Libraries have always been about the business of connecting communities of people with the
information they want and need in order to learn, explore, create and build success. Computers
and the Internet have been a growing part of fulfilling this mission over the past dozen years.
Funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and the American Library Association (ALA),
the accompanying comprehensive Public Library Funding & Technology Access Study is part of
a sustained effort to provide current information that describes access to computers and the
Internet in U.S. public libraries.

The study presents national and state data gathered through three integrated approaches: a
national survey that collected information about public library Internet connectivity, use,
services, funding and sustainability issues (see page 28); a questionnaire sent to the Chief
Officers of State Library Agencies (see page 124); and focus groups and site visits held in four
states: Delaware, Maryland, Nevada and Utah (see page 144).

Three significant themes emerged from the study research:

• Technology is bringing more – not less – public library use
Providing education resources and services for job seekers are the Internet services most
critical to the role of public libraries (see figure 24). Seventy-three percent of libraries report
they are the only source of free public access to computers and the Internet in their
communities (see Figure 31).

• Library infrastructure (space, bandwidth and staffing) is being pushed to capacity
An increased number of visitors to libraries coupled with increasingly complex technology
products and services challenge libraries with facilities that were built before the advent of
networked services and budgets and staff sizes that have not grown even with the addition of
new services (see Figures 13, 14 and Section Three).

• Libraries need more technology planning and dedicated technology support
Providing technology access does not represent a one-time investment of funds or staff
training. More than a quarter of libraries do not have upgrade or replacement schedules for
their computers (see Figure 12), and state libraries identified an inability to plan and budget
for IT upgrades, replacement and maintenance as a significant challenge for public libraries
with vulnerable technology services.

This report – along with more than a decade of research from the Public Libraries and the
Internet studies (www.ii.fsu.edu/plinternet) – demonstrates that libraries have moved rapidly into
Internet-based services that their communities want and need. Ongoing attention and investments must be made to ensure that these essential services provided by libraries are sustained.

Stephen

Posted by stephen at 2:52 PM | Comments (0)

Canadian Rural Internet Use

This might be a bit of a duh but according to a new study released in Statistics Canada’s Rural and Small Town Canada Analysis Bulletin, people living in rural and small town Canada have lower rates of Internet use than those people living in urban areas.

Factors Associated with Internet Use: Does Rurality Matter?
Larry McKeown, Statistics Canada, and Anthony Noce and Peter Czerny, Industry Canada

"Highlights

In 2005, only 58% of residents living in rural and small town areas accessed the Internet, well below the national average. Rates in Canada's largest urban areas ranged from 68% in Montreal to 77% in both Ottawa–Gatineau and Calgary.

This gap between rural and urban areas may reflect the interaction of other socio-economic factors or may represent another effect, such as broadband availability.

Individuals that are older, those with lower levels of education and those living in households with lower incomes were less likely to have used the Internet.

The importance of other factors associated with Internet use, such as gender and the presence of children, appears to have changed. The presence of children in a household has no statistically significant effect on an individual’s use of the Internet, while women have greater odds of using the Internet than men."

Time for a local library press release...

Stephen

Posted by stephen at 2:32 PM | Comments (1)

Technology Planning in Public Libraries

The AP has picked up this story:

Despite Demand, Libraries Won't Add PCs
By ANICK JESDANUN

"A new study from the American Library Association, scheduled for release Wednesday, finds the average number of public Internet terminals largely unchanged since 2002, yet only 1 in 5 libraries say they have enough computers to meet demand at all times."

Now there are lots of reasons why PC aren't replaced or added to on a timely basis:

- budget
- lack of a long term tech plan
- money spent on software
- over dependence on CAP (in Canada) or Gates Foundation
- lack of buy-in from Board or community
- etc.

However, we do play a key role in bridging the digital divide. If that's a key goal - especially in challenged communities like the inner city, reservations, or small towns - then we should have a clear plan for keepiong our hardware and software strategies at the right point to meet those goals.

Is it time to update or polish your technology plan?

Stephen

Posted by stephen at 1:52 PM | Comments (1)

September 12, 2007

Deakin University

I had a nice visit with the staff team at Deakin University launching their 27 Things Learning 2.0 program. They even webcast it to the other sites.

Here's the PowerPoints:

Social Libraries and Librarians:Collaboration Cooperation Sharing Storytelling NetworkingAugust 27, 2007

Stephen

Posted by stephen at 5:12 PM | Comments (0)

SirsiDynix CAVAL Sessions in Australia

Wow, this was a great tour. After I was in South Africa for IFLA and SLIS, I thought, "Gee, I am halfway to OZ, migh as well go there too!" So I did an Australian tour of Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane, and Perth with a series of half day workshops. Here are the PowerPoints:

Top 10 Strategies for Library Success
CAVAL August 28-31, 2007

I am looking forward to visiting Melbourne and Brisbane again and Canberra in the first week of October.

Stephen

Posted by stephen at 5:04 PM | Comments (0)

SLIS in Johannesburg

While I was in South Africa in August I got the opportunity to speak to special librarians in Johannesburg. They were lovely hosts and it was a great time (and the Johannesburg Zoo is fun). Here's the PowerPoints:

Social Libraries and Librarians: Collaboration Cooperation Sharing Storytelling Networking
SLIS: August 24, 2007

Stephen

Posted by stephen at 5:00 PM | Comments (1)

IFLA Sessions on KM

I had the opportunityu to speak at two sessions at IFLA in Durban South Africa. These were done for the IFLA KM Section. Here are the PowerPoints.

KM Workshop Programme: Best Practices / Lessons Learned
Friday August 17, 2007

Social Libraries and Librarians:Collaboration Cooperation Sharing Storytelling Networking
Tuesday August 21, 2007

(Disclosure: SirsiDynix was a sponsor)

Stephen

Posted by stephen at 4:51 PM | Comments (1)

Productivity and Corporate Culture

Have you see this one that's been all over the news (This one from BBC)?

"Facebook 'costs businesses dear'

For some employees Facebook is part of their working day
Workers who spend time on sites such as Facebook could be costing firms over £130m a day, a study has calculated. According to employment law firm Peninsula, 233 million hours are lost every month as a result of employees "wasting time" on social networking.

The study - based on a survey of 3,500 UK companies - concluded that businesses need to take firm action on the use of social networks at work. Some firms have already banned employees from accessing Facebook."

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/6989100.stm

I wish I had the time ot find the old shallow research about how much the following cost business . . .

The telephone (even when I started my first library job only senior staff were allowed a personal phone on their desk. It was a productivity issue they claimed. Sooooo, every day all the mothers would head to the lobby for long waits on the phone to all their kids at home to make sure they were safe. Nice touch - isoloate your staff from their families, that'll improve productivity).

E-mail. (This one was excessive where IT departments would go around and remove CC:mail at the time from desktop PC's or leave people with internal only Pine clients, etc. on dumb terminals. Communication is bad for business so staff would just line up at other PC's to do their work.)

IM. (This one contines. I hear about IM viruses being the reason along with productivity. Apparently collaboration among employees is bad for productivity! Why align your IT with the tech proficiencies of your staff?)

The Web. (OMG - people are surfing so let's ban it. We better not know what's goiung on out there. I remember an era where some libraries were blocked from the web and had to search on home PCs' etc. I worked one place where there were efforts to ban the web from web publisher staff (Can't you do this offline?). Amazingly stupid.)

Don't even ask if businesses are better or worse if eery employee can't interasct with customers in their mode of choice! The choice being made is clear and the damagew to that organization's image subtle and huge.

I am sure you can think of lots of other examples.

It seems like these studies happen with every new technology and application. People who don't really understand or are uncomfortable withh the fact that businesses are social organizations and from that derive their strength. Trying to limit socialness in society is like trying to hold water in your hands. It's just anti-team work and sharing.

There seems to be a big corporate culture thing that somehow control.and isolate employees is good for business. It's more important that managers manage their staff well instead of depending on draconian technological measures. I think the opposite.

Stephen

Posted by stephen at 10:09 AM | Comments (2)

September 11, 2007

My Autumn Schedule

I almost forgot to post this quarter's draft schedule. It'll be fun this Autumn to go around the world again and add a few more states to my list of visits. If you happen to be nearby, say hello.

1. Sept. 17 – Ottawa Public Library Day
2. Sept 18-19 – Allen County (IN) keynote for staff day
3. Sept. 20 – Copyright Cclearance Centre roundtable Event
4. Sept. 25-6 SLA executive board meeting in Virginia
5. Sept. 27-28 – Ohio Rural Libraries conference
6. Oct. 1 CAVAL event in Australia
7. Oct. 1 State Library in Melbourne Australia Event
8. Oct. 2 – AASL school conference keynote in Brisbane Australia
9. Oct. 3-6 - CODA Conference in Canberra Australia
10. Oct. 6 - SLA Breakfast in Canberra Australia
11. Oct. 8 Internet Librarian International keynote - London
12. Oct. 11 – Richland PL staff day in South Carolina
13. Oct. 12 – Iowa LA keynote (Fuirst time in Iowa!)
14. Oct. 17 Pennsylvania LA Keynote
15. Oct. 19-20 – NY LA keynote and sessions
16. Oct. 21-22 OCLC Members Council
17. Oct. 22 – SLA Wisconsin event
18. Oct. 23 – Waukesha WI staff day keynote
19. Oct. 24 – SLA Southern Califoria event
20. Oct. 25 – SLA San Francisco/ San Jose event
21. Oct. 26-27 – California LA pre-conference and Saturday keynote
22. Oct. 28-31 – Internet Librarian – assorted sessions and track moderator
23. Nov. 1-2 NY Academic Libraries event
24. Nov. 7-9 – CODI
25. Nov. 13 – MLA Symposium keynote in Charleston SC
26. Nov. 14 ILUUG SirsiDynix Users Group
27. Nov. 14-15 – Indiana LA conference keynote
28. Nov. 22-23 – U of Toronto CE
29. Nov. 27 – SLA Minnesota
30. Nov. 28-29 Vancouver PL and SLA WCC
31. Nov. 30 – SLJ summit
32. Dec. 4 – Online International keynote - London
33. Dec. 6-7 – eGlobal Summit – Alabama – keynote and conference chair
34. Jan. 10 SLA NY and Pratt School of LIS
34. Jan. 11-16 – ALA midwinter
35. Jan. 17 – SLA Toronto session
36. Jan. 21-26 – SLA midwinter meeting in Louisville
37. Jan. 28-29 – Arizona Leadership Academy
38. Jan. 31-Feb. 2 – Ontario LA
39. Feb 6 – CASLIS session

Stephen

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

Changes in University Markets

What are the 5 largest U.S. universities?

1. University of Phoenix
2. Miami-Dade College
3. Arizona State University at Tempe
4. University of Minnesota - Twin Cities
5. Western International University

"Surprised? Two primarily online universities and one community college among the top five. FYI, the University of Phoenix has more than twice the number of students (117,309) as any of the next four (which range from 54,169 to 50,663)."

[Source: via the Dangerously Irrelevant blog - Chronicle of Higher Education. Campuses with the Largest Enrollments, Fall 2005. August 31, 2007.]

I'll bet many public librarians would have put Phoenix into their list given the stress supporting those students (and local taxpayers) has become. Probably some academic librarians would have known about the emergence of distance educatrion as a major player and the competition from large colleges has become. I read somewhere (I wish I could find the cite) that the majority of the students at the University of Phoenix are single mothers and that is a major target audience for them. Mothers with kids is a major market segment for public libraries too. Hmmm. With women more likely to go on to higher ed and more likely to graduate we're seeing a new market split in our library audiences.

Either way, it's an interesting discussion focus for libraries and our strategic thinking.

What does it mean to our programs to support continuous learning for adults? It's got to be more than window dressing.

Stephen

Posted by stephen at 2:34 PM | Comments (2)

September 10, 2007

Paper - Digital Display Cage Match

Thanks to Gary at ResourceShelf for pointing to this one:

New Research: Reading Revisited: Evaluating the Usability of Digital Display Surfaces for Active Reading Tasks

Reading Revisited: Evaluating the Usability of Digital Display Surfaces for Active Reading Tasks

by Meredith Ringel Morris; A.J. Brush; Brian Meyers (Microsoft Research)

A fascinating and important read for everyone in the info, education, and related industries.

"A number of studies have shown that paper holds several advantages over computers for reading tasks. However, these studies were carried out several years ago, and since that time computerized reading technology has advanced in many areas. We revisit the issue of reading in the workplace, comparing paper use to state-of-the-art hardware and software. In particular, we studied how knowledge workers perform reading tasks in four conditions: (1) using paper, (2) using a dual-monitor desktop system, (3) using a pen-enabled horizontal display surface, and (4) using multiple tablet computers. We discuss our findings, noting the strengths and shortcomings of each configuration. Based on these findings, we propose design guidelines for hybrid horizontal + vertical systems that support active reading tasks."

Direct to Full Text (8 pages; PDF)

It's a great contribution to the ongoing debate about the future of paper and digital displays.

Stephen

Posted by stephen at 11:24 AM | Comments (1)

Idaho and Digital Natives

Last year I had a great time in Idaho at their innovative statewide conference on Digital Natives.

We did a panel of Millennials and interviewed them. We did a number of sessions on new technology understanding and then the groups spent an afternoon designing projects and programs. It was very cool.

Now, state librarian Ann Joslyn tells me that they've continued their focus on this group. "Earlier this year Idaho contracted with a research firm to conduct focus groups in 6 parts of the state with young people ages 12 to 25. A total of 117 people participated and talked about how they get and use information and what they think about libraries. The final report, which includes themes and trends based on the focus group content, is on our website. The main purpose of this project was to give Idaho libraries information that will help them provide relevant services; we’re still working on the specifics of additional follow-up."

This is very exciting! The final report is 107 pages long (PDF) and Ann told me I could point you at it.

PERCEPTIONS OF IDAHO’S DIGITAL NATIVES ON PUBLIC LIBRARIES:
STATEWIDE FOCUS GROUP FINDINGS
Funded by a grant from the U.S. Institute of Museum and Library Services under a provision of the Library Services and Technology Act. Printed August, 2007. Corona Research inc.

Lots of good data and insights here.

Stephen

Posted by stephen at 11:07 AM | Comments (0)

Facebook Groups for Librarians

iLibrarian has a neat posting about Hot Facebook Groups for Librarians here.

If you don't see one that appeals to you - just search for it or start your own.

Stephen

Posted by stephen at 11:03 AM | Comments (0)

Read to Help - Check it Out

Check out the University of Alberta Cameron Library's online help...

They have launched a new service called "Cameron Library Help"

http://www.library.ualberta.ca/cameronhelp/

Pam Ryan tells me about it:

"The technology is just a dead-simple web-based help desk platform but the service is that users need not leave their workstation for help. If just an IM-type transaction is needed, great. However, its more than just a chat service. If the user needs us to come to them, we go. We are calling it our "summoning" service because we know users would rather suffer than leave their workstation for help. We're servicing over 200+ computers spread over four floors with this. I'm really looking forward to evaluating it at the end of the term."

It's on their homepage too.

Cool! Like I've said a few times lately, everyone is a distance user - if they're not there right in front of your face.

Stephen

Posted by stephen at 10:43 AM | Comments (0)

For those who say Libraries are about books...

OK, here's a link that must be followed by those who cannot see the link between Web 2.0 and books.

BOOKS TOOLBOX: 50+ Sites for Book Lovers

Here's the categories:

Book Reviews
Book Communities
Publishing
Book Search & Exchange
Others

There are the germs of many great ideas and features for library portals and websites here. We got books. Let's make sure we give our users and customers what they want. They want communities of readers, recommendations, lists, and reviews. If you can talk to someone regularly about books you can write a short review and post it to a blog with the cover and more. You might even involve your frends groups and clubs too.

If you're doing a great job on books, book clubs, reading groups, summer reading and more - you're my heroes.

If you're putting the whole program on steriods to be community relevant beyond the front door using apps like these, you're a superhero.

Libraries are about books but we're also about so much more.

Stephen

Posted by stephen at 10:33 AM | Comments (0)

September 5, 2007

New Study on Scholarly Communication

This new study on scholarly communication is quite interesting. It's worth a read if your library is involved in supporting innovation in the scholarly communication process. I was intrigued at their conclusions that innovation receptivity was higher in older faculty and arts faculty. There is limited but significant use of alternative forms of scholarship, with 21% of faculty having published in open-access journals, and 14% having posted peer-reviewed articles in institutional repositories or disciplinary repositories. 82% admitted to being fairly unaware of OA I think if we're hoping to see progress on critical issues like open access and copyright, it's worth reviewing these results and giving them a ponder.

Faculty Attitudes and Behaviors Regarding Scholarly Communication:
Survey Findings from the University of California
Prepared by The University of California Office of Scholarly Communication and the California Digital Library eScholarship Program in association with Greenhouse Associates1
August 2007

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

"The University of California’s Office of Scholarly Communication (OSC) promotes and
encourages Universitywide planning and action to develop scholarly communication systems
that 1) meet the needs of the University’s researchers, teachers, and students; 2) are
economically sustainable; and, 3) leverage Internet technologies to support innovation in all
forms of scholarship.

Results of the survey reveals a profile of UC’s community of scholars where:

"• Faculty are strongly interested in issues related to scholarly communication.
• Faculty generally conform to conventional behavior in scholarly publication, albeit with significant beachheads on several fronts.
• Faculty attitudes are changing on a number of fronts, with a few signs of imminent change in behaviors.
• The current tenure and promotion system impedes changes in faculty behavior.
• On important issues in scholarly communication, faculty attitudes vary inconsistently by rank, except in general depth of knowledge and on issues related to tenure and promotion.
• Faculty tend to see scholarly communication problems as affecting others, but not themselves.
• The disconnect between attitude and behavior is acute with regard to copyright.
• University policies mandating change are likely to stir intense debate.
• Scholars are aware of alternative forms of dissemination but are concerned about preserving their current publishing outlet.
• Scholars are concerned that changes might undermine the quality of scholarship.
• Outreach on scholarly communication issues and services has not yet reached the majority of faculty.
• The Arts and Humanities disciplines may be the most fertile disciplines for university sponsored initiatives in scholarly communication.
• Senior faculty may be the most fertile targets for innovation in scholarly communication.

The OSC is sharing these results openly and widely, as a contribution to campus and
University-wide strategic planning, and in the hope that they will inform the scholarly
communication program planning of non-UC stakeholders. Within UC, the results are being
made available to various segments and stakeholders in order to assist ongoing efforts to:

• Contribute to strategic planning and implementation of a range of publishing services made available to faculty, departments, and research centers;
• Redirect and fine-tune outreach and education activities that deepen scholars’ understanding and inform their actions with regards to disseminating and using research results;
• Inform the University’s contributions and responses to policy proposals and other environmental developments;
• Organize and prioritize faculty attention through ad hoc as well as formal governance venues."

It is a rich report at 126 pages with interesting data on whether faculty think citation analysis or download numbers are indicators of quality or value. Only 75% thought that rising journal costs werer a burden on their insititutions. It's also nice to see some data on their real attitudes toward publishing and tenure versus institutional policy.

Interesting anyway, and among all faculty respondents, 72% agreed that minor or substantial
changes need to be made so there's room for conversation here between libraries and faculty.

Stephen

Posted by stephen at 4:51 AM | Comments (0)

September 4, 2007

Top 100 Tech Blogs

Here's a good list to reivew if you keep your eye on tech trends.

Top 100 Tech Blogs: the Datamation List
August 29, 2007
By James Maguire

"Yes, I know, selecting the Top 100 Tech blogs is like choosing the Top 100 Grains of Sand on a Beach. There are so many zillions of tech-related blogs, and they evolve and change direction so quickly – in truth, it’s an impossible task.

Still, some tech blogs have truly distinguished themselves, even in an incredibly crowded field. They’re full of in-your-face opinion, but that opinion (on most days, at least) is backed up by deep expertise. They’re well written and regularly updated, usually penned by major industry players and seasoned observers. They’re recognized as thought leaders on their subject."

Here are the categories:

Consumer Tech
Smart Dudes and Dudettes
Tech Insiders, and others with their “finger on the pulse”
Informative
Blogs sponsored by major publications/organizations
Wonderfully Geeky Blogs
Operating Systems: Linux-Open Source / Windows / Mac
Highly Recommended

Maybe some folks in your organization would find this a fun list to play with.

Stephen

Posted by stephen at 4:48 AM | Comments (0)

WikiRage

Hmmmmm. What are people passionate about? I've always thought that library circulation records tell us a lot and are a view into what they're interested in.

This site interests me too along with some of the search engine Zeitgeist sites on the web.

WikiRage.
What's Hot on Wikipedia?

"This site lists the pages in Wikipedia which are receiving the most edits per unique editor over various periods of time. Popular people in the news, the latest fads, and the hottest video games can be quickly identified by monitoring this social phenomenon. (Last Hour; Last 6 Hours; Last Day; Last 3 Days; Last Week; Last Month)"

Anyway, the days I've seen it, it surely validates public libraries' sports, entertainment and gaming collections. Mr. H. Potter too. I'm sure this could make an interesting discussion launch point among reference and selection librarians.

On the news front, I've heard that Wikipedia often scoops the main stream media. Are there other sites that predict question and reference trends?

Stephen

Posted by stephen at 4:32 AM | Comments (0)

Risk Taking

Here's an interesting press release from a recent study by the University of Michigan. At 14 pages including a bibliography, the full article is an easy free read.

As a profession, it has often been noted that librarianship is a particularly risk averse profession. Maybe this is so but I like the message in this study - that it's not so black and white and we can take measured risks.

"Aug. 28, 2007

Not all risk is created equal
ANN ARBOR, Mich.— A camper who chases a grizzly but won't risk unprotected sex. A sky diver afraid to stand up to the boss. New research shows that not all risk is created equal and people show a mixture of both risky and non-risky behaviors.

The survey also shows that men are significantly riskier than women overall.

The University of Michigan research refutes the standard theories of risk that group people as either risk-seeking or risk-avoiding, and suggests that we can have a mix of both risky and non-risky behavior depending on the type.

The study appears in the journal Evolutionary Psychology. Daniel Kruger, a research scientist at the U-M School of Public Health, and colleagues X.T. Wang, University of South Dakota, and Andreas Wilke, UCLA, identified areas of risk taking (risk domains) based on the types of challenges that our ancestors faced during many thousands of years of human evolution.

"People are complex," said Kruger. "Just because somebody seems to be a big risk taker in one area doesn’t mean they will take risks in all areas."

The types of risks identified include competition with other individuals; competition with other groups; mating and allocating resources for mate attraction; environmental risks (chasing a bear or skydiving); and fertility risks. The study showed that our tendencies for risk taking follow these different types of challenges.

"It is remarkable not just that we were able to identify different areas of risk taking, but also that many of the challenges faced by our ancestors are similar to challenges we face in our modern world today," Kruger said.

People surveyed for the study were least likely to take fertility risks, and most likely to take risks related to social status in one's group — like standing up to one's boss. In all domains, men were significantly more risk taking than women. During human evolution, men competed for social status and resources in order to attract mates. Thus, this pattern is not surprising, Kruger said.

The risks that threaten fertility function differently than the others, Kruger said. Other types of risk have a possible benefit in terms of survival and reproduction. But with fertility risks, there is just a threat to reproduction. They can only cause harm in the evolutionary sense since they would only hurt our ability to procreate.

"Those were types of risks that weren't attractive to other people, those risks were the least likely to be taken, and people saw those risks as unattractive in a potential mate," Kruger said.

Although in most parts of the world, threats from predators may be limited to those making wilderness expeditions, we still live in a world with complex challenges involving other individuals and material investments. The basic elements of our social environment have not changed; we just live on a much larger scale.

The University of Michigan School of Public Health has been working to promote health and prevent disease since 1941, and is consistently ranked among the top five schools in the country. Faculty and students in the school’s five academic departments and dozens of collaborative centers and institutes are forging new solutions to the complex health challenges of today, including chronic disease, health care quality and finance, emerging genetic technologies, climate change, socioeconomic inequalities and their impact on health, infectious disease, and the globalization of health. Whether making new discoveries in the lab or researching and educating in the field, our faculty, students, and alumni are deployed around the globe to promote and protect our health. For more on the School of Public Health, see: http://www.sph.umich.edu/

The study appears in the latest issue of Evolutionary Psychology (.pdf)"

Stephen

Posted by stephen at 4:08 AM | Comments (0)

Wikipedia: The Print Version

Here's a fun fact to insert in those Britannica vs Wikipedia disucssions. (Of course we all know that this is the shallowest of B&W debates. Each has their place. And Wikipedia plays a key role in the Google and other search engine rankings. EB doesn't.)

Nikola Smolenski has calculated how much paper it would take to print out the English entries in Wikipedia as she has displayed graphically below.

"Using volumes 25cm high and 5cm thick (some 400 pages), each page having two columns, each columns having 80 rows, and each row having 50 characters, ≈ 6MB per volume. As English Wikipedia has around 7.5GB of text (August 2007, length of wikitext counted by myself) ≈ 1250 volumes. Note that this is a conservative estimate, as it doesn't include images, tables etc. which take up more surface than the text which describes them. LINK"

Stephen

Posted by stephen at 3:56 AM | Comments (0)

Converting Web Users Into Borrowers

I was intrigued by this graphic from the Information Visualization blog. Read the original post to learn more.

So, we want to get good library card penetration in our communities. Right?

So, I'm not suggesting we spam our communities but do we make it easy to sign up?

1. Do we have an easy printable form on our websites?
2. Can you sign up for an instant card on the web? (I can get a plane ticket, credit card and bank loan this way!)
3. Is it easy to get a card?
4. Do we ask our current card holders to sign up friends? Is there a simple contest to reward them?
5. Are we asking enough folks to drop down the numbers of new users we want?
6. How many partner sites do I have that link to our forms? (New condos? Schools? clubs? etc.)

Have we adapted our card campaigns to the web enough?

Any other ideas to share in the comments....?

Stephen

Posted by stephen at 3:18 AM | Comments (0)

Finding Time for Learning 2.0

Kathryn Greenhill in Perth Australia has posted a great post on how to find time for the 23 Things. Read it here.

I'd add my thought that I always found time to smoke (when I did). 15 minutes a day spent learning is like 2 cigarettes and better for you.

Stephen

Posted by stephen at 3:12 AM | Comments (0)

De.licio.us Toolbox

Looking for over 180 tools to make del.icio.us - our favourite tagger - more potent?

Head over to Mashable.

Here are the categories:

Web browser add-ons and Bookmarklets
Visualization and Alternative UI's
Scripts and Development
Desktop, Mobile, and CMS Plugins/Applications
Mashups
Other

Stephen

Posted by stephen at 3:06 AM | Comments (1)

September 28, 2007

Blogging Tips

E-Info Global Symposium for Academic Libraries

Next Two Weeks

Impressive MySpace Presences

YouTube for Nonprofits

USB 3.0 Thumbdrives

Ten Technologies that will change the world

September 26, 2007

What do people do on Facebook?

Librarians and Innovation Diffusion

September 25, 2007

Next SirsiDynix Institute

September 24, 2007

Trust

Charity and One Laptop Per Child

Intranets for Info Pros

Using Online Video for Training

September 23, 2007

Relationships

Dissertations!

Second Earth

Ning Milestone

Google's Endgame

Banned Books Week 2

September 22, 2007

Learning Management Systems

Hundreds of Useful eLearning Tools

Moore's Law

Hobbyists

Cool Screen

Flickr Ideas for Libraries

Banned Books Week

The Catalog’s Last Stand ?

September 19, 2007

Here's Who To Blame ;-)

September 18, 2007

TeacherTube

Looking for a Good Lunchtime Debate?

Google Presentation

Laptops

SpiralFrog

September 16, 2007

Batgirl was a Librarian

Dump the Org. Chart: Get `Er Done!: Management for a 2.0 Library

September 13, 2007

Visions of the Future

JISC Report on Students and ICT

Trying to Understand Higher Ed Students

Library Events

ALA Study on Internet Use

Canadian Rural Internet Use

Technology Planning in Public Libraries

September 12, 2007

Deakin University

SirsiDynix CAVAL Sessions in Australia

SLIS in Johannesburg

IFLA Sessions on KM

Productivity and Corporate Culture

September 11, 2007

My Autumn Schedule

Changes in University Markets

September 10, 2007

Paper - Digital Display Cage Match

Idaho and Digital Natives

Facebook Groups for Librarians

Read to Help - Check it Out

For those who say Libraries are about books...

September 5, 2007

Tag Clouds

New Study on Scholarly Communication

September 4, 2007

Top 100 Tech Blogs

WikiRage

Risk Taking

Wikipedia: The Print Version

Converting Web Users Into Borrowers

Finding Time for Learning 2.0

De.licio.us Toolbox