« May 2009 | Main | July 2009 »
June 30, 2009
IMLS Publishes FY 2007 Public Libraries Survey Report
Ahhh, remember 2007. Good times! And then that nasty economic downturn hit.
IMLS Publishes FY 2007 Public Libraries Survey Report
"The report includes a number of key findings to assist the library community, and policymakers, at the local, state, and national level, in making decisions to better their communities.
- The growth in per capita circulation from FY 2006 to FY 2007 was a continuation of the steady growth that has occurred since FY 2000. Per capita circulation grew from 6.4 materials per person to 7.4 materials per person from FY 2000 to FY 2007, an increase of 16 percent.
- Nationwide, visits to public libraries totaled 1.4 billion, or 4.9 library visits per capita, a small increase from the 4.8 visits per capita that were made during FY 2006. As in the case of per capita circulation, this is a continuation of a larger, longer upward trend. Per capita visitation increased from 4.2 to 4.9 between FY 1998 and FY 2007, an overall increase of 17 percent (Figure 1).
- In FY 2007, total nationwide circulation of public library materials was 2.2 billion, or 7.4 materials circulated per capita; these were slight increases from the 2.1 billion total materials and 7.3 materials per capita that were circulated during FY 2006.
- Internet terminals available for public use in public libraries nationwide numbered 208,000, or 3.6 per 5,000 people. These were increases from the previous year’s figures of 196,000 total terminals and 3.4 terminals per 5,000 people.
- Nationwide circulation of children’s materials was 739.7 million, or 34 percent of total circulation during FY 2007. Attendance at children’s programs was 59.0 million in FY 2007, up from 57.6 million the prior year.
The FY 2007 survey is the 20th in the series. On October 1, 2007 responsibility for the PLS was transferred from to IMLS from the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), along with the State Library Agencies Survey. The U.S. Census Bureau collects the data under a contract with IMLS. The survey’s extraordinary response rate results from the cooperative effort between the Chief Officers of State Library Agencies, IMLS, and the Census Bureau."
For more information on library statistics, visit http://www.imls.gov/statistics.
The report is available in PDF format. http://harvester.census.gov/imls/pubs/pls/index.asp
Stephen
Posted by stephen at 9:45 PM | Comments (1)
Those Multitasking Teens
TechCrunch is reporting on a new report from Nielsen that tries to debunk the generalization that all teens are blogging, facebooking and twittering fools.
Apparently they're doing much the same as the rest of us - except possibly it's the rest of us who caught up to the early adopters.
Here are some of the US teen things reported by Nielsen:
1. Social networks play an increasingly important roles in the lives of teens
2. Teens consume a lot of non-connected media too, such as TV, radio and even newspapers. Of course, watching the kids I know, this might be all doe at the same time!
3. "According to Nielsen, teenagers are far from abandoning TV for so-called new media. In fact, television viewing rates among U.S. teens have actually gone up 6% in the last five years. Sure, they browse the Web a lot, but far less than you do. The average time spent browsing for an adult person in the United States comes down to about 29 hours and 15 minutes per month. While I reach that average almost on a daily basis, teens are said to browse the Web a lot less than that: 11 hours and 32 minutes per month on average."
TechCrunch asked why teens spend less time online than adults. I'd suggest that the disconnected state of high school classrooms and the connected nature of most adult jobs easily accounts for this.
4. "if you’re between 25 and 34 years old, you watch online videos about 35% more than teens do (and they don’t have to go to the office every weekday)
5. Teenagers enjoy video games, but they don’t necessarily carry a particular interest in ones that are violent of nature
6. Teens who recall advertising are 44% more likely to say they liked the ads than adults (ok now I’m scared)
7. 1 out of 4 teens reads newspapers daily
8. one last takeaway from the report is that teens evidently have their favorite TV shows, websites and genre preferences … only they’re almost exactly the same as their parents."
You can download the report over at NielsenWire, or consult the embedded file at the bottom of the TechCrunch post.
I think the Nielsen report shows that it's no longer about teens and the new normal is fully here. What's next?
For a start I'd watch for:
a. Significantly more mobile search in North America (the Jackson death created a huge mobile search spike).
b. Extra special features being added to the social networks to take them to the next level.
c. Interactive TV now that the TV broadcast system is totally digital and able to accept two-way communication. Watch for the Fall network sweeps weeks to be interactivity on steroids. I don't just mean reality TV or the dancing and singing competitin shows. In a couple of years we'll be choosing plotlines.
Next station arriving on the web. No one can get off this time.
Stephen
Stephen
Posted by stephen at 9:33 AM | Comments (2)
E-Government Needs Public Libraries
Now more than ever public libraries must promote the role they play in the fabric of society. As government services and communications go increasingly more web based the role of the public library as a point of contact for all, especially those in the digital divide, needs to be clearly known.
ALA is there for everyone again.
U.S. Public Libraries and E-Government Services [PDF] is a new issue brief from the American Libraries Association (ALA). From the press release announcement:
Roles of public library technology in supporting E-government highlighted in new issues brief
“Public libraries often are the only organizations within a community that can help individuals interact with government agencies and access e-government services,” said ALA Executive Director Keith Michael Fiels. “As more and more government information and services are becoming only available online, there is an urgent need for governments to collaborate with public libraries to provide e-government services that best meet community needs.”
Stephen
Posted by stephen at 9:27 AM | Comments (0)
Unselfish Communication
As we approach this long weekend for Canada Day in Canada and July 4th in the US, take a look at the conversations you will have around the BBQ and try to remember them.
They're often the perfect mix of conversations with family, close friends, new friends and acquaintances.
Read this Bivings posting first:
Demystifying the Social Medianess – Unselfish Communication
What makes us social?
Bivings suggests that when we are social, we talk, communicate, share ideas, give advice, help, listen, swap recipes, share sports scores, tell stories, etc.
Now think about your social presence on the digital world and your identity there. Is there any relationship at all? I find mine is pretty close. My friends in real life are often friends on my social sites. My family is there, mostly. And there are quite a few colleagues and other acquaintances.
Anyway, I always enjoy the Summer long weekends. It's fun to see how things are moving closer together.
What are you sharing at the Summer BBQ that your share around the water cooler and also online?
Has it changed over the last five years with the emergence of social networking sites? At least Facebook doesn't remember your toilet training disasters or high school disappontments like family does! My advice, try to hide the family pictures before they show up there... (grin).
Have a great weekend.
Stephen
Posted by stephen at 8:43 AM
Documenting the Digital Generation
Henry Jenkins points to a great new project on his blog, Confessions of an Aca-Fan.
"The George Lucas Educational Foundation recently launched an exciting new website -- Digital Generation -- which offers a wealth of videos which will be relevant to anyone who wants to better understand the new media literacies, participatory culture, and young people's online lives, themes which recur here with great frequency."
Watch the videos. I was enthralled.
Cool researcher interviews like the MacArthur Foundation's Digital Media and Learning initiatives, including Katie Salen, Howard Gardner, Sasha Barab, John Palfrey, James Paul Gee, Henry Jenkins, and Mimi Ito.
Then there are the kids - It's like watching a focus group behind the two-way mirror. Voyeuristic research.
Stephen
Posted by stephen at 8:17 AM | Comments (0)
June 29, 2009
Alliance Library System Trends Report
SirsiDynix client, ALS (the Alliance Library System) in Illinois is a multitype consortia that includes nearly every kind of library and it's one of our most innovative! You might have visited them in Second Life.
Anyway, some library systems do annual reports and there have been some great innovations there too. However, ALS has gone one step further and published the ALS Trends Report. It's on their website and they've done a presentation to their boards and funders.
2009 ALS Trends Report Released
"Annually, the Alliance staff write a report highlighting the main socioeconomic and demographic trends that impact libraries. It includes the major trends, changes in the Illinois’ demography and the very popular Watch List that points to the 26 most interesting libraries in North America."
(29 page PDF)
I recommend reading it for the content as well as an example of something that educates your communities about the role and challenges facing libraries today.
Congratulations on a great report to Kitty Pope and her team. Thanks for sharing.
Stephen
Posted by stephen at 11:14 AM | Comments (0)
NEFLIN
I had a nice trip to Jacksonville Florida to do the luncheon keynote at the NEFLIN Technology Day.
Here's the PowerPoints:
Innovation in Libraries: NOW more than ever
I had some great conversations with SirsiDynix clients and others about our mutual future.
Stephen
Posted by stephen at 10:54 AM | Comments (0)
Moving Ads in Kansas
I found this via LIS News. Congratulations to Johnson County Library System for being creative.
The full story is here:
Library trucks bear literary ads
"If delivery trucks driving around Johnson County emblazoned with ads for peculiar businesses prompt some double-takes, they’re doing their job.
Benjamin Button’s Diaper Service?
Kafka’s Pest Control?
Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde’s Pharmacy?
No, Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde are not entering the CVS-Walgreens War.
Four literary themed trucks are part of a new ad campaign for the Johnson County Library. Officials hope the trucks will spark interest and bring even more readers to their doors."
What are your best ideas for engaging library ads on your vehicles, book drops, bus shelters, etc.?
Stephen
Posted by stephen at 8:12 AM | Comments (0)
June 28, 2009
Google Books, Scholar and Good Enough
Steve Arnold, one of my favourite industry iconoclasts and the author of several books about Google, gave the keynote at NFAIS on June 26th. I wish I'd been there but he has put his speaking notes up on his blog, Beyond Search. In this speech he speculates about what Google's endgame is. They're worth a read.
Google Books, Scholar and Good Enough
Here are his conclusions as a teaser. Read the whole speech.
"In closing, will there be a sequel to this epic battle between Google and its challengers? I have no idea. I can offer three closing observations:
First, Google has a system that works a bit like Lego blocks. Services, even information, can be snapped together. It is, therefore, imperative that those who want to understand Google look beyond advertising, Web search, and the squabble over Google Books. The company can morph without warning. This makes Google a very formidable competitor. How long would it take Google to become a publisher and resolve copyright by asking me to “publish” my next study for Google, for distribution by Google, and for monetization by Google. In my case, not long at all. My traditional publishers are struggling and their woes impact my financial future. Maslow’s hierarchy comes into play, not a love of tradition.
Second, those fighting Google have to recognize that Google is not a small company. Forget the lava lamps. Google can be a dominant force in certain battles. Without resources, fighting Google can be a difficult proposition. Viacom has been chasing Google for years. What’s the status? Stalled by legal maneuvers. This is an arena for those with considerable funds, lawyers, and stamina. European legal challenges may be contentious. Google Books is not deep linking. Google Books is a large dataspace.
Third, I am pragmatic. For years, I have been urging publishers to surf on Google. Now “wave” has another meaning. Google’s newest technology can engulf some organizations. For some, Google presents an opportunity for a thrilling ride. For libraries faced with funding pressures, Google offers one way to obtain digital instances. For scholars, something good enough may have to do. For others, Google represents a powerful force that can change landscapes. Like some natural forces, Google operates slowly. Are we discerning what is truly significant about Google Books? Are we watching a minor feature, not the major thrust of the activity? I am trying to get the right perspective. Are you?"
Steve always looks beyond what's happening now and sees the potential consequences and scenarios. He's always interesting.
Stephen
Posted by stephen at 12:54 PM | Comments (0)
Using the Social Web to Promote Ideas
Gary Hayes has offered up a wonderful photo graphically arraying key Web 2.0 social networking sites to promote ideas to the world. This version is copyright Gary Hayes under Creative Commons licensing:
"By Gary Hayes and Laurel Papworth - From a presentation I gave at SPAA Fringe on Saturday 25 Oct 2008 in Sydney. Concepts behind this covered in the slides embedded on www.personalizemedia.com/the-future-of-social-media-enter.
* INVOLVE - live the social web, understand it, this cannot be faked
* CREATE - make relevant content for communities of interest
* DISCUSS - no conversation around it, then the content may as well not exist
* PROMOTE - actively, respectfully, promote the content with the networks
* MEASURE - monitor, iteratively develop and respond or be damned!"
Use this photo as a discussion starter about how your library will promote the idea of the library!
Stephen
Posted by stephen at 9:35 AM
June 27, 2009
Geek The Library
Have you reviewed the Geek The Library site yet?
The ‘Geek the Library’ campaign, was made possible by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, and built by OCLC. It highlights what people are passionate about and how libraries can support them, in an effort to heighten awareness about the critical funding issues public libraries face.
Here are some teasers from the site but it is really worth a visit for the visuals, celebrities and resources:
"It's All About You. Turn your passions into support.
No matter who you are, there are things you are passionate about—things you geek. Maybe you geek engineering or hip hop. Maybe you are passionate about composting, schooners or vampires. Or maybe you just geek the weather.
Whatever you geek, serious or fun, the public library supports you.
The Geek the Library project is a community-based public awareness campaign aimed at spreading the word about the vital and growing role of your public library, and to raise awareness about the critical funding issues many U.S. public libraries face.
The Goal
The campaign hopes to inspire a conversation about our incredible public libraries and their urgent need for increased support. We hope you tell people what you geek, how the public library supports you and your community, and that everyone in your community benefits from the services your local library provides.
The campaign is sponsored by OCLC, a nonprofit library cooperative that has provided services to help libraries deliver more to their users for four decades. Supported by a grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, OCLC partnered with Chicago-based marketing communications agency Leo Burnett USA to create the campaign."
Encourage your users to join the campaign and get the e-mails. It's a good site. [Unfortunately it's restricted to US residents only. (Hint - to get the newsletter, just make up a zip code. It's too bad international companies, like everyone involved in this site, are being chauvinisitic. Web scale used to mean international.)]
Stephen
Posted by stephen at 9:07 PM | Comments (0)
June 26, 2009
Book Launch 2.0
You gotta love this YouTube Video that addresses how to promote books. This one is about promoting a new book as an author or publisher but there's lots to learn from it for libraries to.
And it's very funny too.
Stephen
Posted by stephen at 12:39 PM | Comments (0)
June 25, 2009
Managing Influence for Power
The role of influence in our profession is underrated and undervalued. We need to get better at demonstrating the postive influence that interacting with information professionals has as well as the key value add of our profession on any organization.
The Lone Wolf Librarian pointed to this great article and quote in Business Week. It has a lot to say about librarians and specialized librarians in particular.
Effectively Influencing Decision-Makers
These eleven rules about how you can influence decision-makers to adopt your ideas will benefit your career—and the organization you work for
By Marshall Goldsmith
My favourite quote:
Peter Drucker has written extensively about the impact of the knowledge worker in modern organizations. Knowledge workers can be defined as people who know more about what they are doing than their managers do. Many knowledge workers have years of education and experience in training for their positions yet have almost no training in how to effectively influence decision-makers. As Peter has noted, "The greatest wisdom not applied to action and behavior is meaningless data."
The paragraph above could describe the ambition of every member of SLA!
The 11 guidelines from the article (and expanded on therein) can help you do a better job of influencing decision-makers:
1. Every decision that affects our lives will be made by the person who has the power to make that decision, not the “right” person or the “smartest” person or the “best” person. Make peace with this fact…
2. When presenting ideas to decision-makers, realize that it is your responsibility to sell, not their responsibility to buy…
3. Focus on contribution to the larger good—not just the achievement of your objectives…
4. Strive to win the big battles. Don’t waste your energy and psychological capital on trivial points…
5. Present a realistic ‘cost-benefit’ analysis of your ideas—don’t just sell benefits…
6. ‘Challenge up’ on issues involving ethics or integrity—never remain silent on ethics violations…
7. Realize that powerful people are just as human as you are. Don’t say, ‘I am amazed that someone at this level…’…
8. Treat decision-makers with the same courtesy that you would treat customers—don’t be disrespectful…
9. Support the final decision of the organization. Don’t tell direct reports, ‘They made me tell you.’…
10. Make a positive difference—don’t just try to ‘win’ or ‘be right’…
11. Focus on the future—let go of the past…”
Other great quotes in the article:
"One of the most important behaviors to avoid is whining about the past."
"Successful people love getting ideas aimed at helping them achieve their goals for the future. By focusing on the future, you can concentrate on what can be achieved tomorrow, not what was not achieved yesterday."
"Think of all of the knowledge that you have accumulated. Think about how your knowledge can potentially benefit your organization. How much energy have you invested in acquiring all of this knowledge? How much energy have you invested in learning to present this knowledge to decision-makers so that you can make a real difference? My hope is that by making a small investment in learning to influence decision-makers, you can make a large, positive difference for the future of your organization."
Read the whole article. Live it.
Also, Lone Wolf puts a few more links about influence in her posting.
Now is the time to have confidence in our abiliites to have a positive added value.
Stephen
Posted by stephen at 6:09 PM | Comments (2)
Mobile Libraries
Mobile libraries used to be bookmobiles. Now it`s something different.
The University of Cambridge has released the report: M-Libraries: Information use on the move: a report from the Arcadia Programme by Keren Mills.
You can find a PDF of the full report here.
``These results suggest it is not worth libraries putting development resource into delivering content such as eBooks and e-journals to mobile devices at present. EBooks are already accessible via some mobile phones, such as iPhones and Windows Mobile devices, and audio files such as podcasts and audio books can easily be played on many mobile phones or portable media players. At present, however, most users are put off by the constraints of the technology, such as poor screen quality. iPhone users are already more inclined to read eBooks on their phones, according to comments from the respondents to this survey.``
Lordy! Can you imagine a sillier conclusion. Most people in the world don`t have e-mail, telephones, or enough food to eat. Let's wait until they do before we prepare libraries for a change that's happening now.
I remember leading one association that had the e-mail addresses of 97% of it`s members and there were still some nervous nellies who felt that we should wait until everyone caught up.
No wonder some people think that libraries lag!
Is there something in our culture that says we always have to be behind the curve, lagging, and always playing catch up?
Stephen
Posted by stephen at 3:35 PM | Comments (3)
Putting the "NO" in Innovation
This is a cute video just for fun. It was shown at the Canadian Library Assoication Conference this year and takes a humourous look at those who prefer to not change:
Putting the "NO" in Innovation
Stephen
Posted by stephen at 10:25 AM | Comments (0)
June 24, 2009
Hope for Military 2.0
It was great to see the improvements to US government policy in adopting web 2.0 technologies. I've already blogged several of the changes from the new administration to allow more 2.0 technology to be used by government.
I was also heartened to see that the US "Army has ordered its network managers to give soldiers access to social media sites like Facebook, Flickr, and Twitter, etc. ... That move reverses a years-long trend of blocking the web 2.0 locales on military networks."
Quite a few sites will still be blocked (like YouTube - don't want the soldiers seeing their kids at play) but it's a step in the right direction.
On a related note, NASA has started a social networking site for employees:
For NASA Employees, It's "Spacebook" Not Facebook
The posting above outlines how many folks have to be involved to get something innovative like this off the ground.
Stephen
Posted by stephen at 4:18 PM | Comments (2)
June 23, 2009
Things to Know About Google Book Search
In my inbox for the past week Google Book Search has been coming up a lot. Here are three must know things that you might want to read:
Article in The Chronicle of Higher Education (Thanks LIS News)
``In its frenzy to digitize the holdings of its partner collections, in this case those of the Stanford University Libraries, Google Books has pursued a "good enough" scanning strategy. The books' pages were hurriedly reproduced: No apparent quality control was employed, either during or after scanning. The result is that 29 percent of the pages in Volume 1 and 38 percent of the pages in Volume 2 are either skewed, blurred, swooshed, folded back, misplaced, or just plain missing. A few images even contain the fingers of the human page-turner.``
Google Books updated with new features
``Google Books has seven new and useful features, including the ability to easily embed a book into a blog post, better search within books, easier access to tables of content, and a way to turn pages, as well as an improved Book Overview page.``
Library Associations Release Guide to Google Book Search Amended Agreement (June 17, 2009)
``Washington DC—The American Library Association (ALA), the Association of Research Libraries (ARL), and the Association of College and Research Libraries (ACRL) announce the release of “A Guide for the Perplexed Part II: The Amended Google-Michigan Agreement.” The amendment represents important additions and this guide provides an overview to help librarians better understand the revised terms.``
At SLA last week we got to hear from one of the leaders in the Google Book Search group discuss the Google - AAP draft agreement. It will be better when all of the legal issues are settled in the right way so that we can move on with building better libraries. I`ll be interested to see what the courts decide.
I am excited to see so many SirsiDynix customers adding Google Book Search features to their OPAC`s using the Google and SirsiDynix API`s.
Stephen
Posted by stephen at 1:05 PM | Comments (0)
YouTube (Size of)
Yes, YouTube is big, and dominant!
Michael Arrington is reporting that:
``Recent Comscore data says Google/YouTube streams just under 7 billion videos per month in the U.S., up from around 5 billion/month late last year. That’s about 225 million streams a day, which still puts them well above all the next major competitors (MySpace, Hulu, Yahoo, Viacom, Microsoft, etc.). Nielsen says Google/YouTube streams 5.5 billion videos/month in the U.S.``
``But the real number of streams/day, we’ve now confirmed from Google, is above 1 billion/day worldwide. That matches what we’ve heard from other sources. That pretty much means everyone on the Internet, on average, is watching one YouTube video per day.``
That`s a lot of video!
Stephen
Posted by stephen at 12:59 PM | Comments (0)
June 22, 2009
When I Become a Teacher
These two YouTube videos are from Apple and talk to the use of computers in the classroom.
When I become a Teacher (original)
When I become a Teacher (remix)
I was talking to some school librarians this week where nearly everything was banned at their schools. Amazing!
Like I've said before, we have got as a profession care about these sort of black and white acts as much as we care about book bannings and censorship. Libraries can create safe spaces that don't add to the problem of inadequate preparation for the world of the future.
Stephen
Posted by stephen at 12:45 PM | Comments (1)
Too Many New Search Services and other innovations
OK, I am officially overwhelmed, well maybe just whelmed, about how to keep track of the new search services.
First it was Cuil and that at first seemed so dumb so it was easy to ignore. I went back recently and they offer better facets and the results for my standard searches were pretty good. At first I thought their index was toooooo big but it seems that they've improved.
Then it was a few new ones recently that are worth paying attention to.
Wolfram: Alpha, Bing and Google Squared.
I am not totally up to speed yet but I like some features in all three.
The Disruptive Library Technology Jester blog's comparison Alpha Bing Squared screencast is available on YouTube:
DLTJ Alpha Bing Squared screencast
If you're more into text, the blog posting is good too:
Three New Search Services: Wolfram|Alpha, Microsoft Bing, Google Squared
The Google Squared launch was also covered well by Search Engine Land.
Steve Arnold at Beyond Search covered Google Wave (Yep another innovation) here. He thinks it was rushed out to blunt the impact of Bing on Google.
Webware's review of Google Wave is a little longer but contains an interesting debate about writing and communication on the web.
From my personal perspective I have to say I am impressed with Bing. I like that it intuits where I am when I type 'weather'. It knew Toronto's weather when I am here but it knew Jacksonville on Thursday night too from the same laptop. Google didn't. I find Wolfram: Alpha to be hit and miss but when it hits it's amazing. Google Squared shows some potential and reminded me of mindmaps. It might be a good search planning aide.
Either way, I think we'll see some poaching of the best ideas from each as user take up causes migration and steal-this-idea innovation. Can Google defend its front runner status? Can anyone take the lead? Since it's not an election year, this might be the horse race to watch.
I'm just happy to see that things we've been offering in SirsiDynix OPACs for a year or two are now making it into the mainstream search space. I love faceted search, tri-grams, fuzzy logic, etc. Of course, if you're just trying to make search better and not kowtowing to the SEO and display ad buying gods, you can work on making a better search experience. Now that folks can see some of this innovation in the consumer space, maybe they'll choose to add it to their library experience offerings.
I'll be talking about some of this in our booth at ALA in Chicago in July in our presentation theatre. Drop by.
Stephen
Posted by stephen at 8:38 AM | Comments (0)
June 21, 2009
New SirsiDynix Blogs
I`ve been looking forward to posting this for a while and I`m finally home long enough to welcome the two new blogs at SirsiDynix to the world.
My colleagues are starting two new blogs - one to focus on development insights and commentary and another will focus on customer relations and training. They`re being written by our people in the trenches from all across North America including product developers, management, coders, CRM`s, trainers, and more.
The are linked from our main homepage but you can access them directly too:
SirsiDynix
http://www.sirsidynix.com/
We`ve announced them here:
http://www.sirsidynix.com/Newsevents/blogs.php
And here`s the direct links to the two new blogs:
SirsiDynix At Your Service
http://sirsidynixatyourservice.blogspot.com/
Welcome to the new "At Your Service" blog here at SirsiDynix. We are excited to discuss with you new service initiatives, new training methods, client care helps and more. We think this blog can help us work together even better and also give you access to ideas and thoughts from people with many years in the library automation field.
Let us take a journey together, and learn about best practices in library management, training your staff, how best to use client care, and more. We are excited to get started! I hope you are too and find much useful information in the forthcoming posts.
Please be sure to drop us a note and let us know what topics are of great interest to you, and we'll try to cover your pressing questions along with giving helpful hints to achieve success in your use of library automation products.
See you soon,
Matt Hawkins
COO, SirsiDynix
SirsiDynix Sustainable Development
http://sirsidynixsustainabledevelopment.blogspot.com/
Welcome to the "Sustainable Development" blog from a few of us at SirsiDynix. We are excited to communicate with you in this manner and hope it is beneficial to you.
Throughout the next several posts, we hope to convey a little of what we are planning down the road, thoughts we have on upcoming technology, and insights into the development of current and upcoming SirsiDynix products.
We hope you will feel free to comment on this blog and let us know what you are interested in hearing about. We are happy to take you behind the scenes and make this a helpful resource for you!
Cheers,
Talin
CTO
These are not intended to be for sales conversation purposes but are designed to encourage our folks to participate in the discussions about where the future of libraries and library systems is heading. These blogs will supplement our large customer communities, forums and discussion lists.
Be sure to add these to your RSS feeds with whatever aggregator you use (Google Reader, Bloglines, etc.)
Stephen
Posted by stephen at 1:32 PM | Comments (0)
June 20, 2009
Health: What do consumers do on the web?
And, in a follow up to that last post, the Pew has released their latest report on what American's do on the web to access healthcare information. It's a good place to start when designing your library's workshops on web searching for information and this is one of the top 10 searches and one where there is a ton of misinformation.
61% of American adults look online for health information
Washington, DC, June 11, 2009 - A majority of American adults look online for health information and most are accessing reviews and comments posted by fellow consumers.
According to a report released today by the Pew Research Center’s Internet & American Life Project and the California HealthCare Foundation, 61% of adults look online for health information. Of those, 59% have done at least one of the following activities:
-Read someone else's commentary or experience about health or medical issues on an online news group, website, or blog
- Consulted rankings or reviews online of doctors or other providers
- Consulted rankings or reviews online of hospitals or other medical facilities
- Signed up to receive updates about health or medical issues
- Listened to a podcast about health or medical issues
In addition, 20% of internet users who have looked online for health information, or “e-patients,” have actively contributed comments, reviews, and updates. E-patients in this group have, for example:
- Tagged or categorized online content about health or medical issues
- Posted comments, queries, or information about health or medical matters in an online discussion, listserv, or other online group forum
- Posted comments about health on a blog
- Posted a review online of a doctor
- Posted a review online of a hospital
- Shared photos, videos or audio files online about health or medical issues
In sum, 60% of e-patients (37% of all adults) have done at least one of the above activities.
"We are beginning to see e-patients turning to interactive features both to help them find information tailored to their needs and to post their own contributions," says Susannah Fox, a co-author of the report, and associate director of the Pew Research Center’s Internet & American Life Project. "They treat the internet as a supplement to traditional sources of information, using blogs, podcasts, and other online resources to deepen their understanding of a condition and sharpen their questions for a health professional."
The new Pew Internet/California HealthCare Foundation report, "The Social Life of Health Information," describes not only how American adults use the internet to gather and share health information, but also how the landscape has shifted in the last decade. In 2000, 46% of American adults had access to the internet, 5% of U.S. households had broadband connections, and 25% of American adults looked online for health information. Now, 75% of American adults go online, 57% of American households have broadband connections, and 61% of adults look online for health information. Further, many adults now have wireless access to the internet.
"Mobile access allows people to be 'always present' to each other and that seems to draw them into conversations about health," says Sydney Jones, a co-author of the report, and research assistant at the Pew Internet Project. "The early internet provided e-patients online tools that enabled research. Now the mobile, social internet enables connection and conversation."
Asked to assess the quality of their online health experiences, 60% of e-patients (42% of all adults) say they or someone they know has been helped by following medical advice or health information found on the internet. This represents a significant increase from a 2006 Pew report that found 31% of e-patients (25% of all adults) said that. Just 3% of e-patients say they or someone they know has been harmed by following medical advice or health information found on the internet, a number that has remained stable since 2006.
However, Americans’ longstanding practices of consulting a health professional, a trusted friend, or a wise family member persist as patients pursue good health. When asked which sources they turn to for assistance, the internet comes in third (tied with books) behind asking a health professional and talking with friends or family members.
The new poll also finds that the percentage of American adults getting exercise and fitness information online has jumped from 21% in 2002 to 38% in 2008 – an 88% growth, a more rapid increase than any other health topic covered in the survey.
In addition to fitness, six other health topics have been included in our surveys since 2002, all of which have gained audience share, including information about:
- A specific disease or medical problem (49% of adults, up from 36%)
- A medical treatment or procedure (41% of adults, up from 27%)
- Prescription or over-the-counter drugs (33% of adults, up from 19%)
- Alternative treatments or medicines (26% of adults, up from 16%)
- Depression, anxiety, stress or mental health issues (21% of adults, up from 12%)
- Experimental treatments or medicines (15% of adults, up from 10%)
Five specific health topics were added to the list in this survey, including information about:
- Doctors or other health professionals (35% of adults)
- Hospitals or other medical facilities (28% of adults)
- Health insurance, including private insurance, Medicare or Medicaid (27% of adults)
- How to lose weight or how to control your weight (24% of adults)
- How to stay healthy on a trip overseas (9% of adults)
The findings in this report come from a national phone survey done by the Pew Research Center’s Internet & American Life Project in partnership with the California HealthCare Foundation. Some 2,253 adults, age 18 and older, were interviewed in December 2008 about the social impact of the internet on health care. The interviews were conducted in English or Spanish and included 502 cell-phone interviews.
About the sponsors
The Pew Internet & American Life Project is an initiative of the Pew Research Center, a nonprofit "fact tank" that provides information on the issues, attitudes and trends shaping America and the world. The Project explores the impact of the internet on children, families, communities, the work place, schools, health care and civic/political life. The Project is nonpartisan and takes no position on policy issues. Support for the Project is provided by The Pew Charitable Trusts. More information is available at www.pewinternet.org
The California HealthCare Foundation is an independent philanthropy committed to improving the way health care is delivered and financed in California. By promoting innovations in care and broader access to information, our goal is to ensure that all Californians can get the care they need, when they need it, at a price they can afford. More information is available at www.chcf.org"
Stephen
Posted by stephen at 5:21 PM | Comments (0)
A Special Kind of Stupid
I love that the locals get it and hospital administration doesn't!
Protesters Demand to be Heard about the Closing of the Rapid City Hospital Library
Hospital Librarian Replaced by Electronic Library After 24 Years
Closing a hospital library is a special kind of stupid.
What kind of [insert polite word for moron or idiot here] closes a hospital library and replaces it with electronic resources alone?
Find me a hospital where all staff know how to search and use MESH. Find me a staff where their time is better spent researching rather than in patient care and interaction. With several indepth research studies showing that hospital librarians reduce patient mortality by up to 4% and change the diagnosis or clinical procedure up to 50% of the time, to the better, why would anyone close the hospital library?
This must have been done by an uninformed hospital adminsitrator or one who just doesn't care about patient care more than bucks. I hope I never have to depend on the services of Rapid City Regional Hospital!
Snark warning ahead:
What do we need medical professionals for anyway? I can look things up on the web. If my practice depends on excellent information, I guess the e-library is good enough. It's only life and death some of the time! (Sarcasm intended)
Why would you need information professionals in an information dependent environment? I wonder how many patients have to die at River City Regional Hospital before the lawsuit settlements outweigh the cost of the library. Less than one I bet!
I wonder where Dr. Robert Allen, RCRH's vice president of medical affairs, will be then.
Stephen
Posted by stephen at 5:07 PM | Comments (0)
June 19, 2009
Pew Report on Broadband Adoption
I was talking to a librarian this week who said one of her city leaders had seriously suggested that libraries should not be in the business of providig access to the Internet and should stick to their knitting. When city budgets are under extreme duress everything is up for grabs and everyone looks like a target. I am pretty sure that cutting Internet access at the public library wouldn`t happen but it just goes to show that we have to justify every service nowadays.
So this week`s Pew Internet and American Life report is particularly timely:
As Broadband Expands Rapidly, America's Poor Lag
Several groups of Americans have not attained the mark where more than half have home broadband. These include senior citizens, low income Americans, African Americans and rural Americans. Those with only high school education have only just hit 52%.
The role of the public library in providing affordable access to broadband Internet is clear. At this time in the economy we must tie broadband access services to the other programs of the library in assisting people to have greater economic success - finding jobs, taking courses, upgrading skills, helping children succeed, etc.
When the waterhole at the oasis in the desert gets smaller, everyone else starts to look like food. Be prepared.
Remember, nearly every American has broadband access to the web, but only if you include your public library.
Stephen
Posted by stephen at 4:03 PM | Comments (0)
June 16, 2009
Trends to help and hinder innovation
The BQF Innovation blog has some ideas on what might help or hinder innovation speed an dynamism in the near future. Check it out here:
Trends that will increase or inhibit innovation
"Some of the forces that will increase the need for innovation were:
1. Increased competition - particularly in services.
2. Increased consumer knowledge and choice.
3. Demand for sustainable green solutions.
Some of the forces that may inhibitit innovation and entrepreneurial activity were:
1. Higher levels of taxation will deter risk taking and start-ups. Why leave a comfortable job and risk starting a new business if the government is going to take over half the profits?
2. Banks will remain cautious about lending for some time.
3. With higher taxes and lower pension pots many people will defer retirement and work into their 60s and 70s. This could lead to an older generation of leaders who are more cautious and risk averse.
4. General uncertainty about the economic and political outlook.
I'd add that if you're attached to *hot* research areas you'll be in a more innovative niche than some others. I am thinking about stuff like stem cell research, alternative energy research (like wind), green technologies, cloning, genomic research, biosciences, social technologies, personal tech. devices, touch interfaces, etc.
Stephen
Posted by stephen at 9:39 AM
June 15, 2009
Types of Innovation
The "Think for a Change" blog has a nice post outlining a list of the different kinds of innovation.
What kind of innovator are you?
"Here's a small list of innovation niche areas just off the top of my head...perhaps you can think of more:
New Product Development
Research and Development
Prototyping
Idea Generation
Organizational Creativity
Design
Marketing/Advertising
Open Innovation/Co-Creation
Innovation Management & Leadership
Innovation Processes
Stage-Gate
Innovation Tools (mind mapping, idea management software, etc.)
Strategy & Planning
Metrics, Measurement & Analysis
Intellectual Property (Patents, Legal Protections)
Culture, People, HR
Customer/Consumer Research and Ethnography
Trends, Future Farming and Horizon Studies
Portfolio & Project Management
Scientific/Engineering
Collaboration
Training & Skill Development"
Off the top of my head, I'd add innovations in relationship management, markerting, communication, and user interfaces.
I think this highlights the importance of thinking about innovation in the broadest and most creative context. You need to keep your mind open to innovations small and large as well as across the board in all areas of the enterprise.
Stephen
Posted by stephen at 9:33 AM | Comments (0)
June 13, 2009
Quick Statistic
One of the MediaBistro soundbites that came out of the BookExpo America conference last week was that there are now 25 million Chinese readers who read online through a single website (Shanda) that has a unique subscription model.
I know this is corroborated by conversations I had at a client visit to Shanghai Library where the associate director commented that as many as 25% of their users preferred e-books over print books.
Learn more at: How 25 Million Chinese Readers Read Online
I know 25 million people isn't a lot by China's population but it's still a lot and shows an interesting tip of the iceberg for changing markets.
Stephen
Posted by stephen at 9:01 AM | Comments (0)
IOS Information Overload Syndrome
We're all here in DC for the SLA Conference. I hope to see everyone here since we're having the largest conference in a few years as well as celebrating our association's centennial year. I'll be speaking at a few sessions, doing tons of meetings, as well as inhabiting our SirsiDynix booth off and on.
You might want to check out this video on YouTube.
Do you suffer from Information Overload Syndrome - IOS?
It's just for fun.
Stephen
Posted by stephen at 7:34 AM | Comments (0)
June 12, 2009
A Library Story
A close friend shared this story with me and I think it's marvelous.
There are a thousand stories in the naked library!
"I know you love library stories, so here is a very sweet one from my friend, Rita, who you would have met years ago. Her maternal grandmother's spinning wheel was brought from Hungary (where her mother's family was from) to Austria (where her father's family was from) years ago, was painstakingly taken apart and all the pieces numbered by her paternal grandfather for transport to Canada. Once here it was put away and not thought about for years.
A few years back Rita had it shipped from Ontario to Edmonton, where she tried to find someone to put it back together for her. No luck as the numbers had largely become faded or peeled off and even the spinning guild could not help her. Rita's dad has a friend who is a talented woodworker here in Toronto and agreed to give it a try. She sent all the pieces to him plus printouts from the Internet she thought might be helpful, but he couldn't get it together. Finally Rita phoned a friendly Toronto librarian who found just the right book for the job.
Her dad had to go and get a library card after many years. When he picked up the book the librarian was the same one who had talked to Rita on the phone, and had a conversation with him about Rita, the spinning wheel etc. The book was perfect, and the friend, with help
from her dad, got the spinning wheel back together.
So after a journey of 3 countries and many years, it was a librarian who saved the day. Yay!"
Isn't that a nice story? A family memory was restored and a link to the past from a pile of wood with just a call to the library.
This happens thousands of time a day in today's library. Cherish these stories but collect them, blog them, share them. Libraries don't just store stories or just tell them, we make them too.
Stephen
Posted by stephen at 8:44 AM | Comments (0)
June 11, 2009
Libraries on Today Show today
There was a nice long segment about libraries on the Today Show this morning.
View it here.
And they even got the big guy, Matt, to do the segment intro.
Stephen
Posted by stephen at 5:12 PM | Comments (0)
Internet Use Triples in Decade
Internet Use Triples in Decade, Census Bureau Reports [from BeSpacific]
"New data from the U.S. Census Bureau show that 62 percent of households reported using Internet access in the home in 2007, an increase from 18 percent in 1997, the first year the bureau collected data on Internet use. Sixty-four percent of individuals 18 and over used the Internet from any location in 2007, while only 22 percent did so in 1997. Among households using the Internet in 2007, 82 percent reported using a high-speed connection, and 17 percent used a dial-up connection."
These figures come from the 2007 Internet and Computer Use Supplement to the Current Population Survey.
Might be time to update the data views of your population. These are 2007 numbers and it has only grown in two years.
Stephen
Posted by stephen at 1:03 PM | Comments (0)
3D Printing
I have to say that I fell in love with 3D printers the first time I saw them.
Mostly they're pretty bulky but they can take a digital file that describes something that has been desiged to be 3-dimensional and amke a copy of it. Its great for small toys and parts of machines and prototyes and the like.
Anyway, this one was blogged by Cory Doctorow recently and it's called a CandyFab since it makes 3D objects out of sugar.
Candyfab 6000: latest rev of 3D sugar-printer
Here's a picture of one copy:
There's a picture of the machine after the link. It is desktop sized.
I don't know what the library apps are to this but it sure could be fun! In the engineering world and art and design worlds these are used for rapid prototyping of 3D objects.
Hmmm, can you imagine an entire digital collection of 3D objects that you loaned on demand like eBooks can be now?
Maybe this is what a car parts shop is going to look like eventually... just push a button and get the part. It feels so Jetson.
And don't tell me you think it's impossible. Check out more copiers by searching 3d printing or 3d copies on Google.
Stephen
Posted by stephen at 8:32 AM | Comments (0)
June 10, 2009
IATUL Keynote in Belgium
I had the honour of doing this year's keynote for the IATUL conference last week. Here's the PPT's:
Library Innovation Processes towards Quality Enhancement
IATUL Conference
Leuven, Belgium
June 1, 2009
This was a very hospitable group and a great international conference.
Stephen
Posted by stephen at 2:31 PM | Comments (0)
Innovations in Toronto
The neat site Blade Diary has some thoughts and pictures on what to do with the increasing number of abandoned newspaper boxes on the sidewalks of my fair hometown.
Check out more photos here.
After a few days of the major newspapers meeting in Chicago where it is rumoured that they are deciding how to monetize their websites to recover increasing lost revenue on the print side of the house I wonder what'll happen...
Check out the gossip here, here and here.
As I've said before, what kind of RSS feed have you got going for local news on your library site? News is one of the top items of stickiest content for capturing returning users to your web presence, so it's a pretty good idea to make something that makes your website for your academic or public library sticky and promotes the rest of your services too. (You are an ad you know!) The news feed can be tended to in your portal presence without requiring daily management.
Stephen
Posted by stephen at 7:45 AM | Comments (0)
June 9, 2009
Nice Cincinnati Enquirer Article
This article in the Cincinnati Enquirer is a great motivational read:
What libraries are worth to us by Kara Swisher
My favourite quotes:
"It is needlessly provocative and shamelessly antagonistic behavior to pit books against technology. No one should ever do this. They are both sources of information. They are entirely different species, never meant to compete with each other."
"In lean times and fat times alike, the public library is the one place where it's always OK to overindulge."
"This atmosphere is in no way accidental. Librarians are almost eerily aware of what goes on inside your head. They know your tastes better than you do, being trained to cut through your vague references to plot or author and put their hands on what you need."
Cool. And a great way for Cincinnati PL to promote their high growth in usage.
Stephen
Posted by stephen at 8:29 AM | Comments (1)
June 8, 2009
Defend Libraries Video
Nancy Dowd at the M Word: Marketing Libraries has a link to a wonderful video in support of libraries in these dangerous budget times.
Watch the video. Then come back.
Libraries are integral part of a community's infrastructure
How awesome is it to see libraries positioned right along with the police and firefighters as essential community services?
In many respects citizens value the taxes they pay for police, firefighting, hospitals, ambulance service, and public libraries. Ask yourself this Sesame Street style:
"One of these things is not like the others,
One of these things just doesn't belong,
Can you tell which thing is not like the others
By the time I finish my song?
Did you guess which thing was not like the others?
Did you guess which thing just doesn't belong?
If you guessed this one is not like the others,
Then you're absolutely...right!"
This one is the public library. Why?
I and most people would pay a hefty fee to be guaranteed that I and my family would never have to visit or be visited by the police, fire crews, hospital staff, or ambulances. The only thing on that list that I pay taxes for that I willingly and gladly choose to go to often is the public library.
And that's different in a special way. All the others are awesome and Lord forbid they not be there or funded properly. But the world will be a lesser place and life in our communities damaged forever, if our public libraries are sacrificed at the altar of budgeting.
Stephen
Posted by stephen at 11:09 AM | Comments (0)
Alberta Libraries
I am in Alberta today and Tuesday. If you haven't seen these great and funny PSA Ads for libraries in Alberta, you're missing something. They're even maybe just a touch NSFW!
1. Alberta's Libraries, Books and Beyond (31 seconds)
2. Alberta's Libraries, Books and Beyond (31 seconds)
I love it when we're a little edgy and funny.
Stephen
Posted by stephen at 3:34 AM | Comments (1)
June 7, 2009
The Social Network World
TechCrunch posted Modeling the True Value of Social Networks: 2009 Edition.
Lots of interesting views and graphics on what the current potential is of each network.
Stephen
Posted by stephen at 12:31 PM | Comments (0)
Web 3.0 in Plain English
I picked this up from Lone Wolf Librarian (again - it's a library blog worth the RSS feed).
Web 3.0 Concepts Explained in Plain English
"Web 1.0 - That Geocities & Hotmail era was all about read-only content and static HTML websites. People preferred navigating the web through link directories of Yahoo! and dmoz.
Web 2.0 - This is about user-generated content and the read-write web. People are consuming as well as contributing information through blogs or sites like Flickr, YouTube, Digg, etc. The line dividing a consumer and content publisher is increasingly getting blurred in the Web 2.0 era.
Web 3.0 - This will be about semantic web (or the meaning of data), personalization (e.g. iGoogle), intelligent search and behavioral advertising among other things."
This blog posting has 6 web presentations on Web 3.0.
1. The Evolution of Web 3.0 (28 slides)
2. Why Web 2.0 / 3.0? (101 slides)
3. WWW 3.0: This time it's personal (130 slides)
4. Web 3.0 (44 slides)
5. Web 3.0 Explained with a stamp : The Basics (45 slides)
6. Web 3.0 Explained with a stamp : The Techniques (51 slides)
All of these slide presentations are worth the effort to click through. Check them out and be the first on your block to hate the term but know what you're talking about! Labels don't really mean that much - we've let people catalogue the books without reading them for years!
I gotta get me a proper SlideShare account and work on using that to load my PPTs to this blog. (Another summer project!)
Stephen
Posted by stephen at 12:07 PM | Comments (1)
The Future of Newspapers and Libraries
If you're interested in what's happening in newspaperland, you'll do well to check out and read the following links. The first article is a wealth of links and does well at showing the period we're entering is going to be a pretty interesting one in that Chinese curse kind of way.
News companies are embarking on a strategy to:
"Establish that news content online has value by charging for it."
"Maintain the value of professionally produced and edited content by "aggressively enforcing copyright, fair use and the right to profit from original work.""
"Negotiate a higher price for content produced by the news industry that is aggregated and redistributed by others."
"Invest in technologies, platforms and systems that provide content-based e-commerce, data-sharing and other revenue generating solutions."
"Refocus on consumers and users. Shift revenue strategies from those focused on advertisers.
"Focus on "core loyalists," lose "fly-by users.""
"Paid content wall would protect print subscriptions."
"Pressure Google."
"Kindle offers limited revenue potential, duplicates print audience."
Bullshit about newspapers' future, dissected by Cory Doctorow
Newspaper execs treading carefully on antitrust laws
Newspapers and Thinking the Unthinkable by Clay Shirkey
Seven reasons charging for content won’t work by Steve Buttry
The paid-online-subscription pipedream
Of course, so many libraries have gotten quite addicted to providing news content through free websites many often aren't aware of the percentage of content that is not on the website, the poor control, the bad searching of many sites at once, etc. I hope that libraries have thought through a few hybrid strategies as the coming version where more and more news content goes behind the paywall and your users will get less and less. It's time to promote the value of those news aggregators and your federated search offerrings like ProQuest, Serials Solutions, NewsBank, EBSCO, etc.
It's going to be a difficult two years for news intermediaries as the news companies, creators and reporters strive to find a new business model to compete with the huge drop in advertising driven by innovative disruptors like market makers such as Zillow, Craig's List and eBay.
As Cory notes: "Newspapers that are turning to paywall plans today are gambling on a risky revenue stream that even the experts aren't predicting will provide a replacement to their lost advertising revenues (their biggest financial problem is the rapid decline in advertising rates, not the slow decline in print circulation)."
If news is sick, then libraries that offer current events as a product or service better get their shots. It will be a long recovery since free doesn't last forever. If you develop a good strategy for news in your library, you'll be better prepared to deal with the coming changes in books, periodicals, music and video.
Stephen
Posted by stephen at 9:46 AM | Comments (1)
Web 3.0?
Robert Scoble at Scobleizer: Exploring the 2010 Web has a nice post arguing about whether to call it Web 3.0. Sound familiar?
My take is that it must be coming (probably already here) if people are arguing over whether to label it Web 3.0, the 2010 Web, the social web, the real time web or whatever. It's just different enough to require a new label, probably temporarily, until it's the new normal expectation and becomes the web again. I wonder if anyone calls it the Internet much anymore?
Anyway, I think Scoble's list of what is making up the 2010 Web is very interesting:
"1. Real Time. Google caught the Wave of that trend today BIG TIME.
2. Mobile. Google, again, caught that wave big time Wednesday when it handed Android phones to everyone at its IO conference.
3. Decentralized. Does Microsoft or Twitter demonstrate that trend? Not really well.
4. Pre-made blocks. I call this “copy-and-paste” programming. Google nailed it with its Web Elements (I’ll add a few of those next week).
5. Social. Oh, have you noticed how much more social the web is? The next two days I’m hanging out on an aircraft carrier with a few people who do social media for the Navy.
6. Smart. Wolfram Alpha opened a lot of people’s eyes to what is possible in new smart displays of information.
7. Hybrid infrastructure. At the Twitter Conference this week lots of people were talking about how they were using both traditional servers along with cloud-based approaches from Amazon and Rackspace to store, study, and process the sizeable datasets that are coming through Twitter, Facebook, and friendfeed."
I think we're seeing a new web emerge. Bigger, better and less easy to learn and less intuitive.
I am still digesting that new Microsoft Bing (But It's Not Google), Wolfram: Alpha, Google Wave, Yahoo changes, Google Squared, etc. I guess it's too much too fast for me!
Either way, as Buffalo Springfield said, "Something's happening here. What it is ain't exactly clear."
Stephen
Posted by stephen at 9:17 AM | Comments (0)
June 6, 2009
How Canadians Spend Their Time Online
This is an interesting new chart from Hitwise's new Canadian group:
Check out the full press release here.
I can't help bit think that it resembles a list of library services a bit ... eh?
Stephen
Posted by stephen at 5:04 PM
June 4, 2009
Screencasting
Wikipedia says that a "screencast is a digital recording of computer screen output, also known as a video screen capture, often containing audio narration." "Just as a screenshot is a picture of a user's screen, a screencast is essentially a movie of the changes over time that a user sees on his monitor."
There are loads of good uses for this in libraries. Paul Pival pointed to some good resources recently:
Here is a collection of 10 free screen recording softwares for creating attractive screencasts:
10 Free Screen Recording Softwares For Creating Attractive Screencasts
CamStudio
Jing
Webineria
Wink
UltraVNC Screen Recorder
Windows Media Encoder
BB FlashBack Express
CaptureFox (Firefox add-on)
uTIPu TipCam
Krut
12 Screencasting Tools For Creating Video Tutorials
It's older now but Paul Pival did an introduction to screencasting in 20076 for the SirsiDynix Institute.
Show and Tell The Easy Way - An Introduction to Screencasting
Library Journal netConnect is covering screecasting tools both free and fee and how sceencasting can be used in libraries:
Maybe it's time to do a new SirsiDynix Institute on this.
Stephen
Posted by stephen at 10:50 AM | Comments (1)
June 3, 2009
Top 10 Challenges
Peter Schwartz Pinpoints Ten Areas to Make a Global Impact, Find Success
Futurist and author addresses nearly 1,900 graduates at Rensselaer’s 203rd Commencement, President Jackson urges graduates to shape the 21st century
"Realizing the vision of a peaceful, prosperous world of 2050 will require monumental innovation, collaboration, and leadership."
The top tn are:
1. Creating long-term solutions to meet our energy demands sustainably.
2. Launching a bio-industrial revolution with sustainable manufacturing.
3. Understanding and enhancing the human brain to avert age-related impairments.
4. Improving agriculture to reduce costs and increase its energy and water efficiency.
5. Building sustainable cities through better urban planning and "smart architecture."
6. Stimulating job growth and economic development.
7. Fusing the technological with the spiritual and aesthetic dimensions of human culture.
8. Advancing technological instruments to drive scientific discovery forward.
9. Harnessing biological tools to advance human evolution.
10. Discovering new ways to lower the costs and environmental impact of space flight and development.
DETAILS: Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
http://news.rpi.edu/update.do?artcenterkey=2585
I'll bet there are library collections that are specializing in these area and building repositories.
Stephen
Posted by stephen at 11:57 AM
June 2, 2009
The New Marketing Mix
David Armano at the Logic + Emotion blog has done it again. He always creates the best visuals that explain complex topics.
As we evolve our way through making changes in balancing our traditional marketing mix with the digital and social marketing tools that are emerging as so important to our relationship with our communities.
Have you reviewed your marketing mix for your library lately? Is it flexible enough to adapt to coming changes in SEO, Yahoo!, Facebook, e-mail, Twitter, and whatever?
Stephen
Posted by stephen at 8:52 AM | Comments (0)
June 1, 2009
Encouraging Positive Behaviours
I first heard these statistics from Ken Haycock and I was reminded of them last week when I saw them in the Wall Street Journal (May 20, p. A13)
There are some good reasons to encourage hotel guests to re-use towels on longer stays. It saves the hotel laundry costs and every little bit adds up in helpig to reduce our impact on the environment. Read these communication differences:
1. "Help the hotel save energy" results in 16% towel reuse.
2. "Partner with us to help th environment" results in 31% towel reuse.
3. "Almost 75% of guests reuse towels" results in 44% towel reuse.
4. "75% of the guests who stayed in this room reuse towels" results in 49% towel reuse.
Hmmmm. And Wow.
Now think about libraries. We have alll followed the Flickr group on bad library signs. There's much to learn. If we had a good discussion about behaviours we wanted to encourage what would our signs look like?
If you accepted the research based communication results above, how would you:
1. Communicate about fines or returning books (on time)?
2. Communicate about not reshelving books?
3. Encourage parents and caregivers to attend story hours?
4. Pushing DVD's or books that weren't bestsellers?
5. Appropriate mobile phone use?
6. Encouraging good teen behaviours or dealing with loud and boisterous seniors?
7. Etc.
Lots of good stuff could emerge while creating a postive communication environment.
Stephen
Posted by stephen at 9:38 AM | Comments (2)