Sunday, March 18, 2007
Friday, March 16, 2007
Blog Post #5- Weaving the Web
His closing chapter opens with the question, "Can the future Web change the way people work together and advance knowledge in a small company, a large organization, a country?" We can answer that question. We know that the Web has changed the way libraries work and the way they advance knowledge.
Berners-Lee observes, "that people seem to be naturally built to interact with others as part of a greater system". Blogging? Flickr? MySpace?
"If we lay the groundwork right and try novel ways of interacting on the new Web, we may find a whole new set of financial, ethical, cultural, and governing structures to which we can choose to belong, rather than having to pick the ones we happen to physically live in".
I thought about our class visitors, Erik and Jaap, and how we were introduced to their library in Holland from their physical visit, yet we can continue to learn about their work at the Delft Library via the Web.
In a discussion of his goal for the Web, Berners-Lee describes a system that would take advantage of "ingenuity, inspiration, and intuition of individuals in a special way". We've seen examples of libraries subscribing to those technologies that maintain that goal. And for those librarians that have shied away from the technology, they may want to visit Berners-Lee's insights to understand the true nature of the Web and to use the evolving Web2.0 tools to provide their patrons with the information and services they need and want.
Wednesday, March 7, 2007
Friday, March 2, 2007
Blogpost #4 Library Blogs of Note
Ricklibrarian is written by”baby boomer” reference librarian, Rick Roche of the Thomas Ford Memorial Library in
I learned of the blog through an article, Balancing the Online Life in the January 2007 issue of American Libraries.
“In demonstrating his points, the speaker completely lost me. You may not need to write code, but you need to read it and know what bits to take, how to combine it, and where to put it. He moved a little too fast for me in this presentation. I need to start again with this topic” (Roche’s comments about a Mashup Application presentation at the Internet Librarian 2006 conference).
Ricklibrarian , “a review of books, websites, movies, or anything worth reviewing with comments about libraries and librarianship”, is valuable for it’s diversity of content as well as the observations and spirit of its creator.
It's comforting to read these musings from a fellow boomer who's challenged, but not defeated, by the new technologies, and whose adventure and humor make for enjoyable and informative reading.
Saturday, February 17, 2007
Blogpost #3--Learning Library 2.0
“Technology isn’t the story anymore. It’s what people are doing with it”.
That’s a quote from Hopping into Library 2.0: Experiencing Lifelong Learning, a SirsiDynix Institute Web seminar. I recently discovered these seminars on the Institute’s website and highly recommend them. They’re free, and you can attend the live feeds while sitting at your desk or listen to archived presentations 24/7. Visitors to the site have the option of viewing presentations or listening to them via podcasts (also available on iTunes), and supplemental material is available via PDF files. This particular seminar by the Yarra Plenta Regional Library,
The Yarra library’s seminar piggy backs on an earlier presentation , Learning 2.0 : Make "Play" Your New Year's resolution by Helene Blowers, Technology Director, Public Library of Charlotte and
Both libraries give examples of how they sought to empower and educate their staff in a “playful” environment in hopes of eliminating their fears. The PLCMC came up with a voluntary learning program for its staff, 23 Learning 2.0 Things which allowed them to spend as little as 15 minutes a day over a nine week period exploring Web 2.0. Their list was specific, and the activities were hands on. (Thank you, Michael. We’ve already learned about many of these technologies in LIS753!).
In our last class meeting, Michael asked our opinions about having LIS701 students begin their first class session creating a blog or using another Library 2.0 technology. I responded with a resounding, “No”. Reflecting back on my first 701 class session, I would have felt lost and intimated if these activities had been mandated. After having a look at both of these SirsiDynix seminars and reading PLCMC’s 23 Learning list, I’ve changed my mind. There is a way to safely ease new learners into the new technologies, and for those who don’t have the advantage of enrollment in a LIS753-type class, both of these libraries have shown us how to do it.
Friday, February 2, 2007
Blog Post #2 Future of Libraries-Online Conversation
Knowledge is created through conversation.
That’s a goal of the library as discussed in Participatory Networks The Library as Conversation produced by the Information Institute of Syracuse University for the ALA's Office for Information Technology Policy.
The paper, presented at the
What I found particularly fascinating in this paper, and why I recommend reading it, is that the authors begin their discussion with the premise that “libraries are in the conversation business”. Until now, none of the definitions of “library” I’ve studied have included this concept. The Institute observes, for example, that while brick-and-mortar libraries have exemplified this concept, i.e. speaker series, and book groups, their online systems, i.e. their catalogs, are one-way conversations. Participatory networks of Web 2.0 provide libraries with the opportunity for online conversations with their patrons.
The paper identifies, defines, and gives examples of the following characteristics of Web 2.0 : Social Networks (Flickr, The Alexandrian Public Library on MySpace); Wisdom of Crowds (LibraryThing, Wikipedia); Loosely Coupled APIs (YouTube); Mashups (ChicagoCrime); Permanent Betas (Google Labs); Software Gets Better the More People Use It (Amazon) and Folksonomies (PennTags).
Not to worry. I wasn’t familiar with all of these characteristics of Web 2.0 nor many of the sites listed. That’s what’s invaluable about this brief. While the authors define these Web 2.0 tools and give examples of them, they discuss these technologies relative to the concept of the library as a place of conversation.
Finally, one of the most exciting developments of participatory librarianship discussed in the paper is the reference blog. We know that face-to-face, IM, and chat reference transactions are, indeed, conversations. However, reference blogs would enable “multiple librarians and other users to be a part of a question-answering community. Reference done online creates artifacts of reference conversations: electronic files than can be cleaned of personal information and placed in a knowledge base and used as a resource for other users”. Wouldn’t it be rewarding to know that your initial reference question led to a discussion and an answer that ultimately became part of a library’s collection?
Friday, January 19, 2007
Blog Post #1 Library Blogs of Note
http://www.blogwithoutalibrary.net/
I’m relatively new to blogs having only read a friend’s and a few library blogs discussed in journal articles and publications. Wanting to become more familiar with this type of technology and its use in libraries, I began researching blogs.
Blog Without a Library is one I discovered in my search, and it’s informative and functional. The site was created by Amanda Etches-Johnson, a librarian at McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario Canada. In her introduction, Etches-Johnson advises her readers that she writes about “emerging technologies, social software, web design, and the user experience”. In fact, her title at McMaster University’s library is “user experience librarian”. (I e-mailed her asking about her job title and how it was created, but I haven’t heard back from her….yet).
One of her most recent postings (January 12, 2007) discusses a survey Johnson put up in November asking about the use of 2.0 tools in special libraries. Over 60 libraries responded to questions such as, “What 2.0 tools do you use in your library?” Some of the responses are shown graphically which makes them easy to review. Respondents’ remarks are also listed in easy to read bullet points. Since I’m interested in special libraries, I found this survey particularly useful and revealing.
The site includes a menu which contains: archives (listed by category and by date); presentations and workshops Etches-Johnson is conducting (current and past); and articles.
Blog Without a Library offers a wealth of information for those of us who are novices to library blogs. Etches-Johnson says she “likes lists”, and so do I. Included in the blog is the blogging libraries wiki, the purpose of which is to collect links to library blogs. The categories include: academic, public, school, and special. In addition there are listings of blogs from library associations, library directors, and internal library communication.
Amanda Etches-Johnson has created a comprehensive primer that’s easy to navigate and allows quick access to a variety of library blogs through its collection of links. Reviewing her site provided me with useful examples of the kinds of blogs libraries are creating, news about what's happening in all types of libraries, and the issues and concerns librarians are discussing.
(Note: Michael Stephens is participating in Library 2.0.: Learning 2.0 Kickoff Presentation at McMaster University in early February).
Here’s a sample of some of the links and types of blogs on Blog Without a Library’s wiki:
Some libraries address particular interests:
http://genealogy.plymouthlibrary.org/
Some address particular patrons:
http://www.kiddosphere.blogspot.com/
Other libraries announce exhibits and additions to their collections:
http://wulibraries.typepad.com/bionews/
There are solicitations for opinions and suggestions:
http://href="http://ee.iusb.edu/index.php?/onebook/
And musings from library directors:
http://vancouverlawlib.blogspot.com/
And political news and information:
http://www.unhq-appspub-01.un.org/lib/dhlrefweblog.nsf/
Monday, January 15, 2007
Stephen M. has a new neighbor!
While there are other libraries participating in this online world, it's noteworthy that this ALA office which "was established in 1945 as a conduit between ALA members and federal legislators on Capitol Hill" is using Second Life to direct users to their podcasts and blog which deal with copyright issues and library legislation.
Who knew you could learn about important issues in such a fun setting?
Thanks, Michael/Stephen M.