Monthly Archives: April 2008

106 posts

John Chrastka spells it out for you….

Jenny writes: I work with some fun and interesting people. John Chrastka is one of them, and not just because he’s willing to ham it up in service of ALA. John stars in the latest AL Focus video, a guide to Annual Conference for new attendees. Be sure to watch until the very end. Your ALA Annual Conference & You This is great stuff!

ALA Gaming Ramps Up!

LJ Reports: http://www.libraryjournal.com/article/CA6551184.html As with graphic novels, public libraries have been one of the greatest champions of putting gaming materials into the public’s awaiting hands. The American Library Association (ALA) is responding to requests from its constituents for more gaming suppliers on the show floor at its conferences by introducing a Gaming Pavilion at this summer’s Annual conference in Anaheim. ALA said the pavilion will include “electronic game publishers and platform companies, publishers of board games and card games, gaming table and furniture suppliers, and others.” The Gaming Pavilion will be the springboard of ALA’s “full-scale initiative to promote gaming in libraries.” […]

The Parallel Information Universe

But Web 2.0 is about much more than the technology—it’s about a change in focus to participation, user control, sharing, openness, and networking. Mike Eisenberg, Dean Emeritus and Professor, University of Washington, Seattle offers a balanced, thoughtful look at emerging technologies and libraries: http://www.libraryjournal.com/article/CA6551184.html Consider this passage on social networking: Opportunities Social networks provide an important vehicle to reach important users—upper youths, teens, and twenty- and thirtysomethings. Libraries currently support various real-world groups by providing space, resources and information services, education, and organizing assistance, and many are already experimenting in these social networks. (See www.libsuccess.org/index.php?title=Social_Networking_Software for some examples and best practices.) But most […]

Sutton leading the way on unhelpfulness?

http://philbradley.typepad.com/phil_bradleys_weblog/2008/04/sutton-leading.html Phil Bradley explains that he’s doing his work at a public library in the UK for a while. Currently, the library is renovating the space where he used to sit, so he’s sitting in a different place for the day: (emphasis mine) About 13.00 a librarian comes up to me and says ‘You have to move. You’re not allowed to use your own laptop here.‘ I asked why and she said that it’s because they don’t have the room, and people were complaining about lack of space. Which would be fair enough except that there has clearly been enough […]

Passion Quilt from Jason Griffey

http://www.jasongriffey.net/wp/2008/04/27/connections-are-everything/ Connections are Everything. This isn’t just personal connections, although as you go through school, read online, join groups and such, the personal connections you make are central to your success in life. My connectivity to individuals in libraries around the world have made me better at what I do and enabled me to build a rich understanding of practices different than just those I am surrounded with on a day-to-day basis. Maintaining these connections are incredibly important, and the social capital gained from them (both bridging and bonding) is a key to being successful in the modern age.

New Site for Library Press Releases and News

http://liswire.com/ Blake announces: I started a new site, LISWire – The Librarian’s News Wire (http://liswire.com), and I’m doing my best to spread the word. You can probably guess what the site is all about from the name, but there’s also 2 mailing lists, and a bunch of RSS feeds. Robin Blum and I are running the show and are looking for press releases and other news items of interest to librarians to get things going. You can sign up for an account and submit things you’d like to announce to the library world. I’ll be cross posting most announcements to LISNews for a little while […]