Daily Archives: December 15, 2008

8 posts

The Transparent Library: Six More Signposts

Check your ego at the door. Good leaders don’t surround themselves with “yes” people. And good leaders know that if their message is not being heard, or it’s being heard incorrectly, then the fault does not lie with the listener but with the speaker. Stop worrying about the snarkiness of survey responses and start worrying about the meaning behind those negative comments. Be sure to listen through the criticism. Behind relatively unconstructive criticism may lie a real concern. Show those critics you can listen, and show them that you’ll respond. Recognize and grow your talent. Talented staff reflect better on you. […]

Mobile Library Home Page

Superpatron reports on Duke University’s mobile home page for the library: http://vielmetti.typepad.com/superpatron/2008/12/duke-university-libraries-mobile-edition.html  Duke Libraries Mobile Library Home 1 Hours 2 Available Computers 3 Contact Us 4 Directions 5 Loan Periods 6 Links 7 Phone: (919) 660-5880 (Perkins Reference) 8 Main Library Home Page (not formatted for mobile devices) If you click through to “Available Computers” you get real time status of free/busy computers in their labs. This is what they write about it on their library blog: Key points about our pilot: Compact display: information optimized for the very small screen space available on handheld devices — every pixel counts. Compact file size: patrons often pay a fee for each byte transmitted […]

The Party Poopers

http://www.schoollibraryjournal.com/article/CA6617658.html Once it began, everything seemed to be going smoothly. That is, until I saw a security guard shoot a look at a group of loud teens, telling them to keep it down. He then shut the door in their faces as they stood in the doorway trying to get into the event. The teens were initially shocked and looked to each other for some kind of explanation. Then they burst out laughing at the absurdity of the situation. There were more than 150 teens attending this YA author visit, buying books, CDs and T-shirts. It was a librarian’s dream: […]

Google Magazine Search

Some big news. Magazines are now included in Google Book Search: http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2008/12/search-and-find-magazines-on-google.html Today, we’re announcing an initiative to help bring more magazine archives and current magazines online, partnering with publishers to begin digitizing millions of articles from titles as diverse as New York Magazine, Popular Mechanics, and Ebony. Are you a baseball history fanatic? Try a search for [hank aaron pursuing babe ruth’s record] on Google Book Search. You’ll find a link to a 1973 Ebony article about Hank Aaron, written as he closed in on Babe Ruth’s original record for career home runs. You can read the article in full color and in its original context, […]