Monthly Archives: September 2010

26 posts

Upcoming Presentations Fall 2010

September 24, 2010: “Trends & Tech in Libraries,” Geneva Public Library Staff Day, Geneva, Illinois (via Skype) October 2010 – Internet Librarian International, London. Sadly, my leg injury is going to prevent actually traveling to London this year but we’re a working on some virtual participation options. October 29, 2010: “The Hyperlinked School Library,” Closing Keynote, Michigan Association for Media in Education Conference, Dearborn, Michigan November 5, 2010: “The Hyperlinked Library: Trends, Tools, Transparency,” Afternoon Workshop, New York Library Association Conference, Saratoga Springs, New York November 12, 2010: “Hyperlinked Library Services for Everyone,” Closing Keynote, Michigan Library Association Conference, Traverse City, Michigan

How to Raise Boys Who Read (Hint: Not with gross-out books and video-game bribes)

How to Raise Boys Who Read (Hint: Not with gross-out books and video-game bribes) I think what I hate seeing in these types of articles is the general “GAMES BAD BOOKS GOOD” thing (for the full effect, imagine The Incredible Hulk saying that).  Perhaps I’m only seeing this because of my interest in gaming (I am one of the co-founders of 8BitLibrary.com).  I don’t know.  I try to read articles like that from the approach of my parents, who are middle class, everyday blue collar folks who have their high school diploma.  What would they think?  I think they’d come […]

Thanks Geneva Public Library!

I had scheduled a talk at Geneva Public Library’s Staff Institute Day months ago – and the “Cooper Incident” changed everything. We were able to work out a good plan: I spoke to the group today for an hour via Skype about some library trends. We showed off Skype as a technology, I got to see the group, they got to see me and Cooper made his presence known with some barks. Thanks to all! The slides are here: http://dl.dropbox.com/u/239835/GenevaPLTrends.pdf

Are we ready?

Joshua Kim has a nice piece on reading with a Kindle: http://www.insidehighered.com/blogs/technology_and_learning/freedom_on_a_kindle But if Amazon is smart, and Bezos seems very smart to me, than I’m sure that the Kindle experience will continue to improve. We are not there yet, but the end of the future of the printed book format is in sight. The printed book will continue to live on, as either a high-end speciality item (as a tactile object and work of art) and a low-end mass market item, but the center for the printed book cannot hold. By the time my kids are both in college […]

Look Like your People – A TTW Guest Post by David Wedaman

People used to need the help of library and IT staff to do things like find articles, edit videos, create databases, install a VOIP phone system, etc. This is changing. People are increasingly sophisticated users of digital media and computers. Third-party software applications and web-based services (read: not made or vetted by your local library and IT staff) are increasingly accessible.  Obvious, I know, but it bears repeating. People don’t need us as they used to; yet we librarians and IT staff sense we can still be helpful (good for us!).  Our challenge is therefore this: we have to A) […]

The Future of the Book

Via Perpetual Beta: The Future of the Book. from IDEO on Vimeo. Meet Nelson, Coupland, and Alice — the faces of tomorrow’s book. Watch global design and innovation consultancy IDEO’s vision for the future of the book. What new experiences might be created by linking diverse discussions, what additional value could be created by connected readers to one another, and what innovative ways we might use to tell our favorite stories and build community around books? My first thought was the power of Coupland to enable group reading lists, shared libraries and easy connections would be perfect for faculty and […]

Discussion, Reflection, Questions, Change

I’m always watching for innovation in libraries for TTW Guest Posts, including interesting ideas and new practices. I’ll meet someone at a conference doing fascinating things, perhaps testing the waters in new areas, or read a thought provoking blog post, and I’ll often ask “Would you consider doing a TTW post?”  My hope is that by highlighting some new twist on what we do, we can get people to explore these issues.   I was pleased to see a comment show up on an older TTW post about Netflix use by libraries that lead to a recent one that has […]