Recently, ALA retweeted a tweet that originally came from @FSG_Books. It was a library haiku that read: A library card / is a 100% off / coupon for great books. This is a misconception throughout libraries everywhere. A library card isn’t a 100% off coupon. A library card is a tool that allows users to take advantage of the services and materials that have already been purchased for them. People who use the library and borrow those books have already paid for them. They’re not free books when the people borrowing them have already paid for them. Many users believe […]
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I’ve been thinking a lot about public libraries/organizations and social media lately, especially on the differences between Twitter and Facebook. I wanted to jot down some notes about what I think works and what doesn’t, & figured I’d share them publicly so that folks can do anything from heartily disagreeing with them in the comments to potentially benefiting from them. I’ve had a personal Twitter account and followed libraries with it since fall of 2007, but have only recently started tweeting for a library system (about a month now). I still have a lot to learn, but I’ve also learned […]
Via the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette… Gov. Tom Corbett’s no-new-tax pledge means he has to figure a way to slash billions of dollars across the board from Pennsylvania’s budget, and it’s unlikely libraries will emerge unscathed. Into this breach steps janet jai of Highland Park. (She had her name legally changed to lower-case letters a long time ago, but that’s another story.) Ms. jai (pronounced like the letter J), 65, has rushed out 500 copies of a self-published, 165-page paperback book, “Saving Our Public Libraries: Why We Should. How We Can.” We met Monday to discuss her fundraising suggestions. I had coffee […]
Are Libraries limited, obsolete? I don’t think so… Into my email box, from Nathan Rinne, Media Cataloging Technician at the Educational Service Center in Maple Grove, MN, comes a link to an opinion piece in the Lawrence, Kansas paper: http://www2.ljworld.com/news/2006/oct/02/libraries_are_limited_obsolete/ I’ll quote a bit of it here, as author Mark Hirschey urges readers not to want a new downtown library because everything is online and young people aren’t using libraries. He offers three points: 1. Libraries are inefficient. Like me, kids seek fast, convenient access to up-to-date information. That’s available on the Internet. In this new information age, libraries are […]
(A confession: I’ve been sitting on this post a LONG time…I finally decided to put it out there and see how it goes.) I happened across this post at Wandering Eyre entitled “IM me. Oh wait, we do not do that here. (Read the whole post & the comments!) “…my library’s new web developer, and my technology partner in crime, asked me last week why we do not have IM. It is blocked on the staff computers and we do not do chat reference. I sighed heavily and told her that was a conversation best had over drinks, but I […]
Stephens, M. (2008). Taming technolust: Ten steps for planning in a 2.0 world. Reference and User Services Quarterly, 47, 4, 314-317. Note: This article was originally published in RUSQ and on the RUSQ Blog. Permission has been granted to share it here as well. I’ll be using it for a workshop next week at the 11th Southern African Online Information Meeting, Sandton, South Africa. Back in 2004 when I started writing and speaking about technology planning, I urged librarians to be mindful of letting a desire for flashy, sexy technology outweigh conscious, carefully planned implementations. Over the years, I’ve returned to […]
by: Claire Steiner Dominican University ———- During my days as a MLS student, I have heard the phrase “running a library like a business” too many times to count. So many times, in fact, that I have decided to examine what exactly this concept entails and the effects it may have on libraries and the inevitable implementation of Library 2.0 technologies. The reality is that many libraries are being run like businesses these days, however, they are still not living up to their potential. So it begs the question, how does running a library more like a business make it […]
Via Brett Kochendorfer Google Friend Connect lets you grow traffic by easily adding social features to your website. This means means more people engaging more deeply with your website — and with each other. In this video, Google Product Marketing Manager Mendel Chuang gives a short introduction to Google Friend Connect. Very interesting -especially the bit about ease of sign on via any number of services and adding the Friend Connect to your site takes no programming skills whatsoever. Looks like ratings, friends and comments can easily be integrated. Ways it might affect libraries: Folks will come to expect this […]
Via Katharine, a Dom GSLIS student, Librarians want to turn us all into privacy fiends The ALA’s new campaign wants to 1) educate people, and then 2) turn them into activists. The education component of the three-year program will make people aware, for instance, that “checking out a biography of Osama Bin Laden could prompt seizure of their library records” or that “online searches create traceable records that make them vulnerable to questioning by the FBI.” The ALA also worries about provisions in the law that “gag” the people who are on the receiving end of government orders to turn […]
By Michael Casey & Michael Stephens The most difficult part of 2.0 librarianship is not the creation of new services nor even the job of convincing those in charge to let you try those new ideas. No, the hardest part is often the reexamination of ideas. It’s a key factor of any library service and part of the definition of Library 2.0 that sometimes gets overlooked. The evaluation of newer and existing services is critical for any successful library. It can be accomplished via vertical teams or a mix of internal and external evaluators; either way, you must look at […]