Tame The Web

Michael’s EDUCAUSE Learning Initiatives 2010 conference presentation where he discussed “The Hyperlinked Campus” leads nicely into a recent post I made detailing exactly how Michael and I put together his course sites from a technical standpoint.

If you’re looking to break free from the constraints of your learning management systems (LMS), I highly suggest you look into using WordPress MU and BuddyPress for a custom LMS.  See all the details here: http://thecorkboard.org/blog/enhancing-wordpress-as-lms/

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Kyle Jones, TTW Contributor
@thecorkboard
thecorkboard.org

In Mick Jacobsen’s post, “An Unformed Thought,” in which he discussed the possibility of libraries acting as a hub for information technology needs such as website design and hosting, he hit on a core value of librarianship – community building.  As we strive to build library spaces that are usable and promote interaction and collaboration, we naturally try to enhance interpersonal connections and create conversations that connect our patrons either to us or other users.  And the conversation in the past couple of years has advanced this thought into our online spaces but with a reliance on preexisting technologies like social networks.  Mick, and I in response to Mick, are wondering what more we can do as librarians to advance these online connections.  What web services can we offer as libraries, as hubs of the community, to better carve out community space and information services?  It’s a change in thought from reactive online community building to the proactive.

Clearly there is a reliance on technology with this conversation.  I’d like, however, to hold off on this until a bit later.

Our core values in librarianship revolve around providing information services and we do that quite well.  Cecily Walker comments on Mick’s post:

While we may know a great deal about the organization of information and how that relates to information architecture, and while we understand user behaviour and user needs, the fact remains that web development isn’t really a core competency that is stressed in most LIS curricula at this moment.

Cecily points out that we already have the skill sets in place, sans web development, and as I interpret it we’re some of the most qualified professionals to enact such proactive web initiatives.  I’ve stated in conversations that, yes, I do believe that web development does need to become a core competency in LIS education, but just because it has yet to become so does not mean that we don’t have LIS professionals or students willing to take up the mantle or teach their professional colleagues what it takes.  If anything, librarianship is a teaching mob – a scan of Twitter conversations, LIS blog posts, and e-mail lists shows how much we like to teach what we know and share our ideas.

There is a concern that becoming an online community organizer or website developer adds yet another hat onto our heads to wear everyday.  This is true from a certain perspective.  Speaking from my own, the roles I am handed and those that I volunteer for are always of a hybrid nature.  Refusing the hard and fast allows me to think collaboratively, work uniquely, and experience more in my career.

Reflect on your collective arsenal of skill sets.  If you and your library choose to create and host community websites, and Mick and I so hope you do, take stock of what your staff can and cannot do.  Be honest with yourselves about what you feel can be accomplished and supported without denying the opportunity to learn more.  As with any project, assess the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats of hosting community websites.

Mick and I understand that offering professional grade web development services will, for nearly all libraries, be unattainable.  Creating web applications, iPhone and Android apps, and mesmerizingly beautiful community websites is not what we’re after.  And if he and I are honest with ourselves we would state that this train of thought about hosting for the community is in reaction to the current state of the Web.  We both recognize that (and here comes the technology…) content management systems like Drupal and WordPress now offer easy, secure, and pleasing ways to create quick and usable websites.  Hosting, as well, takes little to no knowledge to create subdomains and register new domains with intuitive web-based dashboards and panels at a low cost for initiatives we’re talking about.

As a profession we have most, some have all, of the skill sets in place to successfully serve our communities, the organizations within, and their information needs in new and unique ways.  We hope you see this opportunity in the same light we do.

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TTW Contributor: Kyle Jones
@thecorkboard / thecorkboard

Beginning this Fall semester, Michael Stephens and myself (Kyle Jones) began piloting an open source learning management system (LMS) built on Wordpress Multi User (WPMU) and BuddyPress.  This post explains our history with WPMU, the move to BuddyPress, and some of Michael’s initial thoughts on the pilot.

By TTW Contributor Kyle Jones
http://thecorkboard.org
@thecorkboard

Read the rest of this entry »

When I read recently that I had been one of 200 potential candidates for an academic library position I came to the sad realization that, yes, this economy was going to affect my job search tremendously.  As a recent graduate from Dominican University’s LIS program, I’ve been on the hunt for a few months and my techniques for searching have changed quite dramatically.  I used to sample a few sites a couple times a week and browse through the listings in ACRL publications, but recently I’ve refined my attack to be much more effective.  I’d like to share what I’ve learned.

You may ask, “why unveil your modus operandi to potential job-seeking competitors?”  Well, we’re all hurting when it comes to job searching.  My father was recently unemployed for nearly a year.  I watched him stress out over personal, financial, and professional concerns as he looked and looked for something new.  Luckily, he was hired by a non-profit company, and, I hope, has let some of those concerns wash away.  I hope that some of these techniques may help you avoid the stress that has affected my father and many like him and help you find that position you so dearly seek like I do.

Please add your techniques or sites in the comments.

Twitter

You may have dismissed Twitter as another social networking fad or annoyance or haven’t looked at Twitter as a job searching tool, but I ask you to reconsider.  There are a few solid Twitterers out there that list new library jobs as tweets:

• ALA’s JobList
• LibGig
• Get Library Jobs

Facebook

I’m not all that active on Facebook but I did notice that ALA’s JobList was active on this social networking site.  Please leave a comment if you know of any other library job sources on Facebook

• ALA’s JobList

Forums

Rachel Singer Gordon has brought us another wonderful library-related project with her LISjobs.com forum.  You can find postings, discussion, and even a good share of encouragement if needed.  Again, if you know of any other library-related job forums please share them in the comments.  And thanks again, Rachel, for your services.

• LISjobs.com

RSS

Using Google Reader combined with an application called EventBox, I’ve been following RSS feeds quite closely.  Of all the “new” tools out there to help find new jobs, RSS is probably the most useful.  Major sites like Educause, The Chronicle of Higher Education, and many others provide feeds for certain types of positions, categories, or even search phrases.  I’ve found that some human resources pages of organizations include RSS feeds, but not nearly enough as I’d like.

• The Chronicle of Higher Education | Library, Information Sciences
• LibGig Jobs
• Educause
• Monster (search “librar*”)

Tabbed Browsing and Favorites

When all the new tools of the web fail you, go ahead and rest on the tried and true techniques like adding sites as favorites.  For those sites that don’t offer RSS feeds or organizations that I want to make sure I know when jobs have opened up, I favorite their human resources page.  I then put all those favorites in a folder and a couple times a week open those favorites in tabs in Safari (or your browser of choice) and skim the postings.

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TTW Contributor: Kyle Jones
http://thecorkboard.org
@thecorkboard

No, it’s not the secret service of the Soviet Union – it is, however, the commercialized reference desk.  KGB, or the knowledge generation bureau as they sometimes call themselves, provides a two-way text reference service straight to mobile devices.  Anywhere.  Anytime.

Which begs these questions: What about the reference desk?  Why not ask a librarian?

You’ll never hear me say or read that I think the reference desk is dead – because it’s not.  But I will say that we can see in the KBG that there is a niche for text message information resources and they are filling it.  The question I personally wonder about is how libraries should respond.

KGB has the distinct advantage of being a company with a clear vision to provide this particular type of reference service.  Libraries are obviously multifaceted in the ways they provide information resources and this dilutes, to some extent, the ability to provide a highly used text reference service.

I would venture to guess that the success depends on marketing.  KGB has created a marketing campaign, traveled the country, and has a very clear brand.  If libraries are to create their own “KGB” service it will all come down to how it is pushed to the user and the community the library serves.

So I ask Michael’s fervid readers this:
Should libraries respond to KGB and offer their own text reference services?

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TTW Contributor: Kyle Jones
http://kylejones.thecorkboard.org

As a soon-to-be graduate of Dominican’s GSLIS program and in need and want of a new job, I watch the job lists pretty closely.  My interest was piqued quickly as I came across a posting for a “Creativity Library Manager” at the University of Nebrask at Omaha.  Part of the post reads:

This newly created position is responsible for developing and operating a unique, experimental library to support creativity in all fields of endeavor. The successful candidate: will identify and select library materials that inspire new ways of thinking; will assist users with materials and extensive, leading-edge technological resources; will provide outreach and promotional programming…

To me it’s outstanding to see libraries proactively seeking to transform their spaces to stimulate the creative processes of students and users.  I know many libraries are taking into consideration what types of environments kindle the innovative spirit and they, too, like the Univeristy of Nebraska at Omaha should be given credit for recognizing the importance of the library as a creative place.

~TTW Contributor Kyle Jones
kylejones.thecorkboard.org

Before Michael puts Tame The Web to rest for the holidays I just wanted to say a quick thank you.

You might be asking, “why the thanks?”  Well, to be honest I have to say that spaces like Tame The Web, Twitter, Facebook, and other online networks have connected me with the profession in more ways than I could have ever imagined.  I’ve had some great professional dialogues about the state of librarianship and its future.  I’ve met some wonderful folks and I hope to continue to build these relationships and create even more.  With two classes left at Dominican University’s GSLIS, I’ve started to realize how grateful I am for already having such a wonderful professional network.  So, thank you for the conversation and the professional development.

I wish everyone a safe and happy holiday season,
~Kyle Jones~
-TTW Contributor

I’m a big follower of library websites.  They are virtual representations of their physical presence and they also say a lot about a library’s innovation (or lack thereof).  All this summer I investigated different libraries to see what they were doing and how they were designing their online presences as I redesigned the website for my employer, the A.C. Buehler Library at Elmhurst College.  But it would have been great to know that I could have gone straight to one location to look at a plethora of library websites instead of Googling sites I knew of.

Well – that one location is Libsite.org.

Libsite lets users contribute their own site (or even others) for screenshot viewing, rating, and commenting.  So go register your site and get some feedback.  Oh, and while you’re there give this site a good once-over.

~Kyle Jones~
TTW Contributor

I take notes, share those notes, and build a community with my peers – just by using twitter -it’s really quite simple.

This is how I feel about Twitter in the classroom.  But the 9/18/08 article over at Techdirt, and the comments in particular, paints some different hues (see: “Should you live blog/twitter a class?“).

Last weekend I was engulfed in one of three weekend intensive sessions in Michael’s “Library 2.0 & Social Networking Technologies” class.  As he went through his well-honed version of “The Hyperlinked Library”, I thought, “man, it would be cool to capture some of this and my reflections.”  At this point some might be saying, “yes, Kyle, you should be taking notes.”  But I took it one step further.

I hopped on Twitter, signed up for a quick account, and started tweeting(?) my heart out with every thought and quick reflection.  I also linked my tweets straight into my class Wordpress MU blog.  Soon enough, a classmate had seen my twitter and we became reflective friends.

But at lunch time I timidly asked Michael, “yea, would you be mad if I Twittered class?”  Those of you who know Michael would know that angry would not be his response to this.  He was more intrigued and interested and happy than anything else.

If you’ve read the Techdirt article you know that this is the complete opposite reaction than that of the NYU journalism professor.  But I will admit, I’m just as guilty as most students who zone off in class and dive into the ether that is Facebook – and I’ve done it in Michael’s class, too (*sorry :/*).  But I turned my lust for technology and social networking into a productive method by writing my reflections in Twitter.  On top of that, I got to know some of my classmates before even saying a “hello” to them.

As Brian Rowe, a commenter in the article, wrote:

Sharing what you learn or don’t learn is an important part of being global citizen and helping free culture

I couldn’t agree more.  But some couldn’t agree less, as in this comment by Vince:

I can’t defend this. I believe this material should not be posted outside of the classroom…this material is not owned by the student.

He continues to say:

Universities usually have some sort of internal CMS such as Blackboard or WebCT that allows them to share classroom material and most professors actively use these systems. Theres [sic] no excuse.

I agree with Vince, students shouldn’t and legally can’t copy their professors’ academic work for public access unless that is their wish.  Michael posts “The Hyperlinked Library” here at TTW, but I still wouldn’t post any other of his materials without permission.

What I’m doing is taking brief reflective notes – similar to how I would do it in a notebook – and providing my classmates with an opportunity to respond to my reflections.

I’m curious:  Any grad students (or any student readers for that matter) who blog or use Twitter in class?

~Kyle Jones~
TTW Contributor

It’s my belief that library users are expecting more from their web browsing experience. I’m not talking social networks, I’m talking interactive web design. These users are used to websites that allow for dynamically changing content (content that may not require a new page to load) and for a feeling of interactivity with the page. Dynamic content shifts on the page, animates, and morphs into something it wasn’t previously. Let’s look at some examples:

Jeep:

The rectangular information boxes nicely animate in and out upon click of the left or right arrows allowing for new information to nicely slide in to place.

Apple:

Apple’s start page uses the accordion effect to hide and show its content in the sidebars. Simply hover over, say, “Top Songs” and a top ten list shows up.

Vimeo:

Vimeo, a social networking site about sharing video, smoothly scrolls in new videos that users like every couple of seconds on their “Right Now” page.

I’d venture to guess that a lot of us don’t even think twice about some these nice effects that we engage with during our daily browsing. But we have to recognize that they add to our experience, our “likability” of the pages we view. Understandably, library web pages need to be focused on presenting accurate, useable content; however, we can do these things and still not dismiss the opportunities we have to organize our information in aesthetically pleasing and engaging ways.

One of these engaging ways that I have been very intrigued by is the use of Cover Flow to present resources. If you don’t know what Cover Flow is, take a look at your iTunes library in Cover Flow view by choosing “View” and “Cover Flow View – it looks like this:

It’s easy to make the jump from collections in your iTunes library to the collections in your actual library website. A couple folks around the ‘Net have been thinking the same thing I have and have commented about it:

• Superpatron (who was way ahead of the curve)
• The Shifted Librarian
• The Corkboard (me)
• and I’m sure a few more I’m missing…

To my pleasant surprise, Lee (fellow TTW contributor), led me to an excellent implementation at Villanova University’s Digital Library.

VU uses Cover Flow to display photos of some of their digital collections in a highly interactive way. While I personally had no reason to look further into their collection, the fact that I was able to engage with the collections by browsing intrigued me enough to look further at their collections. This “doorway,” so to speak, is an excellent way to get more views at different collections by catching the user’s eye from the get go.

Not to be outdone by academia, Cambridge Public Library in Canada has also put together their own version of Cover Flow for over 20 different categories of their collection (nice!).

You can choose your category at this screen:

and are given a nice Cover Flow output when you click on the purple icon:

Some of these fancy, schmancy animations and graphics do take some more advanced knowledge of Javascript or other coding languages, but luckily enough most of these tools have such a great following by web designers and wannabe’s like myself that there is a plethora of resources created to help you whip one up. I’ll admit that I have no experience with Javascript but was able to create a couple really nice accordions like within Apple’s start page. If some of the creators of these excellent Cover Flows are followers of Tame the Web, I’d be really interested to read what you used to create your tools and the effort that went into it.

Some Javascript libraries of note for further research:

• Mootools
• jQuery
• Yahoo UI
• Scriptaculous

Posted by Kyle (TTW Contributor)