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Justin Hoenke, a TTW Contributor, posted this video at 8BitLibrary: http://blog.8bitlibrary.com/2010/02/26/how-has-gaming-changed-the-way-you-look-at-libraries/ Version which is dubbed into English: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wytQ3pudf5k I am thoroughly enjoying this Authors@Google talk by Garr Reynolds author of Presentation Zen. I’d suggest it to any presenter who wants to do better talk, educators and students. Take an hour if you can a give it a watch. http://www.swissarmylibrarian.net/2010/02/23/redbox-rights-and-wrongs Brian Herzog writes: I had heard of libraries using both Redbox and Netflix, but never really gave it too much though. So I was kind of surprised at my response to my director:
So my question is this: why I am wrong? I don’t feel like I’m right, because I can see positive aspects to a Redbox being in front of the library (especially for libraries that already charge $1/DVD), and it’s usual for me to be this negative. I don’t think that every new idea or technology has a place in every library, but still, my answer on this surprised me. So I thought I’d ask the wider library world for your opinions on Redboxes and libraries. Lots of good comments were posted on Tame the Web when Michael talked about this last year, but I’m still not entirely convinced. What do you think? I’d be very interested in what comments Brian gets as well as hearing from the good folks at PPL – how is it going? Leslie berger’s comment last year was great: The decision to go with the RedBox pilot was not driven by the promise of revenue, although any additional revenue these days is a good thing! Offering multiple copies of popular DVDs in an outdoor location, at a low cost (PPL charges for our DVD rentals@ $1/night) means that our customers will have a convenient source of entertainment 24/7. Add to that the ability to re-purpose scarce collection funds to enhance the collection, reduce labor costs in purchasing, processing and handling DVDs, less theft on popular titles and the convenience of returning a movie to any RedBox location and it looks like this could be a winner for everyone. We’re in a six month trial so only time will tell. We’ll keep you posted. There’s lots of talk about where we are headed these days. What is our future? Will we go the way of the dinosaur and suburban mall? Seth Godin seems to think that we’re doomed while Toby Greenwalt and an army of librarians seem to think otherwise. I’m gonna go out on a limb here and say that the future of the public library is right in front of us. And boy, does it look wonderful. Teens at the Graphic Novel and Manga Club, Cape May County Library We need to look no further than to the teens that are using the public library to see the future. The library of the 21st Century has been characterized as being less of a library and more of a community center. This practice is already in full effect when it comes to teen librarianship. A great deal of a teen librarian’s focus is programming and getting teens into the library to create lifelong users. Programming brings teens into the library and gives them community. Teens get a chance to interact with each other and share an experience. One element that cannot be taken away no matter how much technology grows is human interaction. Think of the modern supermarket. Sure, the self checkout is great in a pinch, but don’t you just always find yourself going to a regular checkout for the interaction? People working and collaborating with other people will drive the public library into the future. Creating a third space where people share ideas and media will keep the public library relevant in the 21st century. The development of the teen space in the public library can be seen as a microcosm of this idea. Teen spaces are designed for use by a specific age range (usually 12-18 years old) and include many forms of media and technology all packaged together nicely into one area. The next step is to expand. In order to accomplish this, we must embrace our sense of adventure and open our minds. Let’s take the ideas in teen librarianship and apply them to the organization as a whole. For example, we need to take a look at the individual populations we serve. It’s not as simple as children, teen and adult anymore. Think about the specific needs of each group and create programming that suits their needs. With programs designed for specific needs in place, users will feel more of a connection to their public library. I put up the image of the teens at the Graphic Novel and Manga club to highlight this point. Two years ago, graphic novels and manga were considered just an extra part of the collection at my library. The genres were lumped in together with fiction (and sometimes non-fiction, specifically 741.547) and nothing was done to cater to the needs of this specific user group. I recognized this and vowed to make a change. My first step was to set aside an area for these collections. It was a success. Graphic Novel and Manga circulation rose 56% from 2008 to 2009 and a new breed of patron started using the library. These were people who I had never seen in the library before. My mission culminated with the development of the Teen Graphic Novel and Manga club, a program which meets once per month to discuss anything and everything related to the genre. And it’s beautiful. On average we have 13 teens every month attend the program. These teens come from all different backgrounds and different high schools. They are all unique in their own way. Yet, they come together for 2 hours every month to share, collaborate, learn, and enjoy life. The library is already the ultimate sharing institution. We need to redefine what we mean by sharing to include all sorts of things. I’m just gonna say it. We have to get rid of the idea that we’re all about sharing books and media. What we have to embrace is the idea that we’re sharing life. -Justin Hoenke, Tame The Web Contributor The Library as a Community Center/Third Place: Links for further reading Libraries Stand Ready to Help in Tough Economic Times by Jim Rettig The Library as a Community Center by Barbara L. Anderson (PDF) Libraries as the Third Place by Kelly Jensen Library as Place via Library Garden The Future of Libraries, With or Without Books by John D. Sutter Library of the Future by David Lee King Teen Third Place by Kimberly Bolan Cullin (PDF) DO NOT MISS this incredible video from Hackney Library. Well Done! As a long LONG time BB fan, the cleverness of this piece just sends me. I applaud the ,musical skill and technical aptitude that put this together. Introducing the staff of the Hackney Library at Barton College. Feel free to contact the Library when you need assistance! http://www.library.barton.edu Note from Michael – I just found this as a draft in the TTW dashboard from 2007. I must have forgotten to publish it… Librarians & the Heart (the Emotional part of this post) Putting the personal into what we do! I honestly believe the best libraries of the future will encourgae the heart and librarians will put humanity into the library’s virtual presence. Stephen Abram noted that libraries are innovating yes but many are not yet moving in a new direction: “However, too many haven’t moved into the next generation strategies. Many fail to recognize that the majority of their use is often coming in virtually and they haven’t rebalanced their strategic efforts. Too many haven’t put the librarian and personal services into their virtual environments.” Think of your favorite blogs? Don’t they have a bit of that human, emotional element? Do your favorite library authors inspire you with feeling as well as biblio-hotness? This should carry to conferences as well. What presentations really got you going at the last conference you attended? Was there an emotional component? Ponder this: “The Sound of One Room Napping” : Conference speakers need to appeal to the rational side of their audience, of course. Humans are rational beings after all. But our evidence, proof and “facts” need to be placed in context and need to connect and appeal to the emotional too. Some argue that emotion is not necessarily irrational, that intelligence and emotion go hand in hand. And that may be. My point is that facts alone are rarely a sufficient condition for change or impact (though they are a necessary condition). I am loving this! Great stuff from Down Under. I’ll be adding this to my Intro to LIS course. |
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