Monthly Archives: August 2006

40 posts

Digital libraries Ala carte: Where Our Users Are: Instant Messaging for Libraries

In just a couple of weeks, Jenny Levine and I head to The Netherlands for the Tilburg Innovation Centre for Electronic Resources institute!Here’s some info for participants in my session: Where Our Users Are: Instant Messaging for Libraries – Michael Stephens (Module 2: Hands-on: Library 2.0 Technologies to Reach out to the Customer) This workshop explores and explains instant messaging in the library setting, including software, training and policy. Ample hands on exercises will give participants a true feel of what launching an IM Reference service at their libraries involves. We’ll discuss implementation strategies, best practices and the possible pitfalls […]

Tech Tips for Every Librarian: Share & Share Alike

This month, Rachel and I cowrote a piece on sites where you can get help with technology, including PayITForward: Born out of Ann Arbor (Mich.) District Library’s recent Library 2.0 “Library Camp,” Pay “IT” Forward is the brainchild of Scan Robinson, IT manager at the Allen County (Ind.) Public Library. The wiki-based site, built from Web pages that any registered member can edit with just a few simple commands, lists a clearinghouse of public library IT professionals who offer their expertise in all things IT. (As of this writing, the site is still in beta, but is taking shape each […]

Are You Watching YouTube?

Trendwatching? Checkout: http://nomansblog.typepad.com/no_mans_blog/2006/07/youtube_trends_.html To start with some figures, the all times #1 has been viewed 28,643,691 times to date. Closing this list #100 has been viewed 1,543,402 times. 28 million views!!! A few thoughs: Let’s make sure we are offering access and instruction on how to get user content up to this most thriving community. Let’s get some library content up there as well!

Those Pesky Cell Phones

http://libraryjournal.com/article/CA6349047.html: How much better it will be, then, to make cell phones and related tools work for the library, rather than making librarians rush around like the zealous shushers of yestercentury, trying to keep this new tool off of our turf. Let’s shift this conversation. Though I suspect we’ll be shushing our users for a long time to come, the conversation should not be about whether to outlaw cell phone devices but how best to put the library into and onto these phones. After all, banning the cell phone will one day seem as silly as trying to ban the […]

Hey Libraries – Why are you still losing good employees?

Remember this? A TTW reader just sent this: http://newsletter.logoworks.com/index.php/top-ten-reasons-why-people-quit-their-jobs/07/31/2006/ Top Ten Reasons Why People Quit Their Jobs Includes: Management promotes someone who lacks training and/or necessary experience to supervisor, alienating staff and driving away good employees. Management doesn’t allow the rank and file to make decisions or allow them pride of ownership. A visitor to my website E-mailed me a message that said, “Forget about the “professional” decisions—how about when you can’t even select the company’s holiday card without the President rejecting it for one of his own taste?” I can’t help think of the Teen Librarians at ImaginOn at […]

Q & A on L2

imaginon 011 Originally uploaded by crr29061. Dr. Curtis Rogers took many pics of the Library 2.0 Tech Summit! Here I am sitting for a bit as we discuss audience questions. Here’d Curtis’ set: http://www.flickr.com/photos/curtisrogers/sets/72157594224240348/

PLCMC Technology Summit Kicks Off Learning 2.0 for Staff!

This blog has been set-up as part of PLCMC’s Learning 2.0 project to encourage staff to experiment and learn about the new and emerging technologies that are reshaping the context of information on the Internet today. The objectives of this program are to: encourage exploration of Web 2.0 and new technologies by PLCMC staff. provide staff with new tools (that are freely available on the Internet) to better support PLCMC’s mission: Expanding minds, Empowering individuals and Enriching our community. reward staff for taking the initiative to complete 23 self-discovery exercises. http://plcmclearning.blogspot.com/ Yesterday, Michael Casey and I gave presentations at the […]