The “To Do” list for transparency is simple but requires commitment from administrators and staff and a willingness to learn from failure. While the list mostly fits all sizes, note that the challenges in achieving the first two items are faced mainly by medium and large libraries. The list Give your staff multiple avenues for open communication, including internal blogs and vertical teams. Visit front-line staff regularly. Cross-train staff so they have a sense of what their fellow front-line workers do all day. Encourage new ideas and the hearing of ideas among all levels of staff and with the public. […]
Yearly Archives: 2007
564 posts
“What’s a good starting point for my library to get into blogs?” someone recently asked me at a conference. What a great question! Weblogs, or “blogs,” are simply applications that take the muss and fuss out of generating Web pages. Weblog software can be configured, adapted, and tweaked for many uses, and it allows librarians to concentrate more on content and information sharing than on coding pages or using a Web editor. Why not try using Weblogs for staff communication in your library? It’s a great first step! You’ll benefit from improved communication, practice with technology, and experience using social […]
A special holiday Thank You to all who helped me on this year’s journeys: the PhD, the loss of Jake and Charlie, and the travel/presentations. Without the comments, emails, cards, letters and phone calls from my colleagues and friends scattered across our cyber world, the road would have been even harder. This season please be well…hold family and friends close..and breathe. TTW will be back in a few days with a new look! (yes, finally, WordPress!)
Monica Harris, Young Adult Librarian, at Oak Park Public Library shares information about their new zoned system for noise: Dear Michael – I’m attaching PDF files of our brochure, key, and signage explaining the noise zones so you can get a better idea of what it looks like. The brochure includes a color coded map that will show how the space is divided. Our intention was to create a library space that the wide variety of users, from those who want total silence to those here to attend boisterous programming and meet with friends, can have a place they feel […]
Almost done with the semester! Originally uploaded by leah the library student Leah the Library Student posts a nice photo and update that she is almost done with the semester. And she links to a post about her survey concerning the perceptions of librarians: http://yolaleah.wordpress.com/2007/12/14/books-glasses-and-a-shushing-action-figure/ And still, the best answers can even come from librarians themselves: “Stuffy and boring, book-centric out-of-touch old lady with applique sweaters of teddy bears holding balloons. Sadly, I know this isn’t true, nonetheless it is the first thing that comes to mind. Mainly due to the root of the word “libr,” meaning book, and the […]
In our last night of LIS768: Library 2.0 and Social Networking Technologies, we used this post as a way to talk about the future: http://darmano.typepad.com/logic_emotion/2007/09/questions-for-t.html I posted about it here back in September: David Armano ponders digital immigrants and digital natives. He offers up a list of questions for ad/PR agency executives, pondering what kind of answers he might get. I think these might figure well into an interview for that emerging technology librarian job — or, really, for any librarian job these days… 1. Do you read blogs. Which ones? 2. Do you have a personal blog? What’s it […]
Via Kyle, a job description that seeks new grads and enthusiasm from Davidson College in Davidson, North Carolina: http://www.lisjobs.com/jobs/item.asp?ID=36695 New librarians: start your career at a top-ranked liberal arts college! Do you have a passion for teaching? Do you enjoy working with students and faculty? Help grow our information literacy program and teach our outstanding students in class and one-on-one. We want your newbie enthusiasm and fresh ideas, and we’ll mentor you in your growth. I’d like to see more of this: a promise from the hiring library to mentor the newly minted librarian. I would share this with them: […]
Look What’s Hot! Originally uploaded by tscrobinson Last Friday, I did two presentations for the Allen County Public Library in Fort Wayne, IN. What a treat to work with this incredible Indiana library. I was treated so well – good hot tea before each talk, an incredible lunch where I learned a lot about how they do what they do so well, and a chance to sit down and talk about reading and libraries for one of their video productions. (and I had my picture taken with their Digital Collaborative!) The online initiatives they’ve done rock, such as: https://tametheweb.com/2007/09/conversation_acpl_director_jef.html https://tametheweb.com/2007/06/allen_county_public_library_20.html […]
Check out Steve Campion’s newest installment – yet another perfect resource for your Learning 2.0 endeavors! http://librarystream.wordpress.com/2007/12/17/learn-more-wikis/ If you gather a committee, write a draft document, and solicit feedback, you might receive scores of revisions in email and on paper. Compiling all those changes back into a single coherent document could be a long and tedious task. On the other hand, you could create a wiki. That would enable everyone to work on the same collaborative document and compile changes on the fly. A wiki is basically a read/write website open to anyone with permissions.
You have new Picture Mail! Originally uploaded by The Shifted Librarian Jenny is still sad her home library “exhibits” the new books: Sadly, my home library has not changed its policy about new books 🙁 Since I won’t be in the library on December 21, I didn’t even bother browsing. Original post: www.flickr.com/photos/shifted/664305548/