Claire Obrecht, Education/Collection Development Librarian at the Schaumburg Township District Library writes: Michael: Really enjoyed your latest presentation at STDL – had heard your previous talk there as well. I spoke to you about the experimental station at our Woodfield Post Office. Apparently it is pretty much a big secret – as nothing has yet appeared on the USPS website about it – even though it has been open for about 2 months. Rather strange that they aren’t publicizing it. Here is an article from our local newspaper the Daily Herald. Visit post office of the future in Schaumburg: http://www.dailyherald.com/story/print/?id=59822 […]
Monthly Archives: November 2007
37 posts
Brett Bonfield in Library Journal, 10/15/2007 guides readers through a toolkit of software and sites to help control the flow of information into your life: If you’re just going to take one step, I recommend getting to know Firefox. Your browser should be your most used application. Still, the tools and techniques I cite might not be right for everyone. They’re intended mostly to illustrate ways we can save time without sacrificing our security, privacy, or the option to change our minds. They also follow our core principles, are complementary rather than interdependent, and are simple, familiar, and comfortably within […]
From David Isaacson in Library Journal, 11/15/2007: The good news is there is much potential for improvement. Notably, in the more than two decades since Miller’s article was published, libraries have become more attractive places to meet people, both in person and in cyberspace, whether to do research or to interact socially. Unfortunately, the 1984 reference model endures in too many libraries today: librarians passively waiting at a desk for people to approach. We must experiment more with having reference librarians roam among users, actively asking if they can help them. Some libraries already have embraced this strategy with positive […]
http://www.pcworld.ca/Pages/NewsColumn.aspx?id=3502a6180a010408008b33e8c209b786 Great Top Ten List at PC World Canada. Includes mention of closed source technology, DRM and over-promising and under-delivering. Also includes this gem that made me ponder: 8. Fanboys The definition of fanboy (or fangirl) is an individual who harbours a fanatic devotion to something without logical reason. In the case of consumer technology, it can be applied to a situation where a person’s self-esteem and sense of self-worth is attached the success of a particular product or brand. Whatever happened to just buying the best product? Instead, consumer technology buyers are broken into hostile camps: Apple vs. Windows, […]
http://www.underconsideration.com/brandnew/archives/flip_flip_flip_goes_the_librar.php Darien Library’s new logo is written up at a branding blog: When you think of public libraries — that glorious old book smell, the studious people learning something new, the kind of light that is rarely found anywhere else, the challenge of judging books by their spine — their identity is probably the last thing you notice, consider or even care for… you are there for the books and what lies between their pages. And that’s exactly what C&G Partners celebrates in their design of the new identity for the Darien Public Library in the affluent town of Darien, […]
http://sospl.blogspot.com/ Dear Michael: I want to tell you about my new blog. Aside from the standard issues that Librarians face here in Indiana we have a new one that has the potential for disastrous consequences for small public libraries here in Indiana. A large issue, which I feel is being played down by some, is the consolidation of all public libraries in the state. Few Librarians and taxpayers alike feel that this is going to be a beneficial change. Currently there are 238 libraries. The consolidation of public libraries would mean that there are 92. Somehow I got the bright […]
Employee Learning Week 2007 Originally uploaded by Russ and Lori Find out more here: http://www.librarytrainer.com/index.php/2007/11/20/become-a-champion-of-learning-employee-learning-week-2007/
http://librarygarden.blogspot.com/2007/11/convenience.html This is golden: In the good old days (prior to 1994) many of our customers had to come to us. We were the only game in town. But I’m afraid that our prior near-monopoly on information services made some of us a bit too comfortable. We were able to get away with clunky systems, restrictive policies, and unfriendly staff. Customers didn’t have much of a choice. Well, those days are gone, and they’re not coming back. That doesn’t mean libraries don’t have a lot to offer, but it does mean we have to be much more aware of the […]
http://www.newsweek.com/id/70983/page/1 This week Bezos is releasing the Amazon Kindle, an electronic device that he hopes will leapfrog over previous attempts at e-readers and become the turning point in a transformation toward Book 2.0. That’s shorthand for a revolution (already in progress) that will change the way readers read, writers write and publishers publish. The Kindle represents a milestone in a time of transition, when a challenged publishing industry is competing with television, Guitar Hero and time burned on the BlackBerry; literary critics are bemoaning a possible demise of print culture, and Norman Mailer’s recent death underlined the dearth of novelists […]
In this new world, these models no longer fly: Locked-down library web sites held captive by overzealous IT departments or marketing/PR offices. Technology purchases driven by accounting departments instead of front-line staff and savvy professionals. Technology decisions and plans without staff buy-in. IT projects driven by artificial time lines instead of customer service needs. A siege mentality because of concerns about security, privacy, and safety of data. The models might be better replaced by the traits of the Transparent Library: Make decisions in public. Hold meetings and invite staff and public comment for all major projects. Create multiple avenues of […]