Yearly Archives: 2007

564 posts

OPPL Launches genre X

The Oak Park Public Library just launched their new online book discussion extension for 20s and 30s: genre X genre X is a twenties and thirties book discussion group facilitated by the Oak Park Public Library. The group meets every fourth Tuesday at 8:00 pm at different bars in the Oak Park area. The genre X blog is dedicated to providing supplementary information for the book group as well as other content that will hopefully appeal to readers everywhere in their twenties and thirties.

Press Release: Web 2.0 & Libraries, Part 2: Trends and Technologies

Web 2.0 & Libraries, Part 2: Trends and Technologies by Michael Stephens Social software, more ubiquitous than ever, continues to have a profound impact on information and communication in the Information Age. From the American Library Association to social software news aggregation, it's clear the trend toward utilizing "Web 2.0" technologies for information and communication in the 21st century is growing stronger. In "Web 2.0 & Libraries, Part 2: Trends and Technologies," librarian and educator Dr. Michael Stephens continues his 2.0 work and re-emphasizes the importance of libraries embracing this world of conversation, community, and collaboration. "In this issue [of […]

LibraryStream – A New Biblioblog!

Please welcome to the biblioblogosphere http://librarystream.wordpress.com/ from Steve Campion out in the Great Northwest! My plan is to use this blog to follow the course of social software in general and its value to libraries specifically. I’m the system trainer at a large public library system in the Pacific Northwest, a social web participant, and an avid reader. I hope I can marshall all those hats into an interesting blog. The two postings just below this one link to recent articles I’ve written elsewhere. Why call it “Library Stream”? It has to do with the flow of ideas. I suppose […]

Advocates Overcoming IT Resistance to Web 2.0

Article: Advocates Overcoming IT Resistance to Web 2.0 Web 2.0 tools are slowly making their way to corporate users, often under the wings of champions who must work to overcome IT resistance to blogs, wikis, online communities and the like. For example, Adam Carson said that Morgan Stanley’s IT organization at times presented obstacles to his efforts to introduce such technologies to workers at the New York-based financial services firm. Carson, an associate at Morgan Stanley, initiated the Web 2.0 effort there late last year by creating a network of 1,000 employees at LinkedIn Corp.’s professional networking site, LinkedIn.com. At […]

Thanks Jenimi!

Thanks Jenimi! Originally uploaded by mstephens7 I received this lovely card at the lake this weekend — from Jennifer Graham. It was a Thank You but also a reminder to get out where the Wild Things are. That’s a good reminder to get sometimes! I always watch for synchronicity in things – this time it comes with Karen’s post about leaving ALA TechSource blog. When I turned 40 I could imagine that I was not halfway through my life; I can see myself living well into my 80s. But at the half-century mark, I’m far more acutely aware that time […]

The Blogging Librarian: Pragmatic, Connected and Visible

I was honored to be asked by Brian Kelly to write a guest post for his blog UK Web Focus. There are definitely benefits to administrative blogging. It might be the library is about to launch a new initiative or fund raising campaign. The use of a blog as a communication mechanism to deliver transparent news and plans seems like a good fit. Properly marketed and utilized – key for an such project – the blog can be a visible means to connect users to library policy-makers. It would also set a good example for others in the library who […]

Telling the Library’s Story: A TTW Fave

David Lee King emailed and asked me for some quotes/thoughts on telling stories in the library for his forthcoming book — a chapter on Community-Focused Digital Experience. In looking back I didn’t realize that the “telling stories” theme had been running through my work. Here’s a few of my favorites. http://www.flickr.com/photos/michaelsphotos/sets/72057594085037908/ From Ten Ways to Create buy-in from my 2006 Library Tech report: #3 Tell Stories I’ve talked about this a lot: one way for libraries to promote their value and relevance is to tell the library’s story every chance you get. Beyond daunting columns of statistics, users — and […]

TTW Goes to AUSTRALIA 2008

Sydney Harbor w/ bridge and opera house Originally uploaded by jessamyn I don’t have all the details yet, but I’m tickled to announce I just ironed out the details for a speaking trip around Australia in February and March 2008! I’m thrilled to no end to visit the land down under – where so many cool library things are happening. As it stands now, we’ll start in Sydney and move roughly west (Melbourne-Adelaide-Perth), then back east through Alice Springs to finish in Brisbane. I just bought the tickets today. We’re also making a bit of a celebratory trip now that […]