Monthly Archives: March 2008

42 posts

No MySpace, Facebook at Mishawaka Library

Via the South Bend Tribune and a bunch of folks who emailed me: You can no longer use MySpace, Facebook or other “social networking sites” at Mishawaka-Penn-Harris Public Library. Fights, lewd language and cars being blocked in the parking lot by teenagers are among the problems Director Dave Eisen said have plagued the downtown library lately. He told library board members that adults have complained about not feeling safe at the library. Eisen and his staff believe the teenagers are there to use MySpace, Facebook and other social sites. Oh boy. This is my hometown library. It saddens me that […]

Congrats Helene Blowers!

http://www.ala.org/ala/lita/newandnoteworthy/hitechwinner08.cfm Helene Blowers has been named the winner of the 2008 LITA/Library Hi Tech award for Outstanding Communication in Library and Information Technology.  Emerald and the Library and Information Technology Association (LITA), a division of the American Library Association, sponsor the award. The award recognizes outstanding achievement in communicating to educate practitioners within the library field in library and information technology.  It consists of $1,000 and a certificate of merit. Helene Blowers is the Director of Digital Strategy for the Columbus Metropolitan Library in Columbus, Ohio.  Previous to her current position, she served as the Public Services Technology Director for […]

Wise Words on Transparency

Michelle Boule writes about her FPOW: The introduction leads me right into the first issue: lack of transparency. One of the most frustrating things about this issue was that my administration was usually under the impression they were being transparent. As long as things looked ok from the top they must be ok. The problem was often a communication breakdown somewhere on the totem pole and the people on the bottom are rarely asked if everything is actually going OK. When you have an organization of any kind that is large, transparency is hard simply because it must travel through […]

A Day in the Life of an LIS Educator II

Via Steve Garwood: http://tinyurl.com/33zzbz Before I start, let me tell you that I teach graduate and undergraduate students in Library and Information Science and Information Technology and Informatics respectively. The classes I teach are: Information Technologies for Libraries and Information Agencies, Web Design, Multimedia Production, Social Software Literacy and I’ll ocassionally guest lecture in Research and Reference classes. I teach these classes on-campus, online, and in some cases a little bit of both. In my position, I generally need to keep up with the library world and technology in the library world. I also need to be at the intermediate […]

Our Kids Future Will Require:

Will Richardson ponders the future for young people: Our kids’ futures will require them to be: Networked–They’ll need an “outboard brain.” More collaborative–They are going to need to work closely with people to co-create information. More globally aware–Those collaborators may be anywhere in the world. Less dependent on paper–Right now, we are still paper training our kids. More active–In just about every sense of the word. Physically. Socially. Politically. Fluent in creating and consuming hypertext–Basic reading and writing skills will not suffice. More connected–To their communities, to their environments, to the world. Editors of information–Something we should have been teaching […]

What I DID learn in Library School

http://acrlog.org/2008/02/10/what-i-did-learn-in-library-school/ Melissa Mallon shares some of the things she’s glad she learned at Louisiana State University’s School of Library and Information Science: 4. How to Give a Good Presentation. Another thing we were taught in library school was to never underestimate the value of a well-done PowerPoint presentation. It won’t hold its own, but it will certainly make what you have to say a lot more attractive. I can’t even count the number of group projects, presentations, etc. that we were required to do. I can tell you, however, that my presenting skills have stayed well-maintained and I always jump […]

Books and their Signage

books and their signage Originally uploaded by The Shifted Librarian Jenny’s set of pics from DOK Delft is firing up the Biblioblogosphere. Check it out: http://flickr.com/photos/shifted/sets/72157604142377648/ This is truly the edge of our market and what you see here may be a future glimpse of what the best libraries will do with their spaces, technology and more.