Haven’t had a reinvention post in a while. I was tickled to read about Karen Schneider’s new position with Equinox. As of June 23 (just in time for ALA!), I’m the Community Librarian at Equinox, the support and development company for Evergreen, the premier, industrial-strength open-source integrated library system software. What, you ask, is a Community Librarian? It’s a chief blogger, presenter, evangelist, community liaison, birds-of-a-feather organizer, strategist, branding specialist, user-experience person, project management advisor, and whatever else happens to need doing. (I wrote the job description, and I think that hits the high notes.) After sixteen years in LibraryLand […]
Monthly Archives: May 2008
63 posts
John Kirriemuir writes: http://www.silversprite.com/?p=537 The latest snapshot report on UK Higher and Further Education developments in Second Life is nearing completion; the report should be out in a few weeks. Here’s the responses to one particular question, from academics who have been developing and/or using SL in their work. • Generally a gimmick, though I think a few places who innovate are trying it out. • Hatred of any new technology by those within a decade of retirement. They hate change, they hate having to learn anything new, and they just want a quiet life until they drift off. Unfortunately, these same people hold the […]
No chewing!, originally uploaded by a_r_moore. Via http://librarycrunch.com/?p=54
Sarah Long’s 100th podcast with Michael Stephens, originally uploaded by North Suburban Library System (NSLS). On May 6th, I presented “The Hyperlinked Library” at North Suburban Library System. After the session, I was invited to record a podcast with Sarah Long, the director of NSLS. We also spoke a bit in interview format for her weekly column in The Daily Herald. Podcast: http://www.librarybeat.org/podcast/?_episode=100 Daily Herald column: http://www.librarybeat.org We talked about transparency, what the hyperlinked library could be, and where libraries might be going. Thanks to everyone at NSLS for making it such a special day!
Patricia Uttaro, Assistant Director, System Services at the Monroe County Library System in New York, writes: I’ve been meaning to write to you for awhile to fill you in on activities in the Monroe County Library System since your visit here in 2006. The system now has an Emerging Technology Committee that just celebrated its first anniversary. At our last meeting, I asked if anyone was ready to drop off the team after a busy year, and the response I got from one and all was “No Way! We’re having way to much fun!” The ETC has produced three Technology Camps for […]
Via Hans Roes, Director of Information Resources and Multimedia at Jacobs University, Bremen, Germany: The beta test of the IRC’s first Library 2.0 Widget: jOPAC. jOPAC allows searching the library catalogue within various other platforms, such as iGoogle, Netvibes, Windows Vista Sidebar, Macintosh Dashboard, etc. Further information and installation links can be found on http://teamwork.jacobs-university.de:8080/confluence/x/05Ce. The jOPAC is an integrated OPAC widget. It eases searching the library catalogue by integrating it into various platforms, and it introduces some nice extras. A list of all platforms with installation links can be found below. If you don’t use any of these platforms […]
P. Toby Graham,Director of the Digital Library of Georgia at the University of Georgia writes: Michael, Readers of Tame the Web may be interested in the new Civil Rights Digital Library. More than 80 institutions have partnered to create a seamless virtual library on the Movement featuring 30 hours of historical news film, along with original documents and images, and instructional materials from libraries, archives, museums, public broadcasters, and other organizations across the U.S. http://crdl.usg.edu I’ll present on CRDL at the SOLINET Annual Membership Meeting if you’re still around on Friday morning. Toby – Sorry to miss your presentation, but thanks for sending […]
By Michael Casey & Michael Stephens When did it become an acceptable customer service response to try and push out an entire age group of users? Never, but that’s happening at too many libraries. Can we remain transparent, open, and focused on the core value of access and still tell young people to find another place to be social online? MC: I still get emails from librarians who endure meetings where administrators bemoan having to accommodate teens. One even said her director thought stats showing lower senior citizen library use reflected the increased teen presence. Banning MySpace MS: My hometown […]
MS: Comments on my blog ranged from the forward-thinking, right-up-Ranganathan’s alley and the “Anonymous” who said, “Of course that crap should be banned” to the thoughtful critique and commentary of Ian McKinney from cutting-edge Allen County Public Library, Fort Wayne, IN. He reminds us the problem was specific kids, not technology. Indeed, I worry the teens in Mishawaka won’t care about the library and that will hurt the whole community. Were other solutions considered? MC: When we advocate bringing teens into the library, we don’t acquiesce to rowdy teen behavior, as some suspect. Behavioral problems are never acceptable in the […]
Kickin’ it for the Kids, originally uploaded by Mendi Antisdel. The Alaska State Library’s wifi sign, doing the wifi dance.