Monthly Archives: April 2009

Via The Shifted Librarian: I’m knocked out by this model of service and engagement with young people. My brain is also reeling pondering the implications of Mindkeepers and Mindspotters as library employees – another reason to scan the horizon for trends impacting our profession and changing our jobs. This makes me hope the libraries that have treated their teen users as second class citizens take notice. There is much promise and potential here.

  Michael Schmidt, Librarian in Adult Reference at Glendale Public Library in Glendale, Arizona, writes: Just thought I’d pass this your way. I attended your talk at Burton Barr in PHX a while back and when the call for National Library Week projects went out in my library I was thinking about some of the things you talked about. Here’s the result: patron photos and comments on the banner of our homepage. Give it a few secs once it loads. You can click on the banner to see all photos and complete comments. Keep the faith! http://www.glendaleaz.com/library/  

Stephen Abram notes: I think that this list from the Blue Skunk Blog is worth reading: “Personal Network Member Bill of Rights and Responsibilities 1. I have the right not to be social 24/7 – either online or in person. 2. I have the right to time for reflection and responsibility for doing so. 3. I have the right to use only the tools that suit my learning style. 4. I have the right to stop using a tool when it is no longer useful. 5. I have the right to not be on the cutting edge all the time or feel […]

I am currently developing screencasts for an exciting new project mpowwill roll out in the near future. While looking at a stupidly designed, but very useful database, I thought “Why would any patron watch a tutorial on how to navigate this mess?  They want an answer to a question, not a walk through of a resource.” This idea was quickly followed by “I am going to design screencasts that answer common, representative questions.”  For example, using LegalForms by Thomas Gale (not the database I referred to as stupidly designed) I can show how to find a customizable job application in one […]

50. Today, the org chart is hyperlinked, not hierarchical. Respect for hands-on knowledge wins over respect for abstract authority. Today, bloggers from all over the world are responding to the 95 points of the Cluetrain Manifesto, which is ten years old: “Cluetrainplus10 is a project to celebrate the 10 year anniversary of the manifesto. On Tuesday April 28, 95 bloggers around the world will each write a blog post on one of the 95 theses.” I chose #50, above, as one I might comment on because it speaks to the model I’ve been working on in my talks “The Hyperlinked […]

I am very happy to be speaking as part of this program: LLAMA BES:  LIBRARY 2.0 BUILDINGS:  CREATING ZONES WITH HEART Saturday, July 11, 2009; 1:30 – 3:30 PM 2009 Annual ALA Conference, Chicago, IL LLAMA – Buildings for College and University Libraries Committee Case Study 1:  Darien Library, Darien, Connecticut Alan Kirk Gray  Assistant Director – Operations, Darien Library Alan Kirk Gray is Assistant Director – Operations for Darien Library, Darien, CT, where he is responsible for the program, planning and construction of Darien Library’s new 54,000 square feet building, which has been cited for its anticipation of trends […]

http://www.pewinternet.org/Reports/2009/5-The-Mobile-Difference–Typology.aspx 8% of adults use mobile devices and broadband platforms for continual information exchange to collaborate with their social networks 7% of adults actively use mobile devices and social networking tool, yet are ambivalent about all the connectivity 8% of Americans find mobility lighting their information pathways, but have comparatively few tech assets at home 16% of adults are active conduits of content and information for 61% are anchored to stationary media; though many have broadband and cell phones, coping with access is often too much for them