Monthly Archives: November 2010

17 posts

From Reactive to Proactive Reference Service

Warren Cheetham ponders the demise of AskNow in Australia and offers some insights into his view of the future of reference: I wonder if this is a good opportunity for the AskNow partners and participants to consider the idea of a proactive online reference service for Australians, that takes into account the changes in online behaviour and information seeking that has led to the decline in use of AskNow. In brief, online services like Facebook and Twitter, and specific answer services like Yahoo Answers are filled with people asking their friends, families and followers all sorts of questions. Some of […]

ILEAD U: Team Pandora

This is the third installment from the ILEAD U Project.  Click here or on the category hyperlink to read more about it. – Mick Jacobsen Team Pandora was comprised of three libraries in the Springfield area- the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library (Jan Perone), Illinois State Library (Debra Aggertt, Sandra Fritz and Beth Paoli) and University of Illinois Springfield-Brookens Library (Pamela Salela). After a few meetings a final decision was reached by the group to try to improve services to Illinois State government agencies particularly those that had lost or did not have an agency library. Team Pandora had a major […]

“Little bits of Love” – Happy Thanksgiving!

I’ve had the pleasure to sit and chat with Peter Bromberg on two occasions. Long, rambling chats about the profession, this online world we find ourselves inhabiting part of the time, and kindness. Into my aggregator comes this sweet little post that so succinctly sums up what I believe is our number one goal: So I went on to explain in less freaky terms that what I enjoyed about providing customer service was the opportunity to connect with other people, if only briefly, and possibly make their day just a little brighter. Regardless of the specific transaction (reference, pizza, dress […]

ILEAD U: Springfield Big Read

This is the second installment from the ILEAD U Project.  Click here or on the category hyperlink to read more about it. – Mick Jacobsen Team Springfield Big Read includes Amanda Binder and Janelle Gurnsey from University of Illinois Springfield, Brookens Library; Julie Wullner from Lincoln Library, The Public Library of Springfield, Illinois; Amy Ihnen from Chatham Public Library District; and Sarah Garley from Rochester Public Library.  Together we represent four of the 14 partners of The Big Read in Central Illinois.  The Big Read is an initiative of the National Endowment for the Arts in partnership with the Institute […]

X – On Anonymity & Librarianship

In the Library with a Lead Pipe is one of my favorite blogs. The writing is peer-reviewed, balanced and well-reasoned. The most recent post by Emily Ford is evidence of this: http://www.inthelibrarywiththeleadpipe.org/2010/x/ Emily explores the nature of undisclosed publications: Hiding our identities allows us to break accepted social practice and  there is nothing inherently unethical or wrong with creating a character in Second Life or engaging in gender swapping or other identity experiments online. However, the realm of library professional discourse, i.e. writing critical essays or peer reviewed articles that contribute to the discourse of our profession, is not where […]

Synergy 2010 Vision Video

Synergy: The Illinois Library Leadership Initiative 2010 is the statewide library community’s proactive movement to recruit and nurture future Illinois library leaders. Objectives include self-assessment; discovering and developing personal values; identifying the local, state and global environment; fostering and expanding skills and tools for personal, professiona and positional leadership; creating a cohort group; establishing mentoring relationships; and developing a vision of and beyond the field of librarianship. The Synergy 2010 Vision Team (Kerrin Riley, Anthony Auston, Kathy Lynch, Dianne Ludwig, and Deborah Shippy) produced this video and vision statement based upon the vision statements of each of the 30 Synergy […]

Kista Idea Lab Mobile Music Walk

The bold emphasis is mine: A World Music Walk in the multilingual, multitalented and multitechnological Kista Kista is like no other place – share a multi-special experience with us, where the mobile technology opens doors to the world music! What? Join us on a fascinating journey where the world’s musical diversity meets the technical innovation that is so unique to Kista. Nowhere else in the world are so many world-leading innovation companies gathered side by side with a unique variety of musical, linguistic and cultural skills. The Mobile World Music Walk is about getting to know the possibilities with the […]

Office Hours: Goals of an LIS Educator

My new column is up at Library Journal online: http://bit.ly/bD8ZOS This exercise helped me clarify my philosophy of LIS education. Some of my goals include: To prepare LIS students for a decidedly digital future in libraries. With titles like Digital Strategy Librarian, User Experience Librarian, or Strategy Guide, jobs being advertised speak to an evolving skill set that not only includes a solid understanding of the core values of LIS but a strong knowledge of information architecture, online user behavior, and the ability to build networked resources and services. We do our students (and programs) a disservice if they graduate […]

Congrats to Dr. Steven MacCall, Winner of LJ’s 2010 Teaching Award

Please see: http://www.libraryjournal.com/lj/home/887460-264/steven_maccall_winner_of_ljs.html.csp “He transforms what could be a cold and impersonal experience into one that is filled with enthusiasm, humor, and intellectual rigor, possibly even transcending an on-campus experience.” That description of Steven L. MacCall’s online teaching comes from the student nomination that earned him the 2010LJ Teaching Award, sponsored by ProQuest. An associate professor at the School of Library and Information Studies (SLIS) at the University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa, MacCall was nominated by Kathie Popadin, known as “Kpop” to the members of her cohort in the online MLIS program at SLIS. Sixteen of those students banded together to urge Kpop […]