I have heard reports of the demise of libraries and librarians since I first entered library school over thirteen years ago. I tend to not pay much attention to them, but in the last few months a couple articles followed by personal experiences have caused me a bit of concern. The first was Rick Anderson’s guest editorial in the Journal of Academic Librarianship (July 2011, 37:4) where he argued that we have valuable services, but students and faculty don’t really care. Second, was the blog post by Mike Shatzkin (http://www.idealog.com/blog/it-will-be-hard-to-find-a-public-library-15-years-from-now) where he argues that big picture trends are going to […]
Yearly Archives: 2011
229 posts
The programme is up for Internet Librarian International 2011 in London October 27 & 28: http://www.internet-librarian.com/2011/programme.php I’ll be presenting this on Friday: C201 – Teaching Others 10.30 – 11.15 Michael Stephens, San Jose State University & Tame the Web Expanding on his research on the effect of Learning 2.0 programmes in Australian libraries, initially done when he was the 2009 CAVAL Visiting Scholar, Michael Stephens, whose background is in public libraries, presents an overview of emerging literacies related to digital media, information exchange and education. The phrase “information literacy” has expanded well beyond its original meaning and now encompasses a wide […]
I’m updating and expanding my “Participatory Service & Emerging Technologies” class for my new position at SJSU SLIS. I’m carrying over one of my favorite assignments – the context book report. What would you add? ————————————————— Context Book: Students will read one book selected from a list provided, and write a 300 word reflection or create a media-based presentation relating the topic and focus of the book to libraries, technology and participatory service. 10 points Checkout a sample book report here. What can librarians glean from these works? How might the focus of some titles impact library service? Users? The way we […]
Graham Lavender points to a post by Mr. Library Dude concerning the realities of libraries school and the job market. Mr. Library Dude offers a few points to be considered: I don’t really care what library school course grades/GPA you have. Just get your degree and focus on getting some experience. Get a mentor! Someone who is a working librarian. Not a library school professor who hasn’t worked in libraries for 20 years. Geographic flexibility: I understand that not everyone can (or wants) to move across country for a job. Just be aware that you may be severely limiting your […]
Reprinted with permission from John’s blog: http://johnmiedema.ca/2011/07/24/tedxlibrariansto-slow-reading/ Say the words, “slow reading”, and you will have a reader’s attention. In a time of information overload, we all feel pressure to read more quickly. Three years ago I performed a Google search on slow reading. I found studies on dyslexia and eye disorders, advertising for speed reading courses, and complaints about the scanning rates of I/O devices. At the time I was doing a Master of Library and Information Science, and decided to undertake a broad search for research and concepts about the benefits of slow reading. The results were published […]
An “Office Hours” reader writes: Just finished reading your article Transparent Library School, where you spoke about my fears of signing up and having old information is my concern. The only local (less than 2 hrs) school closed up its local branch so I’m looking into the various online schools, and have not found a good comparison. Do you know of such a site? The information on ALA on various programs I have found to be out of date. I have an obvious bias – but has anyone encountered a good comparison site of the online LIS programs? Update: Don’t miss: http://en.wordpress.com/tag/hack-your-program/
How cool is this recent ad for the position of Program Officer, Digital Media & Learning at the MacArthur Foundation?: (bolding is mine) Knowledge, Skills, and Experience: The Program Officer role requires graduate training and experience as a researcher or designer, with a strong grasp of research and theoretical literature relating to learning, adolescent development and new media, and practical, “on-the-ground” experience with youth, in libraries and museums or schools. He or she must be familiar with significant thought leaders and national organizations in relevant fields, and to be a respectful, collaborative colleague who can build bridges and actively engage […]
“You must understand video games. Seriously. You must. So if you don’t know a joystick from a jelly roll, spend some time getting up to speed on games played on computers, online, and on special devices such as Game Boys and Playstations. Ask your kid. Ask your neighbor’s kid. Or go into an electronics store such as Best Buy where the games are usually on display, and ask for a demo. You won’t regret it. And you may even become hooked. At the very least, you’ll begin to understand the powerful new grammar, narrative pattern, and thinking style these games […]
Note: This is an updated version of the “green sheet” I just submitted for review – it is a DRAFT until approved. Course Description Course Overview “The new tools provide powerful options for working with data, text, sound, and images. …. There is, predictably, an increasing departure in information handling from the simple pattern of read, think, then write. Computers are used for so much more than the traditional notion of “computing.’” –Michael Buckland, Redesigning Library Services, 1992 Library scholars have noted the ongoing impact of technology on libraries and have called for a redesign of services to meet the […]
3rd International Symposium on Information Management in a Changing World, September 19-21, 2012, Ankara, Turkey Symposium web site: by2012.bilgiyonetimi.net E-Science and Information Management Scope The “3rd International Symposium on Information Management in a Changing World” (or IMCW2012), organized by the Department of Information Management of Hacettepe University, will take place in Ankara, Turkey, from 19-21 September 2012. “E-Science and Information Management” being the main theme, IMCW2012 aims to bring together both researchers and information professionals to discuss the implications of e-science for information management. “E-Science” is defined as collaborative, networked and data-driven science. Researchers have to get access to large, […]