Yearly Archives: 2012
190 posts
I missed it by two days, but I wanted to acknowledge that TTW turned 9 on Sunday. Here’s the first post – back in the OLD TTW archives in iBlog format (remember that?) I want to send a big shout out and thank you to everyone who has read the blog, commented and participated here at TTW in various ways. I appreciate it. I also greatly appreciate the wonderful contributors who have signed on to write for TTW as my time for blogging has decreased over the years. I grabbed my contribution to the Passion Quilt meme as an image […]
Clive Thompson recently gave an excellent interview on the findings tumblr as part of their “How We Will Read” series. In the interview, Thompson discusses his ideas on eBooks, social reading and the future of print. But I think that his thoughts about print on demand books are the most interesting. What you see with print on demand in the last couple of years is that there’s been explosion in the number of things printed, but they’re printed in small quantities: three, four, five copies total. They tend to be things like very specialty books; weird memoirs only three or four people […]
I’m sharing this with my students. http://implementingqrcodesinlibraries.org/ Much there to think about – THANKS Aaron! See also: https://tametheweb.com/2011/10/22/why-the-qr-code-is-failing/
Shirky, of course, advocates that we embrace “as much chaos as we can stand.” In this scenario, staff is encouraged to try out a new thing without regard to the way “it’s always been done.” This is messy, scary, and probably unwanted in most institutions. Ideas above are from: Cognitive Surplus by Clay Shirky Embracing Chaos by Michael Stephens It has been a little over a month since we began our grand experiment with lending devices to teens (for the first post on this, go here. for the second, go here) and I am here to check back in and […]
My new column is up at Library Journal: http://lj.libraryjournal.com/2012/03/opinion/michael-stephens/embracing-chaos-office-hours/ Part of me is tempted to argue that this is not a debate between those who want control and those who want chaos. The forward-thinking librarian understands that Shirky’s “everybody’s coming” is the future. We are now living in the chaotic world, and we do not have a choice regarding where we can position ourselves. Our choice lies in how we respond. If we continue to respond to chaos using tools from the old world of control, then we will always fail. LIS students need to understand that the world is […]
EReader-Class, a photo by Mesa County Libraries on Flickr.
Very nice article about Jeff Trzeciak in the McMaster University newspaper that highlights his student-centered focus for the university libraries. The initiatives identified align well with current trends in academic libraries: http://issuu.com/thesil/docs/mar15_master In close collaboration with students and the mcmaster Students Union (msu), he has worked to maintain the focus on the student experience with every undertaking. “I am proud of the fact that we have been so student-focused,” he said of the recent developments to the libraries, explaining that much of those changes have been in response to student requests. A strong student-body push for 24-hour library space during […]
This is a guest post I asked Lian, a volunteer in the Skokie Library Digital Media Lab, to write. What is life like for DML volunteers and workers is a common question from people interested in DMLs, I hope Lian’s post will help explain what her volunteering looks like. – Mick Jacobsen With four tricked out Macs, a chroma key green wall, Blue Yeti microphones, a drawing tablet, scanners, various electronic instruments and more, the Skokie Public Library Digital Media Lab is the place to be if you’re looking to create. Each of the four Macs at the DML is […]
Stephens, M. & Cheetham, W. (2012). “Benefits and results of Learning 2.0: a case study of CityLibrariesLearning – discover*play*connect.” Australian Library Journal, 61(1), 6-15. A snippet: Both the pre- and post-programme survey utilised the question ‘Which of the following topics/tools are familiar to you?’ Staff selected from a scale ranging from ‘have only heard the name’ to ‘very familiar.’ There were marked improvements across the scale in every category for the post-programme survey. Technologies such as Facebook, blogs, Google documents and others showed marked improvement in the post programme survey. Adopting the tools into work and personal life was also a […]