One of the big themes running through my life as a student this semester is connecting, mainly through connecting to others in the profession through the Internet. When I recently read the quote from the New Yorker about “some of our closest friends and most significant professional connections are people we’ve only ever met on the Internet,” my heart jumped and my ears opened to listen a little closer–in other words it really resonated with me. As an English speaking, budding librarian living in Hungary, my ‘in-person’ professional network, at least with other librarians, equals zero, which means that all of […]
Contributors Michael Stephens
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A shout out to all the good folks who came to my talk the last day of the Public Library Association Conference 2016 & all the librarians who stopped me to ask “How is Dozer?” Denver was such a welcoming city – and I so enjoyed talking with public librarians from all over. Download the slides (large download). Office Hours columns cited: A Genius Idea In the Moment Library as Classroom Holding Us Back Infinite Learning Learning to Learn Mobile at the Library Reflective Practice Always Doesn’t Live Here Anymore Agents of Change Stacking the Deck Power of Quiet Color […]
Join me at the next Library 2.016 online mini-conference in June: Library as Classroom June 15th, 2016 12:00 – 3:00pm US-Pacific Time In A New Culture of Learning, authors Douglas Thomas and John Seely Brown write, “Where imaginations play, learning happens.” This could and should define our services for now and in the future. The library as creative classroom means we approach the learning opportunities we create with thought, user-directed planning, and insights from research. This classroom may include physical spaces for instruction and discovery as well as online, multiscale platforms aimed at social learning and participation. Libraries of all kinds […]
As long as libraries have had reference desks to staff, public librarians and library personnel have pursued learning opportunities for professional development (PD). Library personnel access PD through various channels, such as in-service learning days, conferences, face-to-face and recorded workshops and lectures, and auditing LIS classes. Now, 21st Century library personnel– whether full-time librarians or part-time paraprofessionals– can access PD via online courses, webinars, blogs, and social networking tools. We are seeking public library professionals or paraprofessionals across the U.S. to participate in a survey regarding the availability, perceptions, and effectiveness of your professional development (PD) experiences. This study will contribute to a […]
Call For Speakers We’re looking for innovative info pros! Information Today invites you to submit your ideas for this year’s Internet Librarian International (ILI) – the library innovation conference. Each year, ILI attracts hundreds of library and information professionals from around the world to exchange ideas, knowledge and experience. We’re seeking fresh new case studies, great stories, personal experiences and lessons learned from the ideas, strategies and practical implementations you’ve put in place to make a difference to your organisation, clients and communities. As always, we welcome contributions from all types of libraries and info pros – public, academic, government, national or […]
Greetings all! I am excited too be speaking at PLA 2016 in Denver this April. Here are the details on my interactive talk: The Hyperlinked Classroom: Extraordinary Learning Experiences in Public Libraries April 9, 2016 9:30 AM – 10:30 AM Room: Mile High Ballroom 3-4 CC The hyperlinked library is welcoming, participatory, and incorporates user input. It is a playful model emphasizing collections and spaces that evolve via user and staff participation in a transformational anytime, anywhere service dynamic. What does the future look like going forward as we encourage learning everywhere as a means for transformative change for ourselves […]
Greetings all – I am working with students from the SJSU School of Information on various advanced WordPress type experiences. One of them is an overhaul of this blog, which has grown in all sorts of ways over the last 13 years. Things will be changing a bit – theme, etc — over the next few weeks, so please pardon our dust.
Jan: Hi Michael. I enjoyed the slides of your Hyperlinked School Library: Explore, Engage, Celebrate keynote at ASLA 2009 (Australia School Library Association) very much and I want to ask you some questions about it. Talking about the continuous online computing Generation Y or Google Generation you pose the question: “How can we help them to be good digital citizens”. I wonder how you see the difference between ‘good citizens’ (which most baby boomers think they are) and ‘good digital citizens’? Michael: Jan, greetings from Queensland, Australia! You hit on an important question. Maybe there isn’t much of a distinction these […]
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=avQirXrmb5w 3D Printing is the process of making three dimensional solid objects from a digital file. Teens at the White Plains Public Library explain exactly how the process of 3D Printing and Design works.
We had a little server issue at TTW this week, so I am late posting my thanks to the good folks from the Montana Library Association and Montana libraries who hosted me as their keynote for the annual “Offline” conference in Lewistown. MT. What fun! Keynote slides Tech/Trends Session slides Image: Old Moccasin, MT School.