Don’t miss: http://blog.hubspot.com/blog/tabid/6307/bid/4439/State-of-the-Twittersphere-Q4-2008-Report.aspx You can download the full report in PDF format and click here to tweet about the report. Here is a glance at some of the more interesting findings. Twitter is dominated by newer users – 70% of Twitter users joined in 2008 An estimated 5-10 thousand new accounts are opened per day 35% of Twitter users have 10 or fewer followers 9% of Twitter users follow no one at all There is a strong correlation between the number of followers you have and the number of people you follow The graphs showing the growth of the most popular micro-blogging tool […]
Contributors Michael Stephens
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The Feel Good Librarian points to: http://fulton.blogspot.com/2008/11/go-ahead-make-my-day.html Yesterday I received an envelope in my mailbox here at the library. I didn’t recognize the name on the return address. Inside was a picture of a young boy I didn’t know. His name was on the photo along with a message from his parents welcoming him to their family. Mystified, I opened the enclosed card. A handwritten message read, “Thank you for your notary services. The final documents enabled us to finish the adoption of our wonderful son. We are so glad to have him home and are grateful to the many […]
Chelmsford Library Revamped: In the place formerly known as the library, students perch on long-legged chairs and huddle in purple and black booths. Once a week, they drink coffee and discuss books in the Java Room. They watch a history lesson, school news, and CNN on a 58-inch flat-panel “digital kiosk.” Just don’t call it the library. The new Learning Commons was born from the old Chelmsford High School library, until recently an area so notoriously shabby that school officials conspired to keep superintendent candidates from glimpsing its electric yellow walls and duct-tape-scarred floors. But the school district’s head of […]
In Michael’s Library 2.0 class, I had the opportunity to read Blink by Malcolm Gladwell, and I wrote up the lessons I thought libraries could take from it as they seek to better themselves in a Library 2.0 world. Here’s the condensed, bloggy version of what I took away. Lesson one: The Aeron chair. This chair was break aesthetically from how office chairs had always looked, but despite some initial outside skepticism, the design team persevered because they knew they had created a great project; the chair came to be the company’s biggest seller. Similarly for libraries, it is important […]
File under keeping up with your students’ technology use. Brian Mathews reports on investigating how his library could better support the technology needs of students: http://theubiquitouslibrarian.typepad.com/the_ubiquitous_librarian/2008/12/tell-me-about-your-laptop-what-libraries-can-do-to-provide-support.html I am not talking about IT support, although that is offered by people in our building, but rather about the types of software, gadgets, accessories, tools, furniture, or supplies that would help people to be more productive. So I asked them: Recliners and more ottomans More outlets More headphones for check out Power strips Extension cords Book stands / paper stands More small cubical-like spaces Wireless keyboards Wireless mice Laptop docking stations Comfortable chairs with […]
The Best Tweets Include: Recommended links. Images and videos to share. Something worth replying to and having a conversation over. (Guide to Replies) Something worth retweeting. (Avoiding 1-sided conversations) Announcements about upcoming events. Valid sources of information. Take a look: http://flatworldschools.blogspot.com/2008/12/twitter-tutorial.html
Library Faces, originally uploaded by scampion.
Check your ego at the door. Good leaders don’t surround themselves with “yes” people. And good leaders know that if their message is not being heard, or it’s being heard incorrectly, then the fault does not lie with the listener but with the speaker. Stop worrying about the snarkiness of survey responses and start worrying about the meaning behind those negative comments. Be sure to listen through the criticism. Behind relatively unconstructive criticism may lie a real concern. Show those critics you can listen, and show them that you’ll respond. Recognize and grow your talent. Talented staff reflect better on you. […]
Quiet Sign ADULT, originally uploaded by Manatee County Public Library.
Superpatron reports on Duke University’s mobile home page for the library: http://vielmetti.typepad.com/superpatron/2008/12/duke-university-libraries-mobile-edition.html Duke Libraries Mobile Library Home 1 Hours 2 Available Computers 3 Contact Us 4 Directions 5 Loan Periods 6 Links 7 Phone: (919) 660-5880 (Perkins Reference) 8 Main Library Home Page (not formatted for mobile devices) If you click through to “Available Computers” you get real time status of free/busy computers in their labs. This is what they write about it on their library blog: Key points about our pilot: Compact display: information optimized for the very small screen space available on handheld devices — every pixel counts. Compact file size: patrons often pay a fee for each byte transmitted […]