Steve at Teach42 notes another, more sane bill introduced by an Illinois senator: http://www.teach42.com/2007/02/20/illinois-legislation-the-ugly-and-the-really-really-good/ I know Will says that he thinks things may get worse before they get better, but I did notice something while exploring the Illinois General Assembly website that gives me a little bit of hope. Matt Murphy wasn’t the only one to submit an bill to protect children from the internet that day. Senator Dan Kotowski also submitted an act, this one titled the Internet Safety Education Act. Sounds good already doesn’t it? It has the word Internet accompanied by ‘Safety’ and ‘Education’. Now, that doesn’t […]
Contributors Michael Stephens
4147 posts
http://libraryjournal.com/article/CA6417241.html While the Democrat-controlled Illinois General Assembly may not be too receptive to new social networking legislation proposed by freshman Republican Senator Matt Murphy, the bill may be the first in several state attempts to achieve the goals of the federal Deleting Online Predators Act (DOPA), which passed the House of Representatives but failed in the Senate. The Social Networking Website Prohibition Act would require public libraries to prohibit access to social networking web sites, including MySpace and many less controversial, on all publicly accessible computers, including those used by adults, and also would prohibit access by students in schools. […]
Top Tech Trends room – left Originally uploaded by etches-johnson. Amanda Etches-Johnson on her Trends: “Blogs make your library human.” “The mindful adoption of social tools: be in our users’ space but be useful. John Blyberg on his Trends: “Lubricate the wheels of communication in your library via these new tools.” “Openness is the new trend..it’s an open world…are you unable or unwilling to adapt? Sharing content, thoughts and ideas should be the norm.” “I am heartened by the conversations taking place online about vendors, etc.”
The Feel Good Librarian writes: http://feelgoodlibrarian.typepad.com/feelgood_librarian/ As a customer service person, I am usually not comfortable asking for things. I am used to providing assistance, helping and encouraging people. I anticipate needs, ask follow up questions and provide current, historical and background information. Now, however, I have a request to make. I found out this week that I have cancer. I don’t mean to be melodramatic – this is a good kind to have, if there is such a thing, with a 97 percent cure rate. After surgery, I have one-time chemo. My hair won’t fall out and I won’t […]
DCPL on del.ic.ious Originally uploaded by Dublin City Public Libraries. Nice del.icio.us site at Dublin City PL. Check out the organization: Dublin City Public Libraries provides an extensive list of suggested websites on del.ic.ious, each with an introducton to give you some idea of the site and its usefulness. The sites are ‘bundled’ or organised into categories to help you focus your search and assist you in deciding what resources to use. SEE del.icio.us/DublinCityPublicLibraries
Learn, Adapt, Scan, Point Originally uploaded by libraryman.
Join the Conversation Originally uploaded by mstephens7. As a regsitered Starbucks card holder (Venti Awake 4 Splendas and Room, please), I get mass emails from the company promoting their services. This one promotes their book discussion and urges folks to “join the comnversation” at an online social forum called Gather.com. Libraries, do you promote your discussions this way? Do you invite your users to join the conversation? I know some do and they do it well… but if you haven’t offered your users a way to join the conversation, now might be time to ponder it, as Starbucks nips at […]
Take a look at the incredibe Kankakee Public Library blogs for coverage of Japp and Erik’s visit: http://kpllibrarymusings.blogspot.com/2007/02/falling-in-love-with-dutch.html http://lions-online-shesaidhesaid.blogspot.com/2007/02/dutch-invasion.html It’s nice to see this type of coveage on library blogs! The folks at KPL are truly on top of the blogging game!
While Steven Cohen points to Innovative Interfaces Flickr account, Roy Tennant writes an incredible open letter to ILS vendors: http://techessence.info/node/83 Dear ILS Vendor: Like it or not, your world has changed. Libraries now have reasonable ILS options beyond commercial offerings. Not only are there open source applications like Koha and Evergreen, there are outfits like LibLime and Equinox Software lined up to provide support. Libraries would be stupid to not give serious consideration to transitioning to an open source solution and save thousands of dollars while gaining the latest in cutting edge technology at the same time. Please read the […]
Driving Back to Indiana, February 14, 2007 Originally uploaded by mstephens7. A big shout out to the folks at Boston Public Library and Simmons GSLIS! The weather caused us to postpone my visit one week, so instead I drove home to Indiana for some R&R and work on my dissertation. It’s nice to be at home after a scary drive through lake effect snow. Everyone stay warm and safe..and I’ll see folks in Boston on the 22nd.