How to Raise Boys Who Read (Hint: Not with gross-out books and video-game bribes) I think what I hate seeing in these types of articles is the general “GAMES BAD BOOKS GOOD” thing (for the full effect, imagine The Incredible Hulk saying that). Perhaps I’m only seeing this because of my interest in gaming (I am one of the co-founders of 8BitLibrary.com). I don’t know. I try to read articles like that from the approach of my parents, who are middle class, everyday blue collar folks who have their high school diploma. What would they think? I think they’d come […]
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People used to need the help of library and IT staff to do things like find articles, edit videos, create databases, install a VOIP phone system, etc. This is changing. People are increasingly sophisticated users of digital media and computers. Third-party software applications and web-based services (read: not made or vetted by your local library and IT staff) are increasingly accessible. Obvious, I know, but it bears repeating. People don’t need us as they used to; yet we librarians and IT staff sense we can still be helpful (good for us!). Our challenge is therefore this: we have to A) […]
At my library, we recently started up a circulating video game collection. Since we didn’t have a huge budget and we knew the collection was going to be rather small, we opted to go stark naked with security. There’s also an amazing vibe here in Portland, Maine. People really have a lot of trust in each other and everyone has a lot of faith in each other. We put the games out on the shelf in the cases, did our best to monitor things, and went about our business at the library. Recently, we’ve had some stuff stolen. Instead of […]
Man, webinars, streamed meetings, recorded speeches, etc. are everywhere. Earlier today I stumbled across a twitter hashtag #gwws discussing a seemingly interesting (haven’t had a chance to watch it yet) presentation on screencasts and staff development. This is directly in my professional interest wheelhouse. I am lucky I noticed the hashtag. What if I hadn’t? I, on the same hand, recently facilitated the Chicagoland Library Drupal Group. We had some great content, discussing the soon to come and conquer Drupal 7 and how to allow patrons to make customized database lists using the Flag Module. We streamed and recorded the […]
Two teens from Italy in Portland, ME over the summer. One teen librarian. What the heck is gonna bring them together? It’s not a mind blowing idea. But I will tell you this…it works. Here’s our simple story about how we bonded thanks to some technology. For the first two days, our interaction was limited to “computer” and “yes”. They wanted the computer and I was happy to provide them with access. It seemed to be the one bright point in their time at the library. They could log onto to Facebook and chat with their friends back home. Smiles […]
For those that are interested the Chicagoland Drupal Group (which I happen to run) is streaming their meeting this coming Monday 9:30-12:00 central at http://www.ustream.tv/channel/mickjacobsen. The scheduled presentations are: But, I don’t WANT to read the whole manual: Continuing-Ed Opportunities with Drupal by Gwyneth Stupar, Reference and Web Services Librarian at the Northbrook Public Library and Matthew Lechleider Drupal community organizer. Getting Evanced to Play Nice with Drupal – a Huge Step in the Right Direction by me. If you happen to be in the Chicago area the group is meeting at the beautiful Glen Ellyn Public Library. This program […]
Three weeks have passed since the Portland Public Library reopened after a lengthy renovation (which I wrote about here). The addition of a teen area is a completely new idea for the community of Portland, Maine. At first, teens didn’t really understand that this was THEIR space. However, over the last week or so they’ve started to trickle in and discover the space. So what are they doing? They’re connecting with their friends on Facebook in our computer lab. They’re relaxing and tweeting on their IPads in our teen lounge. They’re using their netbooks anywhere they can find a spot. And don’t […]
Let me say this: change is extremely difficult. It’s also not a quick fix, but a process that may go on for many years. Change also has many hills and valleys and sometimes you can’t see the destination. In the end, however, change is totally worth all the ups and downs that come with it. Over the past few months, I’ve experienced a lot of change in my career as a librarian. I started off the year as the Teen Librarian at the Cape May County Library in Southern, NJ. In February, I accepted a position as the new Teen […]
Don’t miss Jason Griffey’s new Library Technology Report. Covering all types of gadgets and devices, Griffey offers an concise, useful overview of all of the choices. Most importantly, he emphasizes the need to keep up with emerging tech and understand how it might fit into the information ecology of our users. From the closing chapter: Gadgets give you the opportunity to show off new and exciting technologies to those who may never own one for themselves, in much the same way that libraries have found that providing computers and Internet access was an important function of the late twentieth-century library. […]
This post was written by Kasia Grabowska for last semester’s LIS 768: Library 2.0 & Networking Technologies class. Kasia has allowed me to repost it here. After doing brand monitoring research for the past few weeks, looking closely at Skokie Public Library (and not so closely at several other libraries), I decided to put together a list of “do’s and don’ts” for librarians on successfully utilizing social media. This is what I learned from doing brand monitoring and what I personally would recommend to libraries that are getting started with social media. Tip #1: Learn how to monitor your brand Join the RIGHT […]