“Look, we’ve got more computer junk than we know what to do with and a generation of kids whose “information literacy” extends to learning PowerPoint and being lectured about plagiarizing from Wikipedia and putting too much information on Facebook. The invisible, crucial infrastructure of our century is treated as the province of wizards and industrialists, and hermetically sealed, with no user-serviceable parts inside. Damn right libraries shouldn’t be book-lined Internet cafes. They should be book-lined, computer-filled information-dojos where communities come together to teach each other black-belt information literacy, where initiates work alongside noviates to show them how to master the […]
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Note from Michael: I caught mention of this event on Facebook from Stacie Ledden. I’ve been watching what Anythink has been doing for some time and the R-Squared conference only made me more interested in what’s happening at this most forward-thinking, innovative library. Stacie put me in touch with Matthew, who graciously agreed to write this guest post. Give a read and take a look at the photos Matthew provided for a glimpse at what is possible when you move from being an “experience library to a participatory library.” I’ll be sharing this post with students in my Hyperlinked Library […]
The Architecture of Understanding from Peter Morville Don’t miss this fascinating slide deck from Peter Morville.
“I am “, I said To no one there. And no one… heard…at all… not Even the chair. “I am”, I cried. “I am”, said I. And I am lost and I can’t Even say why. Leavin’ me lonely still (Neil Diamond, 1999) It use to be that being physically isolated meant being alone. But now, internet access allows us to be connected to the world. As information professionals, we can create thriving communities that are face to face, site to site, app to app. I am a teacher without barriers and a humanitarian aid volunteer without borders. […]
I’ve recently completed a temporary 10-month stint as sole tweeter and community manager for Hennepin County Library (@hclib). About a month in, I wrote a guest post for Tame The Web exploring what I’d learned about tweeting for public libraries at that point (http://tametheweb.com/2012/04/20/tweeting-for-public-libraries/). “Follow Your Patrons” is a follow-up, a slide deck with lots of practical examples as to how libraries can best leverage our Twitter presences to not just describe what we do, but to do what we do. (Note: while the examples draw from my experience tweeting for HCL, this is a personal presentation made on my own time, not as […]
Since beginning SLIS classes, I’ve become curious about the labels librarians use for people who use the library or its services. When the issue came up again this semester, I set up an informal poll to get some feedback. I appreciate everyone who shared it, voted and left comments! You may view it online, but here is a summary of the results. It would have been ideal to ask people using libraries as @infointuitive suggested, rather than library students and professionals, but I didn’t have access to that kind of audience. So I decided to include background information in the poll to get an idea […]
A Brief Synopsis The book, Hanging Out, Messing Around, and Geeking Out: Kids Living and Learning with New Media, is based on the findings of a large-scale collective of ethnographic studies conducted by y over 20 researchers at MIT from the Digital Youth Project on youth and their social/friendship-driven and interest-driven practices producing, consuming, and sharing media and technology. The case studies offer pretty fascinating insights into youth culture and voices. The authors of the studies concluded that youth often engage in three genres of participation with tech/media: hanging out, messing around and geeking out. It is a participatory cultural progression […]
Over the past few weeks I’ve been reflecting on the connections I make in a digital world. The main purpose for the reflection was to fulfil a MIS assessment on Online Personal Learning Networks [OPLN] in Dr. Michael Stephens Fall 2012 Transformative Learning & Technology Literacies class. I think that Richardson and Mancabelli’s description of an OPLN as a unique learning environment where ‘we learn what we want or need to learn using the vast resources and people online’ is fitting (2011, p.3). This method of informal learning complements traditional learning and helps us to function better in all aspects of […]
Note from Michael – Carlie is a WISE student taking my Hyperlinked Library course. Carlie wrote this post as part of her course blogging. I’ve been reflecting on what kind of librarian I wish to become, and in the process, I discovered the social media guidelines I developed form a beautiful basis. As a future librarian, I promise the following to members, colleagues, and to myself that I will: Be curious. My learning will never be finished. I want to learn from colleagues and members, and promise to never be afraid to say “I don’t know.” I will give others the […]
Note from Michael – Pamela is a WISE student from Rutgers taking my Hyperlinked Library course. This is a companion post to Holly’s previously published post on serving the hearing impaired. (**names have been changed for anonymity’s sake**) My education began with an eye-roll. The library worker standing next to me behind the circulation desk added a heavy sigh and a series of tut-tuts to the eye-roll. The troubling cause of this facial display? The child having a mild fit 15 feet away from us in the children’s section of the library. ”Do you know Stephen?” she asked me, as if […]