I had scheduled a talk at Geneva Public Library’s Staff Institute Day months ago – and the “Cooper Incident” changed everything. We were able to work out a good plan: I spoke to the group today for an hour via Skype about some library trends. We showed off Skype as a technology, I got to see the group, they got to see me and Cooper made his presence known with some barks. Thanks to all! The slides are here: http://dl.dropbox.com/u/239835/GenevaPLTrends.pdf
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Joshua Kim has a nice piece on reading with a Kindle: http://www.insidehighered.com/blogs/technology_and_learning/freedom_on_a_kindle But if Amazon is smart, and Bezos seems very smart to me, than I’m sure that the Kindle experience will continue to improve. We are not there yet, but the end of the future of the printed book format is in sight. The printed book will continue to live on, as either a high-end speciality item (as a tactile object and work of art) and a low-end mass market item, but the center for the printed book cannot hold. By the time my kids are both in college […]
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) […]
Via Perpetual Beta: The Future of the Book. from IDEO on Vimeo. Meet Nelson, Coupland, and Alice — the faces of tomorrow’s book. Watch global design and innovation consultancy IDEO’s vision for the future of the book. What new experiences might be created by linking diverse discussions, what additional value could be created by connected readers to one another, and what innovative ways we might use to tell our favorite stories and build community around books? My first thought was the power of Coupland to enable group reading lists, shared libraries and easy connections would be perfect for faculty and […]
I’m always watching for innovation in libraries for TTW Guest Posts, including interesting ideas and new practices. I’ll meet someone at a conference doing fascinating things, perhaps testing the waters in new areas, or read a thought provoking blog post, and I’ll often ask “Would you consider doing a TTW post?” My hope is that by highlighting some new twist on what we do, we can get people to explore these issues. I was pleased to see a comment show up on an older TTW post about Netflix use by libraries that lead to a recent one that has […]
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 […]
Good stuff: http://followalibrary.blogspot.com/2010/09/give-your-library-twitter-makeover-for.html Erin Logsdon (@taxonomylady) wrote a blogpost with some great tips how to give your library a twitter makeover for follow a library day. Having a complete profile (Location, Web, Bio) is important for two reasons. One, the text in these fields in keyword searchable, so it will help people find you if the information is complete and relevant. Two, people use the profile information as a contextual way of understanding who you are and the purpose of your Twitter account. Can they ask you a question via Twitter or do you only use the account to push […]
A flurry of work today getting ready for classes! Don’t miss this from the Smithsonian’s Michael Edson: Michael Edson: Fast, Open, and Transparent: Developing the Smithsonian’s Web and New Media Strategy View more documents from Michael Edson. This is a most useful document for designing our own Web and new media strategies for libraries and other institutions. Careful articulation of “pain points” followed by an ongoing, transparent strategic plan seems to me to be a formula for success – especially with layers of administration.
David Wedaman writes: I’ve been reflecting on two different ways of organizing people: the grass-roots organizing committee, and what you might call the generic standing operational committee. Model 1. The organizing committee (think Student Non-Violent Coordinating Committee, think Norma Rae, think your local Neighborhood Committee to Save the Park) creates ex nihilo; wrests people from their comfortable lives to solve a collective problem (or brings together people already so wrested); is intense and real, is full of arguments, passion; is omnivorous in regards to talents — takes whatever members can give; is ecumenical in regards to methods and modes and […]