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Thanks CALL! Slide Downloads and Links

Thanks to all who attended my keynote and discussion session at the Conference About Libraries & Literacy at the University of Wisconsin La Crosse. Download the keynote slides here – “Learning Everywhere” and the discussion slides are here.  Selected Library Journal “Office Hours” columns cited: Adopt or Adapt Libraries in Balance Librarian Superpowers What’s Next Formula for Success Hygge State of Mind Talk About Compassion Dream. Explore. Experiment. Color Me Curious Speak of the Devil Library Emoji Learning to Learn The Right Questions Telling Stories Gifts of this Hour Open to Change

Creative Confidence Book Review – A TTW guest post by Dana Lema

When you ask my father to draw a picture of a dog, you get this: When you ask me to draw a picture of a dog, you get something like this: My dad is an artist and art instructor by profession and a semi-professional guitar player as a hobby. My mother was a practiced pianist and seamstress while working as an attorney. My sister can master any type of dance. I can sing, but play no musical instruments. I cannot sew and my dance moves, while enthusiastic, wouldn’t be considered skillful or graceful.  The joy of being part of a […]

Resources: Adopt or Adapt for Sirsi Dynix Connections Summit

Thanks to all the fine folk that attended my keynote this morning at the Sirsi Dynix Connections Summit! Download the slides here. Selected Library Journal “Office Hours” columns cited: Adopt or Adapt Room to Grow Librarian Superpowers What’s Next Formula for Success Hygge State of Mind Talk About Compassion Dream. Explore. Experiment. Color Me Curious Speak of the Devil Library Emoji Learning to Learn The Right Questions Resources to Inspire: Basgen, B. & Testori, P. (2016). Socially engaged learning. Deitering, A. & Gascho Rempel, H. (2017). Sparking curiosity. Educause. (2016). 7 things you should know about….The 2016 key issues in […]

Yes, and…. – A TTW guest post by Cheryl May

Devil’s advocates need not apply As I was listening to the Library as a Classroom lecture this week, the devil’s advocate component reminded me of a phrase that is more productive.  That phrase is “yes, and…” rather than “no, but…” or “let me play devil’s advocate”.  In conjunction with this flip on devil’s advocate, asking people to bring solutions is an excellent tool and one I’ve been actively trying to train my staff on for a few years now.  When someone comes to me with a complaint or is being a naysayer, I will frequently ask them to remember I am […]

Infinite Learning: A TTW guest post by Dr. Mary Vasudeva

Dr. Mary Vasudeva wrote this post in response to readings in her MLIS course INFO 298 The Hyperlinked Library “Leave the library and go where the people are.” (Stephens, 2017, Built for people). I happened to be in a situation where I couldn’t listen to the lecture for this course module (on an airplane), so I was going through the slide show. . . which made me think about learning modes in general. And then, I got to slide 5, which states “The heart of libraries is learning and supporting our users’ curiosity through every means possible” (Stephens, 2017, Library […]

Fake News and Social Media Analytics by TTW Contributor Troy Swanson

What do social media analytics tell us about fake news? How can these analytics help libraries and librarians? What is the Social Media Command Center? These are a few questions explored in my interview with Nathan Carpenter who is Director of Convergent Media for the School of Communication at Illinois State University. This interview is available at: Circulating Ideas episode 123: Nathan Carpenter. This interview is part of a series I am doing on fake news & information literacy. My previous interviews can be found here: Circulating Ideas episode 116: Laura Lauzen-Collins (Your Brain and Fake News) Circulating Ideas episode 113: […]

Thanks Northland Library Cooperative!

Thanks to all who attended the Northland Library Cooperative meeting in Traverse City yesterday. How wonderful to spend time at my home library and with Michigan library folk. Download the slides for the keynote Library as a Classroom and afternoon session Formula for Success here. Selected Library Journal “Office Hours” columns cited: Adopt or Adapt Libraries in Balance Librarian Superpowers What’s Next Formula for Success Hygge State of Mind Talk About Compassion Dream. Explore. Experiment. Color Me Curious Speak of the Devil Library Emoji Learning to Learn The Right Questions Telling Stories Gifts of this Hour Open to Change   Image: Traverse Area District Library’s […]

Where we live – a series of guest posts by Beth Harper

As a student in Dr. Michael Stephen’s Hyperlinked Libraries course at San Jose State University, Beth Harper wrote six reflection blog assignment posts over the course of the semester.  Each of those posts has been published on Tame the Web and can each be read here: Where we live – Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 * * * * * Beth Harper is a public services paralibrarian living in historic central Denver and working in the western foothills under the shadow of the Front Range, and an MLIS student at San Jose […]

Office Hours: Telling Stories

My new column is up at Library Journal. It’s called “Telling Stories.” This piece marks the seventh year I have been writing “Office Hours.” My summer reading pile included a preview of Annie Spence’s Dear Fahrenheit 451. Spence is a former student of mine who went on to be a public librarian. Her new work is a collection of personal “letters” to books of all kinds—i.e., Dear Color Me Beautiful or Dear The Hobbit. There is also a dash of “It’s You, Not Me” breakup style notes for soon-to-be weeded titles destined for the book sale. It is a funny, […]

Thanks Ohio Library Council! Adopt or Adapt?

Thanks to all the great folks at the Ohio Library Council. I had a wonderful time in Dayton. My talk: Adopt or Adapt: Approaches to Emerging Tech and Trends Presenter: Michael Stephens, San Jose State University There’s no doubt about it. Library Information Science has become a technology-driven field. Information technology is impacting every industry right now, and libraries are no different. Note the influx of job descriptions for emerging tech librarians, user experience specialists, and others who guide technology-focused projects and departments. But, emerging tech is just one part of the bigger picture. The best librarians will be creative, […]