The most democratic book project I know is about to relaunch – Here is an article I wrote for the German library magazine BUB as member of the Zukunftentwicklers network – With a few corrections because a lot has happened with Unglue.it since the deadline: What is crowd funding and what does it mean to unglue? To unglue a book means that you buy the rights to the book and then pass them on by giving the book to the world for free to read in any e-book format and on any device – without DRM or time restrictions under a creative commons license. […]
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Super cool article by Patricia Martin at Huffingtom Post. So glad to meet here at #rsq12 http://www.huffingtonpost.com/patricia-martin/libraries-digital-age_b_1942610.html‘ Until recently, public libraries had little reason to innovate. Then Google arrived. More disruptive technologies followed, causing an identity crisis for librarians. Now the profession is re-thinking its purpose — a quest that lured a gathering of 350 eager librarians to Telluride, Colorado recently for the R-Squared (Risk and Reward) Conference. As I circulated, knots of librarians huddled to share ideas and solutions. If there was a common thread it was the need to understand the increasingly complex lives of customers. Pre-Internet, a library […]
Note from Michael: I met Tippecanoe County PL (Lafayette, IN) director Jos Holman at IPLA last week. He told me about his library’s creation space “The Portal.” S. Neal Starkey, Head Technology Librarian, followed up with some info and a link. I thought this was a good example of what’s possible in a medium-sized midwest library. The Portal is a new public space the Tippecanoe County (Indiana) Public Library system custom-designed to give its customers a place to learn, create, and interact with new technologies. This space is currently populated with a mix of desktops, laptops, and tablets. The design and seating are flexible […]
I was honored to present at the Library 2.012 Conference this year. I did two talks back to back for folks from all over the world. Here are the presentation links: “23 Things” as Transformative Learning: Promoting Confidence, Curiosity and Communication via Library Staff Professional Development: For slides please Contact Michael Our Common Purpose: Libraries and LIS Education in Flux: For slides please Contact Michael The recordings for the conference are here: http://www.library20.com/page/library-2-012-session-recording-links-and-information – Don’t miss the excellent keynote presentations!
I zipped down to Carmel, Indiana last week and did two talks for the Indiana Library federation’s Public Library Association’s conference. Here are the slides: For Keynote and Trends & Tech slides please Contact Michael
we love serving you!, a photo by Oak Park Public Library on Flickr.
Zombie Prom and Face-melting metal at your local library! Enjoy Prom like you’ve never experienced it before. Bring a can of food and join us in your Zombie worst or survivor best for an epic night at the Sweetwater County Library. All donations will go to our local Food Bank. The evening will begin with our annual Zombie Walk in which we will lurch down to the main street of town to Centennial Park where we will play a game of Zombies vs Humans, flag football style. We will re-group at the library for the Zombie Prom. This year our […]
That’s a quote from A New Culture of Learning – it illustrates well my thoughts about future libraries. I want to say THANK YOU to the good folks here in Wyoming who brought me in to speak at their annual meeting – I’m having a blast. Keynote Presentation: http://dl.dropbox.com/u/239835/StephensKeynoteWyoming.pdf Trends & Tech Presentation: http://dl.dropbox.com/u/239835/WyomingTrendsStephens.pdf
http://lj.libraryjournal.com/2012/09/opinion/michael-stephens/did-you-miss-the-r-squared-conference-it-was-a-barn-burner-office-hours/ My new column is up online at LJ for this month – I wanted double word count so we went with the virtual for this one. The column is all about my experiences at R-Squared: Over two days we explored creativity and curiosity, heard from keynoters such as Josh Linkner, author of Disciplined Dreaming, and each of us chose and completed our own immersive group experience. I chose Customer Curiosity, though other options included Creative Spaces, Culture, and Abundant Community. With John Bellina and Tasso Stathopulos from the Denver marketing firm Ricochet Ideas. Ricochet is the design group that helped […]
Note from Michael: Mace’s post echoes my own thoughts about the R-Squared conference. The opportunities for learning, collaboration and engagement seemed so fresh and exciting at the conference as they did while cycling. Cycling for libraries – one of infinite different ways to cooperate with colleagues A hypothesis: there are better, and more efficient ways to spend time with colleagues than to sit in an auditorium and watch powerpoints all day long. Sounds like common sense. But when you take a look at our profession, librarianship, you will quickly notice how much time, effort, money and kerosene we spend to send our best minds to […]