My February column is up at Library Journal: http://lj.libraryjournal.com/2012/02/opinion/michael-stephens/the-age-of-participation-office-hours/ IT’S THE MUSEUM DIRECTOR’S conundrum. She has six brief seconds to grab the visitor’s attention as they walk past each exhibit. Once they pass the exhibit, they’re gone for good. That thought went through my mind as I stood talking with a museum administrator at a stammtisch [“regular get-together”] in Berlin in March 2010. Could this brief window of opportunity be maximized by adding a social, participatory component to museum exhibitions? I couldn’t help but think that this is the same problem facing libraries. How can we grab the public’s interest despite the […]
Posts
4301 posts
http://news.wustl.edu/news/Pages/23471.aspx Jeffrey G. Trzeciak, university librarian at McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada, has been named university librarian at Washington University in St. Louis, effective July 1, 2012, announced Provost Edward S. Macias, PhD, executive vice chancellor and the Barbara and David Thomas Distinguished Professor in Arts & Sciences. Trzeciak replaces Shirley K. Baker, vice chancellor for scholarly resources and dean of University Libraries, who will retire after 23 years of service to WUSTL on June 30. “Libraries are critically important to Washington University’s mission in supporting our strong programs of teaching and scholarship.” Macias says. “Library materials and the […]
I just finished Carson Block’s article, If Books Are Our Brand, in Public Libraries magazine. It’s yet another look at the changing world of libraries and how e-books have shaken things up. Block says, “I would love our brand to be ‘access to the resources and tools in an ever-changing world.’ That means access to e-everything, including the tools and training needed for content creation, and in physical spaces. Places to gather and discuss ideas. Places to learn, and places to teach.” I agree with Block when he says we need places to gather, learn, and teach. But, Block’s statement […]
GetGlue and LibraryThing got me thinking about how we could make the library an even neater place if we could somehow integrate these services into what we do. Imagine going into a library and heading for the catalog. You start your search and because of LibraryThing you can read other library members thoughts on that item. The stack map then will help you locate what you’re looking for. Imagine if we took that a step further and GetGlue made a product called GetGlue for Libraries. Members could opt in to the program and check in to what they’re checking out at the […]
(for the first post in this series, please click here) Once I had the idea for lending out iPods with pre-selected apps to teens, I had to do some investigating and thinking about how these devices would be used. I would describe the iPods as “locked down”. By that, I mean that the borrower can’t do much other than use the iPods for their library defined purpose (play or create) and use the internet. To access restrictions, visit your settings on your iPod. Under the General tab, scroll down to […]
Greetings from California! I’m out for SJSU SLIS Faculty Retreat next week but today found me on the lovely campus of Dominican University of California. I spoke today at a faculty workshop, presenting an updated and expanded version of “The Hyperlinked Campus” with an emphasis on emerging technologies for teaching and learning. The discussion and interaction was wonderful. AND a big shout out to the DUCA librarians who attended! The slides are here: http://dl.dropbox.com/u/239835/HyperlinkedCampusDomCA.pdf
We’re excited to share news about the latest developments for this year’s Internet Librarian International conference. New larger venue – Olympia Conference Centre Following the success of last year’s standing-room only event, we are thrilled to be moving to London’s Olympia Conference Centre for the 2012 event. This purpose-built conference venue will give us more space for conference sessions, more scope for networking, and improved facilities including robust wifi. Olympia is located within easy reach of the shops and restaurants of Kensington High Street, Knightsbridge and Notting Hill, and a wide range of museums and tourist destinations. New conference Chairs help info […]
Thanks to everyone at the Evansville Vanderburgh Public Library. I thoroughly enjoyed spending the morning with the staff at their Staff Development Day. The slides are here: http://dl.dropbox.com/u/239835/HyperlinkedEvansville.pdf
We librarians are in a war for survival but we keep getting caught up in battles. The battle with Overdrive, the battle with Harper Collins, Penguin, other publishers, the battle with database providers, the battle with Apple, Facebook, and everybody else trying to limit choices/privacy, etc. and we are losing them and losing them badly. It is time to remember the War. I don’t know about you, but I am fighting the War to make the Library vital to my community and make the community I serve the best in the world. I don’t care about eBooks, I am not […]
Question of the Moment: “What is the nicest thing anyone ever said to you?” Students and staff are enjoying answering our newest Question of the Moment posted on one of the library hallway windows. Within minutes of the question being displayed, we had some funny answers such as, “Someone said I had thick hair!” written by a teacher whose hair is very sparse, and some deeply felt answers such as, “You are a good son.” and “Someone said they wanted to help me.”