Tweet from a librarian colleague that made me think: “It amazes me that organizations skimp on the cheap stuff (disk space) and expect us to use our labor hours to tweeze through our inboxes.”
Categories Advocacy
81 posts
By Michael Casey & Michael Stephens The most difficult part of 2.0 librarianship is not the creation of new services nor even the job of convincing those in charge to let you try those new ideas. No, the hardest part is often the reexamination of ideas. It’s a key factor of any library service and part of the definition of Library 2.0 that sometimes gets overlooked. The evaluation of newer and existing services is critical for any successful library. It can be accomplished via vertical teams or a mix of internal and external evaluators; either way, you must look at […]
100_3532 | Originally uploaded by freerangelibrarian Fascinated by Karen Schneider’s Flickr set from IA Summit 2008.
By Michael Casey & Michael Stephens We’ve been writing the Transparent Library for a year, so it’s time for some thumbs up and thumbs down. Cheers to the widespread librarians, library staff, administrators, trustees, and others from libraries small and large who have participated in localized versions of Helene Blowers’s Learning 2.0 program. As we write, the entire state of Minnesota is running the program for all interested parties, reinforcing the idea that inclusive, self-directed learning applied to emerging tools can bring people together and get them talking. Cheers to the State Library of South Carolina for its engaging, personalized […]
Excelent piece from John Berry at LJ. He mentions that he teaches at Dominican (!) and sums up very well what I’ve also observed in library school and in our realm here: http://www.libraryjournal.com/article/CA6515838.html Like those who came before them, the current cadre of librarians bring new tools for the job ahead, technologies that make access to information much easier but just as corruptible. They bring that vitality and spirit that, in themselves, are enough to force change and even shape its outcome. At first, those in power will hang on, as they did decades ago. Ultimately, if we remember the […]
Great post at “Manage This” about library policy: http://managethis.informationcentre.ca/?p=50 Barbara Kelly shares some thoughts about Starbucks and libraries: So what am I saying here with these little Starbucks’ vignettes (other than wow, am I ever a demanding customer)? Well these situations bring to mind that: Policy guides us in what we do to serve the community, such as how hot the coffee should be and what to do with well meaning donations of National Geographic Policy guides our decisions when we are faced with situations such as using the wrong coffee bag or extending internet time Policy serves our mission […]
http://www.ilovelibraries.org/ Via the ALA Marginalia blog: http://discuss.ala.org/marginalia/2007/12/10/ola-the-first-100-days/ ilovelibraries.org, an advocacy website launched in June 2007, continues to develop. On average, the site receives over 60,000 page views monthly–and in September, ilovelibraries drove more traffic to Booklist Online than Google™ searches! As a result of efforts by the Chapter Relations Office and the Chapter Relations Committee, 25 state chapters are now using Capwiz advocacy software, which allows viewers (members and the general public) to contact state and national legislators via Ilovelibraries.org. Special 2010 funding will allow the remaining chapters to use this software. Further discussion among Chapter Relations, Washington Office and […]
____________ _______ made a point of being wherever you are. They have a tremendous, almost inescapable, presence in countless, high-traffic neighborhoods. Yet they’re also somewhat cutting-edge, not just in how they treat their employees or in their gutsy (if questionable) expansion tactics, but also in their efforts to stay relevant. This is evidenced in such ventures as adding Wi-Fi connections for customers…. To find out which: click here. We discussed this last night in LIS701 as part of trendspotting/Library 2.0 module.
http://opensocialweb.org/2007/09/05/bill-of-rights/ Preamble: There are already many who support the ideas laid out in this Bill of Rights, but we are actively seeking to grow the roster of those publicly backing the principles and approaches it outlines. That said, this Bill of Rights is not a document “carved in stone” (or written on paper). It is a blog post, and it is intended to spur conversation and debate, which will naturally lead to tweaks of the language. So, let’s get the dialogue going and get as many of the major stakeholders on board as we can! A Bill of Rights for […]
http://sospl.blogspot.com/ Dear Michael: I want to tell you about my new blog. Aside from the standard issues that Librarians face here in Indiana we have a new one that has the potential for disastrous consequences for small public libraries here in Indiana. A large issue, which I feel is being played down by some, is the consolidation of all public libraries in the state. Few Librarians and taxpayers alike feel that this is going to be a beneficial change. Currently there are 238 libraries. The consolidation of public libraries would mean that there are 92. Somehow I got the bright […]