“Spending too much energy on why we can’t change instead of changing what we can.” From yesterday’s retreat come the typed up flipchart notes from the L2 Barriers exercise and our brainstorming. Thanks to katia for typing them up! And thanks to the incredible Marshall Shore of Maricopa County Library for inviting me down and opening up the event to other library systems! How open..and participatory! 🙂 Barriers in the Library Negative signage (e.g. No cell phones) People have to come IN to the library to use it “Noise Police” Only one public phone (or worse, NO public phones in […]
Categories Engaging Library Users
156 posts
Denver Public Library YouTube Contest Some things to note: Use of YouTube is not only encouraged by DPL but the site is used as an extension of the library’s presence within its community of teens The same goes for the library’s Teen MySpace page at http://myspace.com/denver_evolver — where the videos that meet contest criteria will be highlighted! On so many levels, this gets the library “out there” and in the minds of young people. They’ll market the content, the MySpace page and more by word of mouth. How open, participatory and decentralized is this? Wowza! (Thanks to Michael Sauers for […]
New from Pew: http://www.pewinternet.org/presentation_display.asp?r=80 Libraries are the living, breathing internet that existed long before the digital network that we know today. They are the connected nodes of information and community exchange that we have relied on to communicate, collaborate, share resources and preserve knowledge in our societies for centuries. But there are concerns about the future of physical libraries, given that so many of us have easy access to virtual libraries of information on our computers at home. Recent Pew Internet Project research examines technology use by teenagers and suggests how the behavior and expectations of young internet users might […]
Via Digg: http://www.crmlowdown.com/2006/11/the_10_best_and.html This fascinates me: the top ten best customer service sompanies includes Apple (hurrah!), GE and Hilton Hotels. I’ve achieved Hilton Honors Diamond staus because of all the Hamptons and Doubletrees I’ve stayed while on the road and have no complaints about their service, so I wasn’t surprised. This bit did intrigue me: 7. HILTON HOTELS CORPORATION – Laboratory Studies for Improved Customer Service Innovation combined with a desire to better the customer’s experience is apparent in Hilton’s programs like the Hilton Technology Room, which is basically a laboratory for gathering customer feedback on new and emerging technologies. […]
Brian Kenney, editor of SLJ, urges public libraries to provide more activities, tools and tech for young people. Most librarians get it..but: http://www.schoollibraryjournal.com/article/CA6386666.html It’s the public library directors who need to listen. Staff members need better tools and skills, while their youth need more space, materials, and computers. As Gómez says, “We cannot view out-of-school-time programming and services as an adjunct to core library services.” For that to be true, a lot of public library directors will need to take a hard look at their library’s resources and how they’re spent. Maybe it’s time to stop moaning about that seldom-visited […]
no games on these computers Originally uploaded by circulating. Looks like it’s from a juvenile detention center…
Rules in the Teen area Originally uploaded by davidking.
Via David Warlick at http://davidwarlick.com/2cents/2006/09/18/listening-to-student-voices/: Ian Jukes, just sent me a link to a study that was published last year by Education|Evolving, a joint venture between the Center for Policy Studies and Hamline University in Minnesota. The report, Listening to Student Voices — on Technology (pdf), describes 15 findings, culled from various literature. The findings are mostly not surprising, but worth noting again: Computer and internet use is growing Students are sophisticated users Technology is important to students in education Technology is not an extra In-school access to technology is limited Home use dominates In-school use is not integrated Computers […]
Jessamyn blogs her recent visit to the Chicago-based Newberry Library: guard: “Do you have some RESEARCH you’d like to do?” (clearly the emphais on the word, to me, implies “hey dumbass, it’s the most obvious password in the book. Here, I’m giving it to you”) me: “No, I just wanted to look at the reading room, but I think I’ll go home instead.” I really try to not use this space to complain about customer service incidents unless I think they can somehow be useful teaching tools, but I just was floored here. I had done my homework and read […]
From a librarian who wishes to remain anonymous: Dear Michael, I heard you speak last May and I had to ask your opinion on something happening at our library. The other librarians want to write a Conduct Policy for the teens who come in after school: no skateboards or rollerblades, no games, one teen per computer, quiet behavior, etc. I want to speak up but I’m a new librarian and I’m scared they’ll all get mad at me. I think I know the answer but is this the way to pull teens in? Just sign me Anonymous Next Gen Librarian […]