First day of the big map, a photo by Oak Park Public Library on Flickr. Oak Park Public Library launches a new Idea Box installation. What a wonderful way to tap into users’ hopes and dreams! Kudos OPPL!
Categories Participatory Culture
57 posts
My new column is up at the LJ site: http://lj.libraryjournal.com/2013/03/opinion/michael-stephens/lost-control-not-a-problem-office-hours/ In a discussion after a recent presentation, an educator stood to make a counterpoint to my take on participatory teaching. “I’m paid to have control,” she said. More than one person in the room gasped. I should have directed her to the new Horizon Report. Among the key trends identified as those impacting teaching and learning for 2013 is an emphasis on “open.” The report states, “Open is a key trend in future education and publication, specifically in terms of open content, open educational resources, massively open online courses, and open access.” Open […]
Don’t miss this great article by Toby Greenwalt: http://publiclibrariesonline.org/2013/02/embracing/ The Idea Box7 is a nine-by-thirteen-foot space located in the opening vestibule of OPPL’s main library building. Originally designed as a coffee shop, the space is now a constantly changing interactive environment for art and conversation. Unlike a digital media lab or a makerspace, however, the Idea Box is focused on single-serving experiences. One month might have patrons rearranging small LED lights to create constellations on the walls. Another month might have a visitor posing for a green-screen photo with an oversized library card, and choosing their favorite exotic location to have […]
Park It!, a photo by Oak Park Public Library on Flickr. Monica Harris at Oak Park PL writes: “Its snowy and cold here in Chicago, so we’ve added a pop up park to our Idea Box space at the Oak Park Public Library this month – complete with solar powered fountain, park benches, and chirping bird songs. Take a look at the space.” Click through to see more photos!
A Brief Synopsis The book, Hanging Out, Messing Around, and Geeking Out: Kids Living and Learning with New Media, is based on the findings of a large-scale collective of ethnographic studies conducted by y over 20 researchers at MIT from the Digital Youth Project on youth and their social/friendship-driven and interest-driven practices producing, consuming, and sharing media and technology. The case studies offer pretty fascinating insights into youth culture and voices. The authors of the studies concluded that youth often engage in three genres of participation with tech/media: hanging out, messing around and geeking out. It is a participatory cultural progression […]
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 […]
Julia Bergmann writes: There is a new award for librarians and other knowledge-workers in German-speaking Europe. It’s called “Zukunftsgestalter in Bibliotheken” (“Pathbreakers in Library Science”), is sponsored by the German publishing house De Gruyter and is awarded in cooperation with the Journal “Bibliothek Forschung und Praxis” (BFP) as well as the Foundation “Zukunftswerkstatt Kultur- und Wissensvermittlung e.V.” The idea for this award roots in the observation that the current discussions of new developments concerning the library world, such as library 2.0, open innovation in libraries or the new role of gaming etc. is mostly academic, while the practitioners out there, […]
http://www.imls.gov/new_report_explores_roles_of_libraries_and_museums_in_an_era_of_participatory_culture.aspx The Salzburg Global Seminar and the Institute of Museum and Library Services announce the publication of “Libraries and Museums in an Era of Participatory Culture.” The report details the events of the October, 2011 convening of fifty-eight library, museum, and cultural heritage leaders from thirty-one countries. Together, the participants developed a set of recommendations to help libraries and museums embrace new possibilities for public engagement that are made possible by societal and technological change. The deliberations identified “imperatives for the future” including accepting the notion of democratic access, placing a major emphasis on public value and impact, and […]
I have an invited contribution in the new issue of SJSU SLIS Student Research Journal: http://scholarworks.sjsu.edu/slissrj/vol1/iss2/2/ I recently participated in a meeting convened at the Salzburg Global Seminar in Austria. For five days, over 50 librarians and museum professionals from all over the world gathered to critically examine the impact of participatory culture on library and museum work. The event was sponsored by both the seminar and the Institute of Museum and Library Services. Participatory culture, defined by Henry Jenkins in Confronting the Challenges of Participatory Culture (2006), “is a culture with relatively low barriers to artistic expression and civic […]
Vishakha Desai, President and CEO, Asia Society, New York, United States, was the keynote speaker this afternoon – as we hurtle toward the end of this incredible experience. The Asia Society’s Mission: http://asiasociety.org/about/mission-history Asia Society is the leading global and pan-Asian organization working to strengthen relationships and promote understanding among the people, leaders, and institutions of the United States and Asia. We seek to increase knowledge and enhance dialogue, encourage creative expression, and generate new ideas across the fields of arts and culture, policy and business, and education. Some key thoughts: The potential of the tools we all hear about is […]