Categories Participatory Culture

Via Stephen’s Lighthouse:  http://www.readwriteweb.com/archives/ten_common_objections_to_socia.php Emphasis mine:  A List of Objections, Replies and Concessions Regarding Social Media and Tools 1. I suffer from information overload already. Possible replies: Try just skimming messages in some fora – you may need to look closely at every email you get but you don’t have to look at every Facebook friend’s update. The right tools for you will feel helpful in time, not like a burden. Experiment for awhile with new tools and stick with the ones that deliver you the most high-quality information, whether those tools are high-quantity or not. (Thanks to Aaron Hockley […]

Join the Conversation Originally uploaded by mstephens7. As a regsitered Starbucks card holder (Venti Awake 4 Splendas and Room, please), I get mass emails from the company promoting their services. This one promotes their book discussion and urges folks to “join the comnversation” at an online social forum called Gather.com. Libraries, do you promote your discussions this way? Do you invite your users to join the conversation? I know some do and they do it well… but if you haven’t offered your users a way to join the conversation, now might be time to ponder it, as Starbucks nips at […]

While Steven Cohen points to Innovative Interfaces Flickr account, Roy Tennant writes an incredible open letter to ILS vendors: http://techessence.info/node/83 Dear ILS Vendor: Like it or not, your world has changed. Libraries now have reasonable ILS options beyond commercial offerings. Not only are there open source applications like Koha and Evergreen, there are outfits like LibLime and Equinox Software lined up to provide support. Libraries would be stupid to not give serious consideration to transitioning to an open source solution and save thousands of dollars while gaining the latest in cutting edge technology at the same time. Please read the […]

Library 2.0: A Guide to Participatory Service Originally uploaded by mstephens7. Library 2.0 A Guide to Participatory Library Service By Michael Casey and Laura Savastinuk Two of the first and most original thinkers on Library 2.0 introduce the essential concepts and offer ways to improve service to better meet the changing needs of 21st century library users. Describing a service model of constant and purposeful change, evaluation and updating of library services, and user participation, the book both outlines the theoretical underpinnings of Library 2.0 and provides practical advice on how to get there. From incorporating technology to reaching “the […]

I was tickled to read Michael Golrick’s post about blurbing Library 2.0: A Guide to Participatory Library Service by Michael Casey and Laura Savastinuk. It will be published by Information Today in April and, like Michael, I hope that the book does very well. I’ve read it and look forward to using it in future classes. (Disclaimer: I wrote the foreword. 🙂 )