Categories TTW Ephemera

Remember this from November 2007: Save our Small Libraries! 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 […]

A School Librarian writes: Dear Michael –  I sat down with a bunch of my middle school students as they came into the library today and we talked about how we could transform our little public school library into a fabulous space for them. They had great ideas, and I shared some of YOUR ideas with them. I think we will begin changing things next week (I’ll ask permission from the boss after it’s done!). 🙂 Do you or your readers know of any “safe” photo sharing sites like FlickR that we might be able to access in schools. My District still blocks FLickR, […]

I have a new post up at ALA TechSource: http://www.alatechsource.org/blog/2008/11/a-commons-experience.html The Commons puts students at the center. The idea of student-centered innovation was a theme woven throughout the commons field trips. The commons did not make it any easier for the librarians or to enforce library policies. In fact, Stacy Greenwell of the University was happy to tell me that they made it easier for students to use their cell phones in “the Hub.” “Yes, that’s right—at the Hub we actually installed infrastructure to make it easier for students to use cell phones. We actually encourage cell phone use. Truly the Hub is […]

Via Jessamyn and a slew of emails this weekend from TTW Readers: http://wiki.code4lib.org/index.php/OCLC_Policy_Change I need to catch up on all of these posts. Jessamyn suggested this one as  http://www.betaversion.org/~stefano/linotype/news/220/ So, OCLC decides to update its data licensing policy after 21 years because, quote: “The Guidelineshave also been frequently faulted for their ambiguity about WorldCat data sharing rights and conditions.” Having had to deal with such ambiguity myself when discussing about releasing the Barton Library data from the MIT Libraries, I have to say that I very much welcomed any sort of update in clarification and a more modern and up-to-date licensing agreement between OCLC and […]

We recently presented a workshop in London at Internet Librarian International, based on our writings here, and realized that throughout the columns we’ve identified a set of mile markers for the journey toward transparency. Give everyone an avenue to talk.  Play nice and be constructive.  Grow and develop your support community.  Be willing to accept anonymity.  Tell the truth. Lies don’t work.  Focus on user-driven policy, not driving users away.  Read the whole column here.

Don’t miss Jen Waller’s Flickr sets of her travels to various libraries in The Netherlands. I’ll be using these in future classes for sure!

Don’t miss this article from Sarah Houghton-Jan and Aaron Schmidt: http://www.infotoday.com/mls/nov08/Schmidt_Houghton-Jan.shtml While there are many quick, one-time things you can do to make your content findable, we’ll address those later. First, we have to make sure that there’s a reason to promote your library and its website. If you’re not offering relevant services or interesting content on your site, there’s really nothing to promote. The most important and effective thing you can do to make your content findable and to draw people back is the most difficult: Make a good website. Creating a website is ridiculously easy, and it takes […]

Great stuff: Tips to Make a University Student Blogging Program Successful You Can Never Have Enough Feedback The final step to a successful student blogging program is to constantly pursue feedback. Successful bloggers utilize user feedback to improve their writing and focus on topics that their readers would be interested in. Ask prospective students, current students, alumni, and staff to give their impressions of these blogs and suggestions of what they would like to see. Some of my best blog entries were inspired by e-mails from readers who asked what I had to say on a topic that interested them. […]

Brenda Hough writes: The MaintainIT Project is happy to announce the latest Cookbook! “Planning for Success” http://www.maintainitproject.org/cookbooks/planning-for-success It’s a free online resource with current ideas and best practices for planning, building, and managing your library’s computer technology. Librarians around the country have contributed their knowledge on topics ranging from security solutions and strategic maintenance practices to community building experiences involving Web 2.0 tools and vital partnerships. And the Cookbook is FREE. Cookbook topics include: – Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) – Evaluations and Metrics – Talking with non-techies – Standardizing your IT infrastructure – Leasing computers – Disk-cloning in libraries – Remote desktop software – Hiring […]

I gave two presentations last week for the Southwest Florida Library Network.  The slides for “Taming Technolust in a Hyperlinked World” are here. The best part of the time was getting to spend time with Lee LeBlanc, who is a little over a month in his new job at SWFLN: Continuing Education/Emerging Technologies Coordinator. Lee has been a TTW Contributor for almost a year and I’m always glad to hear what he thinks about libraries and our future.