One of the most important, if not most important, aspects of screencasting (yes, it is another screencasting post, I swear I have other interests see the Summer Reading series at LISNews) has nothing to do with designing or producing, but where it is placed. Screencasts, to be most useful, have to be at a point of need. Placing screencasts, chat widgets (thanks David Lee King), or other tutorial at the point of need seems so self-evident (a priori) that I don’t believe I need to make any arguments for it. More important are some of the techniques, hypothetical and production, […]
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For a patron to learn that our library has just the resource they were looking for, followed by a helpful tutorial by a librarian, only to realize a day later that they can’t remember exactly how to access it worries me. Many patrons quickly forget the title of a recommended resource, let alone how to find it on a library’s website. This is very true when I am on the customer side of service desks. Perhaps they will recall the name of the resource and even how to find it, but will not be able to replicate the search. Worst […]
by: Claire Steiner Dominican University ———- During my days as a MLS student, I have heard the phrase “running a library like a business” too many times to count. So many times, in fact, that I have decided to examine what exactly this concept entails and the effects it may have on libraries and the inevitable implementation of Library 2.0 technologies. The reality is that many libraries are being run like businesses these days, however, they are still not living up to their potential. So it begs the question, how does running a library more like a business make it […]
I was given the opportunity to be on a panel discussing screencasting for the RUSA MARS Hot Topics Panel at ALA. The slides will not make much sense in and of themselves, so I am making my speech notes available as well. Thanks to everybody who made the long walk to the far corner of South McCormick Place to watch us. Public Library Screencasts View more presentations from mjacobsen. – TTW Contributor Mick Jacobsen
Sad news, Rachel Singer Gordon’s Tech Static is calling it quits. Tech Static is/was an outstanding resource for reviews of technology books. Anybody who has collected Dewey 000s knows just how difficult it is to find credible, reliable, and well written reviews of computer books. This is especially true for those who collect that area but do not have a formal background in technology, like me. I am also disappointed that we let the Tech Static die. Not enough people stepped up when Rachel asked for help. Perhaps you were like me and had it on your to do list […]
This book was a very easy read about a subject that is not intuitive to me being a digital immigrant. I appreciate that the book has chosen a broad audience to address that includes parents, educators, and librarians— to create a conversation between all those who have high stakes in dealing with the changing needs of the digital native population. The idea of creating a dialogue between parents and their children, educators and their students, librarians and their users, was a strong point throughout the book and reiterated in the synthesis, “…this book is an invitation to conversation. It’s an invitation sent out especially […]
Lindy shared her project for LIS5313 with me via email and I asked her to share her study with TTW readers. Thanks Lindy! Michael Recently, I read a post from Mashable.com about Twitter’s staggering growth in 2008: Twitter grew 752 percent in 2008 for a total of 4.43 million unique visitors in December! What does this mean for libraries? As Twittermania spreads, more and more of their patrons are will use it to communicate, socialize and make connections. As such, libraries should see the unlimited potential Twitter can have to connect them to their community and beyond. Libraries must adjust […]
Kay wrote a paper for LIS768 on the Cluetrain ten years later. She graciously allowed me to post an edit here. Thanks Kay! Michael Today’s economic situation would seemingly make libraries indispensible. Yet with budget cuts, many libraries are threatened with cut backs and closings. The natural reaction, based on fear, would be to go into preservation mode. Instead, libraries need to be moving into innovation mode, viewing this time as a chance to move ahead and connect with the public that hasn’t been using them. The disenfranchised public wants to know how the library will be relevant to them […]
In Michael’s Library 2.0 class, I had the opportunity to read Blink by Malcolm Gladwell, and I wrote up the lessons I thought libraries could take from it as they seek to better themselves in a Library 2.0 world. Here’s the condensed, bloggy version of what I took away. Lesson one: The Aeron chair. This chair was break aesthetically from how office chairs had always looked, but despite some initial outside skepticism, the design team persevered because they knew they had created a great project; the chair came to be the company’s biggest seller. Similarly for libraries, it is important […]
I’m a big follower of library websites. They are virtual representations of their physical presence and they also say a lot about a library’s innovation (or lack thereof). All this summer I investigated different libraries to see what they were doing and how they were designing their online presences as I redesigned the website for my employer, the A.C. Buehler Library at Elmhurst College. But it would have been great to know that I could have gone straight to one location to look at a plethora of library websites instead of Googling sites I knew of. Well – that one […]