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147 posts

Used for crossposted articles originally published elsewhere (Library Journal, Digitale Bibliotheek, etc.)

Office Hours: Mobile at the Library

http://lj.libraryjournal.com/2013/11/opinion/michael-stephens/mobile-at-the-library-office-hours/ Sharing images of library signs—especially those related to mobile devices and their use within library buildings—was part of my early focus on how libraries interact with their users via signage. Aaron Schmidt, writing LJ’s User Experience column, has also explored these ideas, most recently in “Signs of Good Design.” Language usually attached to an image of a mobile phone with the red circle and line through it was of this variety: “Violators will be asked to leave,” “Conversations not allowed,” and one signed ominously by “the Library Director.” Other ­signage you may have seen passed around Buzzfeed and LIS blogs warn that […]

Office Hours: Infinite Learning

http://lj.libraryjournal.com/2013/10/opinion/michael-stephens/infinite-learning-office-hours/ Public libraries are the best platforms for success with community-focused online learning of all sizes. It’s easy to create successful MOOCs in an academic environment. It’s something else to make them successful in a nonacademic environment. Jeff Jarvis, on This Week in Google (9/11/13), discussed the idea of unbundling education from universities, unbundling lessons from courses, and looking at new ways to view/score outcomes. Public libraries, with limited resources of staff and time, could still create unbundled MOOCs—smaller, shorter lessons that, when combined, total a full course. Busy patrons plus busy librarians still can equal quality learning opportunities. The above may seem daunting […]

Office Hours: The LIS/Library Divide

My new “Office Hours” column is up: http://lj.libraryjournal.com/2013/09/opinion/michael-stephens/bridging-the-lislibrary-divide/ Other professions (though not journalism) have strict continuing education (CE) requirements. CE, mostly carried out by consortia and state or national associations, is not as formalized for us. Consider this another call for professional development “with teeth.” Professional librarians should be expected to be always adding skills and knowledge as part of their duties. Formalizing a rigorous process says we mean business. Wafting through a few conference sessions, sitting with a group for a webinar over the lunch hour, or spending a desk shift doing “professional reading” should yield to more active […]

Office Hours: Listening to student voices

However engaging, thought-provoking, and even polarizing the speakers were at the Future of Academic Libraries Symposium presented by McMaster University and Library Journal, they couldn’t match what five McMaster University students had to say. “Hearing from Our Users: What Students Expect,” moderated by Mike Ridley, CIO and chief librarian at the University of Guelph, offered the most striking, honest, and emotionally charged views of the entire day. It gave symposium participants a glimpse at students’ perceptions and opinions. Ridley urged the panel to “tell us what we need to hear,” and they did. While all five own a smartphone, not one said they had ever accessed library […]

Office Hours: Goals of an LIS Educator

Presenting at the Educause Learning Initiatives (ELI) conference last January in Austin, TX, was a seminal moment for me. I found my tribe of like-minded educators and technologists examining what it means to be teaching and creating learning environments in the 21st century. What I didn’t find was too many librarians; roughly seven to eight percent of the 500-plus attendees were librarians. (Note to readers: put this dynamic conference on your radar. We should be there to represent and participate in the conversations.) Beyond the benefits of finding like-minded thinkers, ELI forced me to articulate my personal goals as an […]

Office Hours: Heretical thoughts

By Michael Stephens I recently had a phone chat with a valued colleague who runs a university library. He had been working hard to streamline staffing and budgets owing to a financial shortfall, while holding steady to a strategic plan anchored in creating useful information and collaboration spaces for the student body. I asked the question I always ask when I’m talking to someone who hires new librarians: “What other skills and competencies should a new librarian have?” His response? “I want risk-takers…innovators…creatives….I don’t want someone who’s afraid to make a move or make a decision without getting permission.” We […]

Office Hours: Learning to Learn

I totally forgot to link to my July column: http://lj.libraryjournal.com/2013/06/opinion/michael-stephens/learning-to-learn-office-hours/ How might staff development days evolve? I was impressed with the activities at Highland Park Public Library, IL, when I spoke at the library’s staff day a couple of years ago. Staff participated in a live, hands-on “passport to technology” program. Stations around the building offered staff members the chance to try out new devices and new web services offered by the library. The Best Buy Geek Squad was in attendance as well, offering encounters with popular and best-selling consumer tech. At each station, employees received a stamp in a […]

Office Hours: Creating a Library/ LIS Feedback Loop | Office Hours & The User Experience

Honored to have written a third joint column with Aaron Schmidt! http://lj.libraryjournal.com/2013/07/opinion/aaron-schmidt/creating-a-library-lis-feedback-loop/ Recent articles from voices in the field of library and information science (LIS) have questioned the value of the MLIS or pointed toward an uncertain and evolving future. Former LJ editor in chief Michael Kelley’s “Can We Talk About the MLS?” garnered much attention. Kelley argues that the profession should have a serious conversation about the values and merits of formalized, professional LIS education. Is the library degree, in his words, “an expensive and unnecessarily exclusionary credential”? Kelley’s call for discussion is a sound one and is echoed in Brian […]

Office Hours: Lackluster Online Programs?

My new “Office Hours” column is up at Library Journal: http://lj.libraryjournal.com/2013/05/opinion/michael-stephens/best-of-both-worlds-office-hours/ It’s a response to this letter last month in LJ by Krystal Taylor, an LIS student at IUPUI Indianapolis: Something quite disturbing is happening to my LIS program…. As of next semester, the program is going almost exclusively to online courses. Due to low enrollment of our courses on campus, the school has decided to move online in an attempt to keep the program alive. I understand this need, but at what cost will this be to the library and information science field? From the column: Taylor writes, “Having taken […]

Office Hours: Lost Control? Not a Problem

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 […]