Last post of 2k7! Starting next year, I plan to use something other than Blogger's default composition software. This thing is really rubbish. Hopefully, Open Office or Google Docs will work out better.
Oh, by the by, you should Google "30 things vbpl". Go ahead, I dare you.
Tell you what, I'll save you the trouble. Click here, and tremble! I'm gunnin' for number one, baby!
Happy New Year! See you in 2k8!
2007-12-31
2007-12-19
TAG! You're it!
Let's face it, this is an example of how language has changed over the years. When I was a kid, a tag was something that was sprayed on a wall or under a bridge. It was the signature of the artist who created the graffiti, and could itself be art. Now, it means something else. Something sinister.In this instance, tag refers to the labels we put on things so we can find them later. You save things in del.icio.us and give them useful tags, like "work" or "18th Century monarchs", so that when you try to find that site about Louis XVI, you know where to look. Hmm. "France", "revolution", or "beheadings" might be good tags for that site, too. And that's exactly the point. Unlike traditional sorting methods, tags work from the bottom up.
Take the example of the humble domesticated dog, Canis lupus familiaris. If you examine the dog's scientific classification, it begins at the broadest possible point, that of being a multicellular organism, and works down through the animal kingdom, having a spinal column, being a mammal, then a carnivore, then the family of animals that resemble dogs, to the rather more specific wolves and jackals, to just plain old wolves, ending with the subspecies of domesticated wolves (dogs). Wow. It's tag would, of course, be "dog". Maybe also "puppy", "cute", "beagle", "pet", or any number of other common identifiers that say "this thing here, it's a dog". Tags start from the presupposition that what we have is a dog. Not a multicellular animal with a backbone. And that's three steps into it!
To put it another way, if I told you that I saw a Haliaeetus leucocephalus, would you know what I was talking about? How about if I gave you some more information?
Kingdom: Animalia
Doesn't help much?
Phylum: Chordata
Don't speak Latin?
Class: Aves
I'll give this one to you: it's a bird.
Order: Falconiformes
Modern Latin sure is funny.
Family: Accipitridae
And you already have the genus and species for H. leucocephalus. Leucocephalus is Greek for "white head". Give up?
It would have been much easier if I had just told you it was a bald eagle, right? I'm willing to wager that few people tag bald eagles with "has a spine". Probably stuff like "endangered" or "national bird" or something. No disrespect meant to other nations and their fine birds, of course.
Take lots of people tagging things, and you create a folksonomy, a sort of common sense system of classification where the most commonly used terms are the most dominant. I hate that word, folksonomy. It sounds like something the Germans did at the end of World War II, when all the regular taxonomists had gone to the front and it was left up to young boys and old men to come up with names for things. But that would be Volksnamen, wouldn't it?
This is a nightmare for serious researchers, but a godsend for the average Joe. Joe probably wouldn't know how to find a picture of Canis lupus familiaris, but can show you lots of pictures of his dog.
No one says get rid of the old methods of classification. That would be silly. Top-down classification is essential to really divide things into categories for study and identicifation. But for plebians, things like "dog" and "eagle" are enough. Common sense tells us that Algebra is a type of mathematics. Do we need to classify it as "Mathematics - Algebra"? Probably not, unless you need different kinds of maths grouped together.
Not that there's anything wrong with that.
2007-12-13
Less Than Two Weeks to Xmas
Okay, with just 12 days left before Christmas Day, I'd like to remind everyone reading (all two of you) that Child's Play Charity is still going strong on their annual holiday drive. It's all explained in detail on their site, www.childsplaycharity.org, but the short version follows:
Children's hospitals put up wish lists on Amazon, and you buy things from the lists. The gifts you buy go to sick kids laid up in hospital over the holidays. You can also donate directly using Paypal or the USPS. As of December 7th, over $600,000 was collected for sick kids around the world, but there's plenty of time to raise more.
Support the gamer's charity. You don't have to be a gamer to help out.
Children's hospitals put up wish lists on Amazon, and you buy things from the lists. The gifts you buy go to sick kids laid up in hospital over the holidays. You can also donate directly using Paypal or the USPS. As of December 7th, over $600,000 was collected for sick kids around the world, but there's plenty of time to raise more.
Support the gamer's charity. You don't have to be a gamer to help out.
Way Ahead of You
Some time ago, my boss said it was a good idea for me to create a MySpace account. You know, to get a handle on what the younglings were up to. So I did. Not sure if it's the resolution on these machines at work (1024x768), but it looks like rubbish on Internet Explorer. Get Firefox today. It's free, and friendly. Not at all like IE, which tends to say nasty things about you behind your back.
It turns out the resolution does impact it a little, but it's still mostly Bill Gates' fault.
What?
Oh, creating a MySpace account. Learn HTML. Here's a primer. While an ancient language by today's standards, it is the primary method for profile modification. Kind of like the Bible being available exclusively in Latin until the 16th Century (Thanks, Martin Luther) but not at all like that. Oh, you can still have neat things without knowing any coding thanks to the trusty Copy and Paste features available today, but without HTML you'll never be able to write "München" or craft a proper link in MySpace. If that doesn't interest you, never mind then.
Was it easy? I guess, until I got a hold of Project Playlist. Now I have some 120 or so songs and tunes clogging up my profile. It was bad enough when all I had was silly YouTube videos. Keeping up with all those songs is a royal pain in the Netherlands, but at least everyone can know what sort of garbage I would put on an iPod.
If I had an iPod. Which I don't. Hint.
It turns out the resolution does impact it a little, but it's still mostly Bill Gates' fault.
What?
Oh, creating a MySpace account. Learn HTML. Here's a primer. While an ancient language by today's standards, it is the primary method for profile modification. Kind of like the Bible being available exclusively in Latin until the 16th Century (Thanks, Martin Luther) but not at all like that. Oh, you can still have neat things without knowing any coding thanks to the trusty Copy and Paste features available today, but without HTML you'll never be able to write "München" or craft a proper link in MySpace. If that doesn't interest you, never mind then.
Was it easy? I guess, until I got a hold of Project Playlist. Now I have some 120 or so songs and tunes clogging up my profile. It was bad enough when all I had was silly YouTube videos. Keeping up with all those songs is a royal pain in the Netherlands, but at least everyone can know what sort of garbage I would put on an iPod.
If I had an iPod. Which I don't. Hint.
2007-12-12
Is the Pope Catholic?
Today's installment relates to this thing. The question to get my thoughts brewing was, "Should VBPL use a social networking site to connect with teens?" My answer is evidenced by the title of this post.
I saw some interesting statistics during the research phase of this post, statistics that seem to indicate the bulk of teens online are using sites like MySpace to communicate. Well, you have to go to Athens if you want to see the Parthenon. And no, not the apartment complex.
You know, last summer one of the Virginia Beach Central Library teen coordinators created a MySpace account for their Teen Advisory Group (TAG is the acronym used by YALSA). Sadly, I cannot link to the page because the operation was shut down by the city's IT department. Apparently, it isn't kosher to have any online presence not under their auspices. I wonder if our present experiment will suffer similar consequences.
Sometimes it is just a case of the left hand finding out what the right hand is doing and cutting it off at the wrist.
I saw some interesting statistics during the research phase of this post, statistics that seem to indicate the bulk of teens online are using sites like MySpace to communicate. Well, you have to go to Athens if you want to see the Parthenon. And no, not the apartment complex.
You know, last summer one of the Virginia Beach Central Library teen coordinators created a MySpace account for their Teen Advisory Group (TAG is the acronym used by YALSA). Sadly, I cannot link to the page because the operation was shut down by the city's IT department. Apparently, it isn't kosher to have any online presence not under their auspices. I wonder if our present experiment will suffer similar consequences.
Sometimes it is just a case of the left hand finding out what the right hand is doing and cutting it off at the wrist.
2007-12-10
RA Wiki
No, not that RA. In this case, the RA refers to "reader advisory", and the wiki in question is located here. Our Herculean task this time was to write a brief book review, post it to the wiki, and write about the experience. And this is my record of said activity.
Um, it was easy.
This, while a useful and valid way to use a wiki, is only scratching the surface. A wiki accessible to everyone but only edited by the brass could be used to update and display policy. Much better than the current "we'll update when we feel like it" method. Plus, said policy would be transparent; the public could read it and have less reason to complain when we don't renew their book because someone else has requested it. Or whatever.
That is just one possibility. Wikis are very adaptable. There are as many potential uses as there are stars in the sky.
Um, it was easy.
This, while a useful and valid way to use a wiki, is only scratching the surface. A wiki accessible to everyone but only edited by the brass could be used to update and display policy. Much better than the current "we'll update when we feel like it" method. Plus, said policy would be transparent; the public could read it and have less reason to complain when we don't renew their book because someone else has requested it. Or whatever.
That is just one possibility. Wikis are very adaptable. There are as many potential uses as there are stars in the sky.
2007-12-07
Library Wikis for Fun and Profit
Huh. More time away from the front desk to work on this stuff. I knew all those sacrifices to Sol Invictus would pay off.
I've been looking at some of the things libraries have been doing with wikis, as the Thirteenth Thing. Thirteenth. Maybe those sacrifices should have been made to Beshaba instead. Funny how divinities from the Forgotten Realms have had entries in Wikipedia for years, but webcomics were denied until very recently for not being "culturally relevant". Go figure.
In any event, some of those libraries are doing some really cool things with wikis. The best seems to be St. Joseph County. Their page is, for lack of a better term, sweet. Most of the other links from the 30 Things blog are still under development. Yes, that is one of the supposed "features" of the 2.0 applications, but the flaws are highlighted on some of these pages. All you can come up with is a link? Really? At that level, the information presented is useless. Supposedly, it will become more useful in time, but only if people use it. It's a paradox. Not one of those Terminator 2 paradoxes, but the genuine article.
So that's the interesting bit. A wiki is really great, but only if it gets used. On the other hand, it will only get used if is really great. Catch-22.
I've been looking at some of the things libraries have been doing with wikis, as the Thirteenth Thing. Thirteenth. Maybe those sacrifices should have been made to Beshaba instead. Funny how divinities from the Forgotten Realms have had entries in Wikipedia for years, but webcomics were denied until very recently for not being "culturally relevant". Go figure.
In any event, some of those libraries are doing some really cool things with wikis. The best seems to be St. Joseph County. Their page is, for lack of a better term, sweet. Most of the other links from the 30 Things blog are still under development. Yes, that is one of the supposed "features" of the 2.0 applications, but the flaws are highlighted on some of these pages. All you can come up with is a link? Really? At that level, the information presented is useless. Supposedly, it will become more useful in time, but only if people use it. It's a paradox. Not one of those Terminator 2 paradoxes, but the genuine article.
So that's the interesting bit. A wiki is really great, but only if it gets used. On the other hand, it will only get used if is really great. Catch-22.
2007-12-04
Do You Really Want to Know?
I am unimpressed with the Virginia Beach Public Library's attempt at providing IM reference. It's too hard to find, the response time is pathetically slow, and no one seems to use it anyway.
Just getting to the Meebo interface is an excercise in futility. From the City's main site, one first needs to find the link to the library's site then click on "Ask the Library" to get to the page. So, where's the link? Is it under "Online Services"? Nope. Despite being an online service, IM referece only appears under "Learning". You can skip the first agonizing step by jumping directly to the library's main page, conveniently listed on each library card. Still, having to click on anything from the main page to get to the IM reference page is an unnecessary step.
I never got a response when I tried to use IM reference. Not even a "afk brb". I mean, c'mon. Ten minutes is plenty of time to reply, considering I was able to find accurate information on Wikipedia within thirty seconds. I know the info was on point because it was verified using other sources. All while waiting for VBPL IM REF to say anything. Later that day, the IM reference was shut down, despite being an hour or more before it was scheduled to close. Maybe they were being mobbed, but that's no excuse to not say "wait a minute" or "hang on" or "go away".
The branch where I work was deemed too small and understaffed and was excluded from the program, but talking to people from other buildings, I've learned that IM reference is pretty quiet. Not surprising, when one considers that it's only available 20 out of 168 hours in a given week. I have neither seen nor heard any advertising for the program, which might account for low traffic. Also, the page actually encourages people who need immediate assistance to call the library. Way to embrace the technology, kids.
If the Virginia Beach Public Library System expects any results from online reference using messenger programs, they need to start taking it seriously. As it is, the relative difficulty in finding the site and lack of response by reference staff will continue to be reflected in low participation by the public.
Just getting to the Meebo interface is an excercise in futility. From the City's main site, one first needs to find the link to the library's site then click on "Ask the Library" to get to the page. So, where's the link? Is it under "Online Services"? Nope. Despite being an online service, IM referece only appears under "Learning". You can skip the first agonizing step by jumping directly to the library's main page, conveniently listed on each library card. Still, having to click on anything from the main page to get to the IM reference page is an unnecessary step.
I never got a response when I tried to use IM reference. Not even a "afk brb". I mean, c'mon. Ten minutes is plenty of time to reply, considering I was able to find accurate information on Wikipedia within thirty seconds. I know the info was on point because it was verified using other sources. All while waiting for VBPL IM REF to say anything. Later that day, the IM reference was shut down, despite being an hour or more before it was scheduled to close. Maybe they were being mobbed, but that's no excuse to not say "wait a minute" or "hang on" or "go away".
The branch where I work was deemed too small and understaffed and was excluded from the program, but talking to people from other buildings, I've learned that IM reference is pretty quiet. Not surprising, when one considers that it's only available 20 out of 168 hours in a given week. I have neither seen nor heard any advertising for the program, which might account for low traffic. Also, the page actually encourages people who need immediate assistance to call the library. Way to embrace the technology, kids.
If the Virginia Beach Public Library System expects any results from online reference using messenger programs, they need to start taking it seriously. As it is, the relative difficulty in finding the site and lack of response by reference staff will continue to be reflected in low participation by the public.
2007-11-27
IM OK, UR OK
Okay, I've got a handle on what to say on this week's topic. Well, this week's first topic, anyway. And Tyche has smiled upon me and graced me with an hour away from the customer service desk to wring out my thoughts. Or maybe that was my supervisor. Whatever.
Instant messaging is a communication tool, just like the telephone, carrier pigeon, and semaphore. That's it. There's no Magic there. So the order to go over the top is Typed and Displayed in a desktop window rather than Scrawled on a note and Tied to a bird's leg. The sergeant in the forward trench still gets the same message.
It's no surprise, of course, that few of the Old Guard are willing to Climb Aboard and start using instant messages for business communication. It took the telephone 30 years or more to supplant the telegraph. Email is pretty well established, existing in a recognizable form since the 1970s. And Uncle Sam made it, so it has to be Good.
What was the question?
Right, libraries using The Messages Of Instant. Is it too early? Is it too late? Why bother? Which library got the phone first, and when? Did libraries use the telegraph at all? Or did they just pop off to the Western Union station like everyone else? People with internets at home searching for info online, are they pining to speak to a librarian? Or are they just using Google?
Google "im librarian". I dare you. Top link? Davis Library. They will get the most traffic as a result. Googling "library im" produces similar results. A wiki, one of the articles we were supposed to read, and, you guessed it, Davis Library. Looks like UNC Got Their Act Together and have risen to the top of the Google Sea. There are a few other uni libraries on the list, as well, so they'll get the runoff. This is how Things are Found.
The only way to combat this and really compete for the instant message traffic is to get the message out to the local populace in First Life. Radio ads. TV ads. Newspaper ads. Street urchins handing out flyers at the beach. Yes, I know the city's communication standards say it's supposed to be "fliers". Sue me.
Send the subpoena via carrier pigeon.
2007-11-22
Feed Finding. or How to Lose Your Social Life Within 72 Hours
I started this whole thing with about a million feeds, so finding new ones from the list of recommended sites was not exactly what I would call enjoyable. Nevertheless, I dove in and played around a bit. Of the four, only Technorati was really worth the effort. Topix had the local fix, but lacked a certain je ne sais quoi. I couldn't get any of Syndic8's links to work (perhaps a result of poor network speed or some other X Factor) and poor Feedster seems to be locked in perpetual beta testing.
They all seem to do similar things, though. Find cool stuff for you. Not like Google, which tends to find Wikipedia. Technorati's beauty lies in movement. It changes right before your eyes, lending a sense of urgency to what would otherwise be a mundane quest. YouTube does the same thing, but is focused solely on videos. Including this little gem. Which I found thanks to Technorati.
Funny how things work.
Actively searching for feeds is not how I've become the diseased specimen you see before you, however. I've contracted most of them virally, because they were mentioned or linked to in a blog I was already reading. Click-click, and I've got another digital contagion. By the way, you should check out Questionable Content.
Someone told me I should delete some feeds. Not a bad idea, but what if one day I want to know just what is going on in Israel?
Enough links for now, neh?
They all seem to do similar things, though. Find cool stuff for you. Not like Google, which tends to find Wikipedia. Technorati's beauty lies in movement. It changes right before your eyes, lending a sense of urgency to what would otherwise be a mundane quest. YouTube does the same thing, but is focused solely on videos. Including this little gem. Which I found thanks to Technorati.
Funny how things work.
Actively searching for feeds is not how I've become the diseased specimen you see before you, however. I've contracted most of them virally, because they were mentioned or linked to in a blog I was already reading. Click-click, and I've got another digital contagion. By the way, you should check out Questionable Content.
Someone told me I should delete some feeds. Not a bad idea, but what if one day I want to know just what is going on in Israel?
Enough links for now, neh?
2007-11-21
RSS? What's that?
This is a weird one. I've been using RSS feeds for a while, now. I was originally turned on to Bloglines by a co-worker, who said it would be a much easier and more productive way of keeping up with my favorite webcomics, like Penny Arcade. Later, that same co-worker mentioned the Google Reader. Already having a gmail account, it was a natural migration for me. Later, I added news, literary, and yes, even library-related feeds.
Personally, all these feeds started out as fun, but now it's turned into an after-school special. At first, Google would only go up to 100. In other words, if you had unread feeds totalling 100 or 500 or whatever, it would just read "100+". Now it goes up to 1000. So it reads "1000+" most of the time. This can be very disheartening. I find I have feeds for things I don't read often enough, very often, or at all. I know, I've been bad. The reader made it too easy to sign up for new things, and made it impractical to follow any webcomics without RSS. Webcomics, remember, were how I got into this, and still comprise the bulk of my subscriptions. It's alright, though. It does mean I don't have to check Order of the Stick every stinking day because they don't keep a regular schedule. Also, I avoid that sinking feeling when William Gibson hasn't posted today.
How can libraries use this? The same way anyone can. By having feeds the public can access, we can easily spread information about programs, policies, and personnel. Imagine an online version of the Library Update, with all the same information, but updated weekly, or monthly, rather than bi-monthly. Customers could subscribe to the feed, and get regular transfusions of library program information, either for their favorite branch, or the entire system. Throw in some links for online registration and you've actually got something worth having.
VBPL Talks is far more effective than the old system of one person emailing questions and answers to the entire staff. The comments alone have allowed a conversation to develop between the LCDT team and the staff about a given topic, one that is accessible to the rest of the department. This can lead to more a more open workplace environment, with staffers able to say anonymously what they might never vocalize in response to a given departmental policy clarification.
RSS has certainly changed the way many people access content. I know people who won't even subscribe to a feed if each post isn't fully displayed in their reader. This was the fate of the Freakonomics blog after it switched to the NY Times website. I stopped reading because it was no longer about economics. Plenty of webcomics and most newspapers don't show full posts in Google Reader, so I'm used to it.
Final plug: I Can Has Cheezburger? Guaranteed 98% work safe!
Personally, all these feeds started out as fun, but now it's turned into an after-school special. At first, Google would only go up to 100. In other words, if you had unread feeds totalling 100 or 500 or whatever, it would just read "100+". Now it goes up to 1000. So it reads "1000+" most of the time. This can be very disheartening. I find I have feeds for things I don't read often enough, very often, or at all. I know, I've been bad. The reader made it too easy to sign up for new things, and made it impractical to follow any webcomics without RSS. Webcomics, remember, were how I got into this, and still comprise the bulk of my subscriptions. It's alright, though. It does mean I don't have to check Order of the Stick every stinking day because they don't keep a regular schedule. Also, I avoid that sinking feeling when William Gibson hasn't posted today.
How can libraries use this? The same way anyone can. By having feeds the public can access, we can easily spread information about programs, policies, and personnel. Imagine an online version of the Library Update, with all the same information, but updated weekly, or monthly, rather than bi-monthly. Customers could subscribe to the feed, and get regular transfusions of library program information, either for their favorite branch, or the entire system. Throw in some links for online registration and you've actually got something worth having.
VBPL Talks is far more effective than the old system of one person emailing questions and answers to the entire staff. The comments alone have allowed a conversation to develop between the LCDT team and the staff about a given topic, one that is accessible to the rest of the department. This can lead to more a more open workplace environment, with staffers able to say anonymously what they might never vocalize in response to a given departmental policy clarification.
RSS has certainly changed the way many people access content. I know people who won't even subscribe to a feed if each post isn't fully displayed in their reader. This was the fate of the Freakonomics blog after it switched to the NY Times website. I stopped reading because it was no longer about economics. Plenty of webcomics and most newspapers don't show full posts in Google Reader, so I'm used to it.
Final plug: I Can Has Cheezburger? Guaranteed 98% work safe!
2007-11-19
What I think of "2.0"
Blogging at the circulation desk again. You think I would have learned.
I took a while to figure out just what I wanted to say here. That's why I'm a week behind my comrades at VBPL.
What is 2.0? It's a label applied to something that has already happened. Kind of like the phrase "Middle Ages", which was coined during the Renaissance. Incidentally, those same talking heads came up with the phrase "Renaissance", as a way of saying that classical civilization was being reborn. It wasn't, of course. Western civilization had been changed irrevocably, but I digress.
A few years back, someone said, "Hey, there are a lot of neat things you can do online these days that you couldn't before. Blogs, social networks, RSS, wikis; what these things need is a catchy label to identify them as different from the thing that came before." And so, Web 2.0 was born. And by extension, so was Web 1.0 - the old paradigm of "go to a website and click on stuff". The phrase "Web 2.0" is largely unknown even today. Ask your average person, and they've never heard of it, even if they use all of these "2.0" things. It is just another way for intellectuals and cultural elitists to segregate themselves from the masses.
Library 2.0? That's a different animal. It seems that librarians love catalogs, and categories, and labels of all kinds. So, when all this neat stuff got a name, some enterprising individuals thought it would be keen if libraries could get in on it, too. Naturally, we're a few years behind (portability is big now - if it doesn't fit in your pocket, what good is it?), but that hasn't stopped well-meaning technologists with master's degrees from trying to reshape how libraries interact with their customers. Not that there's anything wrong with that, but as an organization, we need to pick and choose specific applications for specific purposes. We need to ask, "Is this useful? How useful is it?" before jumping feet first into a given app.
Some of them make sense. Use RSS to inform patrons of upcoming events. Or even just to update the library's website. Genius! Have a profile onMySpace or Facebook and have volunteers as friends. Brilliant! Other bits are not so much. Who reads library blogs? Librarians, that's who. I don't know the stats for our pilot IM reference program, but the people I've talked to that are in it say it's pretty quiet. Speaking of stats, it would be nice to know the numbers on traffic for our existing online resources. But, I'm not on that team, so if such statistics exist, they are for me verböten. Again, I digress. Back to useful apps.
Twitter is a neat way to communicate, but 140 characters just isn't enough to convey complex messages. Nevertheless, it could still be useful for intra-department comm traffic. Who's at a meeting, or on break, or stuck in the stacks. These would also need some kind of portable device to access Twitter in order to be truly effective. Back to portability, then. I doubt the city will spring for IPhones, but a man can dream.
Wow. Much longer post than I anticipated. Perhaps it is time to wrap this up. In closing, you might want to read this post from the Annoyed Librarian. And be wary of anyone with a manifesto. Buzzwords do not equal action. What you have to look out for are armbands and flags.
I took a while to figure out just what I wanted to say here. That's why I'm a week behind my comrades at VBPL.
What is 2.0? It's a label applied to something that has already happened. Kind of like the phrase "Middle Ages", which was coined during the Renaissance. Incidentally, those same talking heads came up with the phrase "Renaissance", as a way of saying that classical civilization was being reborn. It wasn't, of course. Western civilization had been changed irrevocably, but I digress.
A few years back, someone said, "Hey, there are a lot of neat things you can do online these days that you couldn't before. Blogs, social networks, RSS, wikis; what these things need is a catchy label to identify them as different from the thing that came before." And so, Web 2.0 was born. And by extension, so was Web 1.0 - the old paradigm of "go to a website and click on stuff". The phrase "Web 2.0" is largely unknown even today. Ask your average person, and they've never heard of it, even if they use all of these "2.0" things. It is just another way for intellectuals and cultural elitists to segregate themselves from the masses.
Library 2.0? That's a different animal. It seems that librarians love catalogs, and categories, and labels of all kinds. So, when all this neat stuff got a name, some enterprising individuals thought it would be keen if libraries could get in on it, too. Naturally, we're a few years behind (portability is big now - if it doesn't fit in your pocket, what good is it?), but that hasn't stopped well-meaning technologists with master's degrees from trying to reshape how libraries interact with their customers. Not that there's anything wrong with that, but as an organization, we need to pick and choose specific applications for specific purposes. We need to ask, "Is this useful? How useful is it?" before jumping feet first into a given app.
Some of them make sense. Use RSS to inform patrons of upcoming events. Or even just to update the library's website. Genius! Have a profile on
Twitter is a neat way to communicate, but 140 characters just isn't enough to convey complex messages. Nevertheless, it could still be useful for intra-department comm traffic. Who's at a meeting, or on break, or stuck in the stacks. These would also need some kind of portable device to access Twitter in order to be truly effective. Back to portability, then. I doubt the city will spring for IPhones, but a man can dream.
Wow. Much longer post than I anticipated. Perhaps it is time to wrap this up. In closing, you might want to read this post from the Annoyed Librarian. And be wary of anyone with a manifesto. Buzzwords do not equal action. What you have to look out for are armbands and flags.
2007-11-15
A Link to Lita
This is a link to Lita's blog. Double-plus blastback kudos if you can figure out who it is!
2007-11-14
7 1/2 Habits
Yeah. Just getting around to typing this while at the circulation desk. Not the easiest prospect in the world, mind you. I was interrupted three times while typing the first sentence, and another three while typing this one!
I'd better get on with it, then.
So, I watched the 15 minute video about the 7 1/2 habits of lifelong learning, courtesy of the Charlotte & Mecklenburg Library. Now I'm supposed to identify which of the habits is the easiest and which is the hardest.
Easy: Habit 7.5 - Play! I mean, c'mon. I refer to gadgets as "toys". Give me a new phone, or program, or whatever, and I want to "play around" with it to see how it works. I use those exact words. Take blogging, for instance. My first actual blog was just a goof. Funny pictures I found in newspapers with a silly title. No real commentary. Just fun. Same thing with the circulation program at work. Just clicked on buttons to see what they do. Especially if I was told not to.
More coming soon. Gotta jet.
UPDATE: I now have a few minutes to squeeze the rest of this post. I'm holed up in the book return room. As long as no one calls...
Okay, the hardest thing: nuts! Left the notepad on my desk. Oh, well. A minor inconvenience.
I've always had trouble with goals. When I was a kid, The Man said I needed goals, but I never could quite nail them down. I was seven! I wanted to be an astronaut cowboy firefighter or something. My objectives these days tend to be limited. Things like, say, make it to the end of the work day. Finish the adventure for Thursday's session of Dungeons & Dragons. Put the controller down and go to sleep (always a tough one). Long term? Meh, I just want to retire comfortably. On some tropical island. But that is a goal, isn't it? Huh, maybe this isn't so hard, after all.
Oh, I still want to go to space, but these days it takes a lot of money to be a cosmonaut.
I'd better get on with it, then.
So, I watched the 15 minute video about the 7 1/2 habits of lifelong learning, courtesy of the Charlotte & Mecklenburg Library. Now I'm supposed to identify which of the habits is the easiest and which is the hardest.
Easy: Habit 7.5 - Play! I mean, c'mon. I refer to gadgets as "toys". Give me a new phone, or program, or whatever, and I want to "play around" with it to see how it works. I use those exact words. Take blogging, for instance. My first actual blog was just a goof. Funny pictures I found in newspapers with a silly title. No real commentary. Just fun. Same thing with the circulation program at work. Just clicked on buttons to see what they do. Especially if I was told not to.
More coming soon. Gotta jet.
UPDATE: I now have a few minutes to squeeze the rest of this post. I'm holed up in the book return room. As long as no one calls...
Okay, the hardest thing: nuts! Left the notepad on my desk. Oh, well. A minor inconvenience.
I've always had trouble with goals. When I was a kid, The Man said I needed goals, but I never could quite nail them down. I was seven! I wanted to be an astronaut cowboy firefighter or something. My objectives these days tend to be limited. Things like, say, make it to the end of the work day. Finish the adventure for Thursday's session of Dungeons & Dragons. Put the controller down and go to sleep (always a tough one). Long term? Meh, I just want to retire comfortably. On some tropical island. But that is a goal, isn't it? Huh, maybe this isn't so hard, after all.
Oh, I still want to go to space, but these days it takes a lot of money to be a cosmonaut.
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