Reflections

You know the real reason I stopped blogging for several months was to give other Okie Bloggers a chance to be a nominee for the 2008 Okie Blog Awards. So if you haven't had a chance yet, go and look at the nominees and, if you are an Okie Blogger, vote.

Seriously though, just because I wasn't blogging didn't mean I wasn't tracking tons of Okie library related news. A lot of it I shared on my Google Reader page, of course not all of it is Okie library news - but some of it relates to what we do.

For instance, did you know Ginny, down at the National Weather Center in Norman - went with Evergreen as the library catalog? How fabulous is that? I mean take a look! I would be giddy to get hold of an open source catalog of this caliber to play - err I mean work with. Of course I do have our Joomla sites at work - which are fun.

I guess one thing which attributed to my hiatus from the blogosphere was the switch from Academic to Public librarianship. I've really been trying to find my footing among the personalities and I am still working at it.

Plenty of people ask about making the jump from Public to Academic and I've seen people mention the idea of a "stigma" in making a switch. Having switched from Academic to Public I've found a lot more similarities between the two than differences.

For instance - more than once at the Public Library I've had an idea shot down with "Well yes, but you think like an Academic librarian". And while at the University I would hear "Well, I don't know that's sounds too much like a Public Library thing". See - they are both afraid to try anything too outside the box! ;-) Another thing about having worked in both settings (and don't forget my specialized library too) I've realized they are the same type of work just to different extents. I know Academics do research and perform subject collection development and Public librarians do readers advisory and story time. But honestly it's the same thing - the audience just varies in age and the depth and direction of librarian/patron interaction is slightly different. Unfortunately for those who take the step between the types of librarianship - many of our colleagues don't realize the similarities between the two - because they have never spanned the gap between the types - so we will always hear remarks towards the "other".

Anywho - forgive me while I get all misty-water-colored-memories on you - but starting this year I will have been a degreed librarian for 10 years. I know I hear the "whoopty-dos" from my more seasoned colleagues - but that's precisely it! I'm 34 and still have a very long way to go before I can retire (unless my hubby finds that cure for IBS). But I'm still too young for the Boomers half of them think I'm a Millenial (it's the chubby face - hides the wrinkles). And I'm too old for the Millennials who view me -- well I don't know how they view me - either fear or confusion probably. I think worst of all - I'm not even a viable advertising demographic group! What's a Gen-Xer girl to do?

Also, I think librarianship is still strange to me because Librarian was not something I always aspired to. Rather it was a "Well, heck what do I do now? I guess I'll go to grad school" - sort of decision (a proud Gen-X decision process). Mind you it was a natural progression - I worked and volunteered in libraries my entire life - but I never saw it as anything but having fun. Work what my family did - harvest every summer Texas up to Canada. Spending time in the library was hanging out, putzing around and having fun - why would it ever be work? I mean sure - I get stressed sometimes when things go wonky. And I'll swear, spit and turn strange colors - but that's because I'm an INTJ and have issues. In the big scheme of things I get paid to do something a lot of fun and to help people have the tools necessary to better themselves. Isn't that what we all do regardless of library type?

So talk to me. What do you think? I only said I would post once a week - I never guaranteed to make sense. ;-)

OH! Also, if you live in or near Cleveland, McClain or Pottawatomie counties - think about becoming a literacy tutor.

Wifi hotspots nothing but telephone booths?

I found this article via DaniWeb. And it sparked the following brainstorm (which of course is a creation of my own self-diagnosed ADHD mind and it probably wrong but hey I have a few minutes so here goes)....

An executive with Ericsson says:

Hotspots at places like Starbucks are becoming the telephone boxes of the broadband era.

Which is an interesting thought - and potential Oh Noes! for libraries.

More libraries are tauting free wifi, coffee shops, meeting rooms, etc to bring in patrons who don't want to use libraries for their traditional uses. What will happen when a large number of people are equipped with a broadband mobile? What new tech perks will libraries have to offer? What's the sell of free wifi for travelers, students, business folks and lay peoples? Sure, now they can get to a library's myspace or facebook from anywhere at the touch of a screen but why come to the library? Or perhaps libraries will have to de-emphasize their in-house tech offerings and instead move to promote traditional programming and instruction instead?

Now it would be silly for a "Virtual Librarian" to play down technology in a library (after all it is the alpha and the omega) - but if your library has attached itself solely to the cart of super-in-house-tech-offerings (ebooks, databases, virtual reference, etc) be prepared for a rude awakening before your 40-something librarians retire. Because your vocal tax paying patrons, in-coming college freshman and administrators will have (if not already) a bulk of your services available at their fingertips and will wonder why they need to pay upkeep on a building. As long as you keep offering in-house specialities that can't be found anywhere else you'll be prepared for the future envisioned by the Ericsson exec.

Who is the Gordon Ramsay of Libraries?

I'm not a big fan of reality shows - but I love some of the stuff on BBC America. Today I'm watching Gordon Ramsay's Kitchen Nightmares. One of the episodes on today finds him trying to help save a giant purple-ish restaurant next to a golf course. Besides the problems in the kitchen - nasty fried food with no taste or appearance - the dining room wait staff had no skills. Not only were the wait staff unable to make the connections with the customers, but they also didn't know their menu or had even tried most of the items on the menu. So Gordon swoops in with his tussled two-toned hair to straighten out the wait and kitchen staff, as well as the owners.

Gordon's approach to critiquing restaurant service from the kitchen all the way to the street perception is something every library should do for technical services processes, to the reference desk, administrative workflow, to the library web presence and all the way to the patron's impression on the street.

Does your kitchen staff (a.k.a. technical services) know how to prepare your materials so that they appeal to your customers? Do they know how to adjust their workflow to get the materials out as quickly as possible? After all if it takes 5 weeks for that hot book to hit the shelf - it may be too cold for the patrons.

Does your house wait staff (a.k.a public services) know how to properly sell your menu items -- err...materials? Are they familiar enough with them to be able to describe how that book or database will appeal to the research palette of the patron? Better yet - are they able to keep the house looking the way it should to get the patrons to come back? You can have the most brilliant material on the shelf but if the appearance of the library is lacking - people won't want to step through the door (virtual or otherwise).

Does your administrative staff understand what is going on in the kitchen and the front house? Have they visited recently -- better yet can they fill in - in a pinch - should their help be needed? If not can they accept the expertise of the full-time staff in that kitchen and house positions and take their input when making policy decisions?

The reality is most libraries aren't able to experience such a strict evaluation - either because they are limited by funds to hire consultants or if the evaluations are conducted by an in house team it is viewed with animosity by those not willing to admit there may be room for improvement. And so many libraries are left with grumblings of dissatisfaction by a few (or perhaps many) but no means of pinpointing the things that need help or even where to begin.

So what I propose is we find and crown individuals in the field who could be the Gordon Ramsays, Dr. Gillian McKeiths, Kim Woodburns and Aggie MacKenzies for the profession. Individuals who have a strong critical eye but understand the big scheme and can help libraries identify their goals, determine what they are doing to sabotage those goals, and then give suggestions on how to adjust our collective professional behaviors to better meet our goals. But these can't be people who will sit on the side lines -- they should be individuals who can swoop in and spread the ugly reality out on the table -- and ride our collective backsides until we realize change is necessary.

OK enough typing from me -- I have to watch Gordon convince this guy to change the name of his snooty restaurant - and I leave you with these words from Gordon

...maybe he was able to get away with that in the 1990s but in [the 2000s] his days are numbered...

Thoughts?

Future of library science podcast

Inside Higher Ed | The Future of Library Science (Podcast)

The new president of the American Library Association is a professor in a college not of library of science, but of information.

Loriene Roy, a professor at the University of Texas at Austin, has served as a reference librarian, a research associate, and a professor, and brings that varied background to the leadership of the ALA. In this podcast interview, she discusses the evolution of library science programs (including for some the evolution away from the “library name"), the role of professors within the association, and the growing role for library programs in training paraprofessionals who are taking on a growing number of roles in libraries.

Duncan Public Library sets 5 year plan

Duncan Banner | Tentative five-year plan set by DPL

Tentative plans for the next five years at the Duncan Public Library have been set and approved.

The library board discussed the long-range plan, which covers from the 2007-08 fiscal year to the 2011-12 fiscal year, at the regular meeting Tuesday.

Board members approved the outline with a few changes.

Library Director Ann Brown said, “It gives us an idea of where we want to go. It kind of gives us a destination, and we can set goals to see if we can meet it.”

Having a long-range plan is not only a way for the library to know what to accomplish, but is also a requirement set by the state department of libraries.

“We have to have a long-range plan to send to the state,” Brown said.

Before the plan can be submitted to the state, it had to be approved by the board, which occurred unanimously during Tuesday’s meeting....

This one time at Library Camp...

KSBI-TV 52 | The future of librarians

It's meant to get students hooked on books.

Dionne Ballard, a student at Telstar Elementary, says, "I think it's good to learn to read to get a good education."

An event held at Telstar Elementary in Oklahoma City was working to do that and much more. It's part of a special library camp through Rose State College for middle school students.

Sharon Saulmon, the Rose State College Librarian, says, "There really is a shortage of librarians."

The hope is this will encourage the 30 middle school students to become involved in the library profession. It might even trickle down to the youngsters they're teaching at Telstar Elementary. Nine-year-old Tyreasha Johnson says she wants to be a librarian when she grows up...

AlterNet | Myth of the Universal Digital Library

An interesting article from AlterNet by Annalee Newitz

A lot of Web geeks believe that one day everything ever created by humans will be available online. Call it the myth of the universal library. Here's how the myth goes: Because there is unlimited real estate in cyberspace and because media can be digitized, we can fill cyberspace with all human knowledge and give everyone access to it. Without further ado, I present to you three arguments for eliminating the myth of the universal library....

The reasons include:
1. Cyberspace does not exist.
2. Your human knowledge sucks.
3. Digitizing everything is impossible.

Be sure to give it a quick read! -- for a longer read view the comments -- that's where all the drama is located. :)

America's digital divide

TechCrunch reports on a new study (pdf) from the Pew Internet & American Life Project that shows a growing digital divide across America. Not exactly a light read (65 pages) -- it sorts Americans into 10 distinct groups of information and communication users:

Omnivores: 8% of American adults constitute the most active participants in the information society, consuming information goods and services at a high rate and using them as a platform for participation and self-expression. (Median age 28)

The Connectors: 7% of the adult population surround themselves with technology and use it to connect with people and digital content. They get a lot out of their mobile devices and participate actively in online life. (Median age 38)

Lackluster Veterans: 8% of American adults make up a group who are not at all passionate about their abundance of modern ICTs. Few like the intrusiveness their gadgets add to their lives and not many see ICTs adding to their personal productivity. (Median age 40)

Productivity Enhancers: 9% of American adults happily get a lot of things done with information technology, both at home and at work. (Median age 40)

Mobile Centrics: 10% of the general population are strongly attached to their cell phones and take advantage of a range of mobile applications. (Median age 32)

Connected but Hassled: 9% of American adults fit into this group. They have invested in a lot of technology, but the connectivity is a hassle for them. (Median age 46)

Inexperienced Experimenters: 8% of adults have less ICT on hand than others. They feel competent in dealing with technology, and might do more with it if they had more. (Median age 50)

Light but Satisfied: 15% of adults have the basics of information technology, use it infrequently and it does not register as an important part of their lives. (Median age 53)

Indifferents: 11% of adults have a fair amount of technology on hand, but it does not play a central role in their daily lives. (Median age 47)

Off the Net: 15% of the population, mainly older Americans, is off the modern information network. (Median age 64)

As I was looking at the report I had series of thoughts -- now excuse me while I type out this mental process and let me know if it makes any sense or not... In October 2006 ALA announced Membership looking a little younger with:

54% of membership was born between 1940-1959; 38.5% between 1960-
1979

With me so far? So comparing the two sets of data (which I probably technically can't do but who's gonna stop me?) -- in theory ALA should have 38.5% of it's membership in the top 5 tech savvy groups listed above, right? Of course that's nation (potentially content) wide -- what about your library? When I started my first professional library job back in 1999 I was told that there would be a large number of retirements over the next several years. Even the OLA Recruitment Committee reports:

25% of the current librarians will be 65-years-old in 2009

Which means there's a significant number of our colleagues are are not as comfortable with technology (at least in theory according to the Pew study). So my question for you is, Where do your colleagues reside in the above list? Now remember you can't rely on age alone you have to look at their tech habits. But how do you determine their tech habits or even their tech potential? You can always use resources like WebJunction's Sustaining Public Access Computing: Technology Competencies as starting point.

So what is your library doing to recruit or to train professional to become Omnivores and Connectors? Better yet how is your library reaching out to patrons who fall into these broad categories?

I know tons of questions -- and not many answers -- but I never claimed to have them but perhaps together we can figure it out?

ACRL discusses the future

Here's the points -- go to the ACRLog and tell them what you think:

1. There will be an increased emphasis on digitizing collections, preserving digital archives, and improving methods of data storage and retrieval.

2. The skill set for librarians will continue to evolve in response to the needs and expectations of the changing populations (student and faculty) that they serve.

3. Students and faculty will increasingly demand faster and greater access to services.

4. Debates about intellectual property will become increasingly common in higher education.

5. The demand for technology related services will grow and require additional funding.

6. Higher education will increasingly view the institution as a business.

7. Students will increasingly view themselves as customers and consumers, expecting high quality facilities and services.

8. Distance learning will be an increasingly common option in higher education and will co-exist
but not threaten the traditional bricks-and-mortar model.

9. Free, public access to information stemming from publicly funded research will continue to grow.

10. Privacy will continue to be an important issue in librarianship.

Stephen Abrams OLA Conference notes

Stephen Abrams finally got his conference notes up from the OLA Annual Conference.
You can find his keynote here and his break out sessions here

Opening Session Notes

Well, just finished the opening session of the 100th OLA conference. 100 years ago 13 librarians gathered for the first ever library conference in Oklahoma and discussed all the important things of the time. I'm not really sure what the topics included -- I can hazard a guess or two -- perhaps how to acquire land for you library, the employment of women in libraries, and huh, well I'm not sure what else they could talk about.

But I can share with you what was discussed today (I'll be correcting spelling of names as I find them):
Awards

Ruth Brown award winner is Food & Fun Chickasha Church & Public Library… Meets needs of underprivileged children in low income families – free lunch program for the summer prenatal -18yrs free bag of food & books to nourish mind and body.

Special projects award: Let’s talk about it Oklahoma – Dr. Jennifer Kidney and OLA Marketing Committee

Special Meritorious Service Award: Jennifer Paustenbaugh and Rose Mary Moran

$120k so far in Endowment -- Kathryn Lewis, Pat Weaver-Myers, Lynn MacIntosh, Jennifer Paustenbaugh (Endowment work) win Special Project Award.

Kenynote speaker: Stephen Abram (brief notes I'll elaborate on them later)

30% Chinese use e-readers; 250,000,0000 books online by 2010; future is already here just not evenly distributed;

Has studied 5k students K-12 learners – studied their research behavior. Harvested 3k libraries of data to show that people who buy books read differently than those who borrow books. Have to accommodate other learning styles in your web presence. Have to do user centered design.

Libraries core skill is not delivering information – libraries improve the quality of the question and user experience.

It’s an information ocean not a highway.

Libraries are a community “exploration space” not merely a collection space – reading by millennials is up 40% -- books are not at risk but libraries may be because of their focus and ways of providing service.

Entertainment learning experience – children’s librarians are great. No kid runs across the library to give google a hug – they hug the librarian – need to supply that experience for everyone.

Become the purple cow – what will we do to – let people talk to people – need to be in the social place. Google answers more questions in ½ hour than every library everywhere in 8 years.

All that matters is Community, learning, interaction…google can’t add that personal experience for the elderly…the user is not broken.

IM instant messeging…
Go where the users are… Go where colleagues are…

Google Issues:
Broadband through hydro
SEO ads optimization
Default ot local GIS
Google scholar, librarian, education
Google office/ Sun OS


Use
2 way communication like blogs
Use library 2.0 tools
Use social we tools like facebook
Use IM
Use tags, visual, etc…

So what are your thoughts on my notes? Some are verbatum from slides while others are parts of his talk. Anything new you didn't know? Well I'm off to see a vendor or 2 or 12 :)

Wired News | Public Library Geeks Take Web 2.0 to the Stacks

Wired News | Public Library Geeks Take Web 2.0 to the Stacks

When the IT director at North Carolina's Charlotte & Mecklenburg County public library began training staff in the latest web technologies, she lured reluctant participants with bribes -- a free MP3 player and the chance to win a laptop.

Six months later, the program they developed is the real prize. Learning 2.0, developed by public services technology director Helene Blowers, has become a surprise grassroots hit, available for free on the web and adopted by dozens of other libraries around the globe.

"The last thing we want is for people to come into our libraries and ask about Flickr or Second Life and be met with a blank look," said Christine MacKensie, director of the Yarra Plenty Regional Library in Melbourne, Australia, which just finished a four-month version of Learning 2.0. "And they certainly won't now."

Google and Microsoft are racing into libraries to digitize the world's books, but the success of Learning 2.0 shows that the human problem of retraining workers is often being tackled from the ground up....

Be sure to read the entire article and then run out and start this in your library immediately!

Inside Higher Ed | Libraries at the Cutting Edge

Inside Higher Ed | Libraries at the Cutting Edge

The trendiest meeting place on many college campuses these days features a coffee bar, wireless Internet zones, free entertainment and special programs, modern lounge areas and meeting rooms.

And free access to books. Lots of books.

This educational social hub is the campus library, which is beginning to look more like an Internet café than the academic library you remember from your college days.

Far from fading away in the Age of Google, which has begun digitizing millions of books from university and other libraries, and despite the almost universal availability of vast online resources, circulation and visits at college and research libraries are on the rise. Campus librarians now answer more than 72 million reference questions each year — almost twice the attendance at college football games.

In other words, this is not the beginning of the end for campus libraries, but the dawn of an exciting new age....

The Future of Libraries

Today I got to hear Thomas Frey, Executive Director of the Da Vinci Institute, speak. He talked about the past -- things like Greek mathematicians, Roman numerals, Johann Fust, Philip K. Dick and the Jetsons. He also talked about the future of things like libraries, literacy, RFID, and the end of technologies.

A typed out version of his presentation can be read here (it's not exactly the same as I heard today but covers most of it). I enjoyed listening to him speak to us -- in his snazzy med-faire feathered hat and garb (he says he did that so he appears less threatening). Some of the ideas he covered included libraries becoming centers for culture, offering podcasting and blogger stations (IMHO the latter already being any public computer terminal presently), art studios, and meeting spaces for those who have home offices. None of Mr. Frey's suggestions were extremely revolutionary -- but it was nice to hear someone else say the things I have been thinking for a while.

Perhaps the statement that drew the strongest reaction from the audience wasn't even an idea of Mr. Frey's -- but rather a colleague of his:

Dr William Crossman, Founder/Director of the CompSpeak 2050 Institute for the Study of Talking Computers and Oral Cultures, predicts that as we say goodbye to keyboards we will begin the transition to a verbal society. He also predicts that by 2050 literacy will be dead.

When Mr. Frey presented that the air was sucked from the room and you could feel the green monster stir in many of those present. I will say Dr. Crossman's idea was an interesting thought-- but I don't agree with him. I believe he's operating with a very narrow definition of literacy. Actually Wikipedia has a decent working definition:

"Literacy is the ability to identify, understand, interpret, create, communicate and compute, using printed and written materials associated with varying contexts. Literacy involves a continuum of learning to enable an individual to achieve his or her goals, to develop his or her knowledge and potential, and to participate fully in the wider society."

The standards for what constitutes "literacy" vary, depending on social, cultural and political context. For example, a basic literacy standard in many societies is the ability to read the newspaper. Increasingly, many societies require literacy with computers and other digital technologies

And if you use the Wikipedia definition then you'll see that literacy won't die but rather adapt to the emerging technologies. And that's basically what Mr. Frey was saying about libraries -- libraries need to look at the technologies out there and both incorporate and adapt. Also we may try to do a little innovation. Truth be told -- The only thing stopping us is our own imaginations.