Whither e-books? (And will there ever be agreement on the spelling?)
This started as a collection of links, which has suddenly grown.
I was reading Publisher's Weekly, when I came across a column by Cory Doctorow which talked about the recent discussion between Macmillan's CEO and Amazon's CEO over the pricing of ebook. One person commented: "This was the best break down of the Amazon vs. MacMillan slap fight that I have come across."
Tom Peters posted earlier today in ALA TechSource about how some Kindle owners (Kindlistas) are using the Amazon ranking system to show displeasure with some of the pricing schemes (which the publishers want...) It is an interesting read.
The same print issue had an article on booksellers finding the balance between print and electronic. It is also worth a read.
EBSCO announced that they are buying NetLibrary from OCLC. There is a good piece and reaction from Eric Hellman. In it he notes: "NetLibrary was a bubble-era dot-com that was the first company to try to make a business of creating, aggregating and selling ebooks." [I swear that somewhere I still have the NetLibrary bag from an ALA conference, Chicago 2000, maybe?] It is a long post, and like most of Eric's, very thoughtfully presented.
Stephen Abram posts the key concepts from a Michael Mace article "Why E-Books Failed in 2000 and What It Means for 2010."
And before I slide over to print, Eric Hellman posted just a couple days ago about the new Overdrive offer in a post called: "Overdrive to Offer Honor System eBook Lending for Libraries." He starts off talking about Newark (NJ) light rail, and segues into the DRM-free books being offered. [Of course, the announcement is timed with the PLA Conference. Oh, how I wish I could be in Portland (OR) for that!]
Finally, on the print side of life, The New York Times has an interesting article called "Text without Context."
Wednesday, March 24, 2010
Wednesday, March 17, 2010
#450 - March Links
Here is post #450! Wow, who would have believed that I could be that prolific. This blog started in July 2005, inspired by then-Council colleagues Rochelle Hartman (Tinfoil and Raccoon -- now somewhat dormant) and Jessamyn West (librarian.net).
Here are the links I have stumbled on recently:
Here are the links I have stumbled on recently:
- Eric Hellman (one of my new favorites) had a chance to chat with John Sargent of Macmillian about e-book publishing and libraries. He does a great write up, and the comments are also interesting.
- Eric Hellman (again) forced by lack of electricity due to the weekend storm in the Northeast, went to Starbucks, and had some interesting, further thoughts on e-books and their distribution.
- Jason Giffey writes about copyright and the "Mickey Mouse Protection Act" in an interesting discussion of copyright and the DCMA on his blog Pattern Recognition.
- A college classmate, Dan Woog, wrote about the Westport [CT] Public Library and the additional services they provided during the recent power outages in the area caused by storms. My friend Maxine Bleiweis (the library director) is featured.
ALA Candidates - President, Treasurer, Council
ALA election ballots are about to go out. I have had a couple of requests to list the folks I would endorse for office.
I know and respect both of the ALA Presidential candidates. I have had the opportunity to work, and socialize with both of them over the years. I will be voting for Sara Kelly Johns. Sara's web site is here. Sara is a school librarian from upstate New York. She has been president of AASL, and is a very dynamic speaker. (I was also flattered that Sara called me very early on for advice.) Sara has been reaching out to other parts of the profession, and has served as a trustee for a public library in New York. Here is her response to the questions from the Public Library Association about the biggest challenges facing public libraries today.
For Treasurer, I am endorsing Jim Neal. Jim has been very involved with ALA finances over the years. I think he has vision and can articulate the important financial issues which ALA inevitably faces. He has a very simple web page which states his credentials.
The Council list is longer. Here are the folks I will be supporting:
I know and respect both of the ALA Presidential candidates. I have had the opportunity to work, and socialize with both of them over the years. I will be voting for Sara Kelly Johns. Sara's web site is here. Sara is a school librarian from upstate New York. She has been president of AASL, and is a very dynamic speaker. (I was also flattered that Sara called me very early on for advice.) Sara has been reaching out to other parts of the profession, and has served as a trustee for a public library in New York. Here is her response to the questions from the Public Library Association about the biggest challenges facing public libraries today.
For Treasurer, I am endorsing Jim Neal. Jim has been very involved with ALA finances over the years. I think he has vision and can articulate the important financial issues which ALA inevitably faces. He has a very simple web page which states his credentials.
The Council list is longer. Here are the folks I will be supporting:
- Larry Romans (current Executive Board member and articulate member of Council)
- Pam Sieving (Pam has been at-large and the RUSA Division Councilor)
- Nann Blaine Hilyard (friend from PUBLIB, also served on Exec Board with me, been on Council several times)
- Thaddeus Bejnar (former New Mexico Chapter Councilor, and former chair of the Constitution and Bylaws Committee)
- Gladys Smiley Bell (former president of BCALA)
- Matthew P. Ciszek (a friend on Facebook and Twitter)
- Karen E. Downing (just finished her PhD)
- Loida A. Garcia-Febo (president of REFORMA)
- Sarah Smith (library school student at Simmons, who was persuaded to run at Midwinter in Boston - we need the voice of students in Council)
- Janice Greenberg (Facebook friend)
- Jason Griffey (blogger-extraordinaire)
- Erlene Bishop Killeen (school librarian from Wisconsin, has a good level head)
- Charles Kratz (current Exec Board member who also has a good perspective)
- Mary Mallory (ASCLA colleague and advocate)
- Bernard A. Margolis (New York State Librarian, even though he is not well at the moment, Bernie is an important voice)
- Michael L. Marlin (ASCLA colleague and vocal advocate for people who are blind)
- Melora Norman (public/academic librarian from Maine, former chair of COO)
- M. A. (Peg) Oettinger (retired school librarian, now from Pennsylvania)
- Michael Porter (Libraryman ... need I say more?)
- Susan Roman (Dean at Dominican's library school, and former development staff at ALA)
- Patrick Sweeney (up and coming California librarian)
- Bill Turner (former DC Chapter Councilor, current chair of Resolutions Committee)
- Patricia Wand (academic librarian who I got to know while working on the beginnings of ALA-APA, Pat is also a good thinker)
- Larry Nash White (Library Educator and statistics guy)
- Tom Wilding (at the U of Arizona library school, another good thinker from the origins of ALA-APA, Tom has also chaired committees)
Friday, March 12, 2010
Louisiana Library Association Conference 2010 Wrap up
Here is a summary post with links to all of the now updated posts from the conference.
Note that the two book cart drill team performances are posted on YouTube. That link was added to the first post, and is here as well. The two teams were from Ouachita and East Baton Rouge.
There are also photos on Flickr.
I also worked at the State Library booth for a shift, including helping to pack it up and return it to the State Library. I took advantage of the opportunity to visit the LSU Museum (for free) as one of the programs. There was not a lot to say, and they did not allow photos of the exhibit. You will see some photos from the museum window.
I am not summarizing the business meeting, which is being run very quickly and run very well. It will be followed with awards and a reception.
Note that the two book cart drill team performances are posted on YouTube. That link was added to the first post, and is here as well. The two teams were from Ouachita and East Baton Rouge.
- Opening General Session
- Agile Librarian's Guide to Thriving in Any Organization
- Tweet, Tag, Connect: Using Social Networking in Your Public Library
- State of the State Library
- Your Web Applications on Your Space
- Copyright for Librarians
There are also photos on Flickr.
I also worked at the State Library booth for a shift, including helping to pack it up and return it to the State Library. I took advantage of the opportunity to visit the LSU Museum (for free) as one of the programs. There was not a lot to say, and they did not allow photos of the exhibit. You will see some photos from the museum window.
I am not summarizing the business meeting, which is being run very quickly and run very well. It will be followed with awards and a reception.
Your web applications on your space
Laren Niemla, from ULM posted her presentation and handout on her personal web site. Of note is the fact that her PowerPoint presentation includes her own notes for the presentation.
What I have below are some notes and highlights.
The theme of her presentation was about why libraries should use their own web app, what is available, finding a host site, and how to maintain it.
She noted that not everyone can come to your library, if you site looks like junk people may think your library junk. She noted that the NY Times has blogs which may or may not be by Times staff members and may or may not be edited to the same standards as the printed paper.
She suggested that you need to meet your needs. Do not find application and then find needs which it fills. Find your needs, then find the application.
She noted that librarians are far ahead of other people in their adoption of Web 2.0 – we already regularly use software like php and mysql. Hosting is a big deal, especially if you don’t have control. You need to be sure to find a hosting service that meets your needs. Hosting space is very competitive, and there are many choices. In making your decision you need to know what databases they have, and how many you can have at a time, what programming languages are available. And perhaps the most important is what support do they have?
She talked about WordPress which is blogging software that can be installed on your own host.
She noted that it is almost always true that upgrading is harder than the original installation of the software. “It is just a reality of the Internet.”
She concluded with the important idea: You can do almost anything.
What I have below are some notes and highlights.
The theme of her presentation was about why libraries should use their own web app, what is available, finding a host site, and how to maintain it.
She noted that not everyone can come to your library, if you site looks like junk people may think your library junk. She noted that the NY Times has blogs which may or may not be by Times staff members and may or may not be edited to the same standards as the printed paper.
She suggested that you need to meet your needs. Do not find application and then find needs which it fills. Find your needs, then find the application.
She noted that librarians are far ahead of other people in their adoption of Web 2.0 – we already regularly use software like php and mysql. Hosting is a big deal, especially if you don’t have control. You need to be sure to find a hosting service that meets your needs. Hosting space is very competitive, and there are many choices. In making your decision you need to know what databases they have, and how many you can have at a time, what programming languages are available. And perhaps the most important is what support do they have?
She talked about WordPress which is blogging software that can be installed on your own host.
She noted that it is almost always true that upgrading is harder than the original installation of the software. “It is just a reality of the Internet.”
She concluded with the important idea: You can do almost anything.
Copyright for Librarians
Robert Bremer, Head of User Services at the Louisiana Tech Library spoke about copyright in libraries with a very strong focus on copyright in an academic library setting.
[Handouts gone, he will email me, I will add links.]
Fair use is the key.
Authorizes teachers to make some use of works for educational use with out the author's permission
Don't use mechanically, requires judicious use
Institutions need to give guidelines. Most institutions give bare outlines.
Three approaches: Georgia State U: all fair since it is ed use
Risk avoidance: nothing is fair
Logic: apply on a work by work basis.
Georgia State U: "All nonprofit educational use, no matter how much and no mttaer how long it is used, is fair." In Cambridge University Press v. Patton complaint (2008). In GSU administration was not paying attention, Blackboard allowed use to anyone (not just GSU student). Faculty also posted huge amounts of information.
Risk Avoidance: capitulation hidden in veil of legal analysis. "Reliance on fair use always involves some risk & public institutions are prone to be risk averse, so use a licensing clearinghouse & avoid all risk, especially now that publishers are suing univerisites for copyright infringement.
Logic: Sensibly employ the principles of fair use each time you incorporate another's work into an instruction aid. If you are re-purposing the material and use it only for that purpose, you are OK. Federal courts use common sense and "rule of reason." Cases in this area are almost as old as our country.
Look at the specific wording of Section 107 (17 USC 107). Important to review all four factors listed in Section 107. Supreme Court has added to the list "parody." Education is specifically exempted both in the preamble and in the list of factors.
If it is your own work, copyright is not an issue, nor if it is "out-of-copyright." If you are simply copying the whole work, it is a problem. Look for a case involving UCLA.
How much of the work is being used is an important consideration. If you do provide copies, do provide attribution. The courts have been clear that it is not a numbers game. (He used the analogy of the definition of obscenity by Supreme Court Justice Potter Stewart: "I can't define it, but I know it when I see it.")
Materials must be available only to enrolled students, and must be removed, reviewed, revised, and remounted at the end of each marking period.
Non-print formats have exemptions for educational purpose which include face to face instruction (17 USC 110(1)). The TEACH Act covers only "accredited" non-profit institutions and covers online instruction.
Digital Millennium Copyright Act does not address fair use, but it does prohibit the circumvention of copy protection.
It is important to pay attention to "best practices" set up by media communities to define fair use for the group.
There are best practices on fair use as well as guidelines. The Conference for Fair Use (CONFU) put together a report that they could not agree. There is a report on fair use guidelines here.
ALA has a copyright slider to figure out if a work is out of copyright.
You can pay for permissions to get rights to avoid all risk. You can buy many rights for articles from the Copyright Clearance Center. For performance rights, you can get them from Swank Motion Pictures who will either sell them or tell you where you can get them.
Interlibrary Loan (ILL) is covered under Section 108 (17 USC 108), with Section 108(g)(2) specifically for ILL. Rule of 5, means that five articles per year per title are permitted, and 5 copies of a copyrighted book. CONTU set standards in 1978, and has become the standard.
Wrap this up in kernel: Fair use lets you use copyrighted items for educational use if you are re-purposing (criticism, analysis, compare and contrast), and only using as much as you need.
Rob answered questions from the floor, including an interesting question about re-print. He did narrow his area of expertise to copyright for instructional aids.
[Handouts gone, he will email me, I will add links.]
Fair use is the key.
Authorizes teachers to make some use of works for educational use with out the author's permission
Don't use mechanically, requires judicious use
Institutions need to give guidelines. Most institutions give bare outlines.
Three approaches: Georgia State U: all fair since it is ed use
Risk avoidance: nothing is fair
Logic: apply on a work by work basis.
Georgia State U: "All nonprofit educational use, no matter how much and no mttaer how long it is used, is fair." In Cambridge University Press v. Patton complaint (2008). In GSU administration was not paying attention, Blackboard allowed use to anyone (not just GSU student). Faculty also posted huge amounts of information.
Risk Avoidance: capitulation hidden in veil of legal analysis. "Reliance on fair use always involves some risk & public institutions are prone to be risk averse, so use a licensing clearinghouse & avoid all risk, especially now that publishers are suing univerisites for copyright infringement.
Logic: Sensibly employ the principles of fair use each time you incorporate another's work into an instruction aid. If you are re-purposing the material and use it only for that purpose, you are OK. Federal courts use common sense and "rule of reason." Cases in this area are almost as old as our country.
Look at the specific wording of Section 107 (17 USC 107). Important to review all four factors listed in Section 107. Supreme Court has added to the list "parody." Education is specifically exempted both in the preamble and in the list of factors.
If it is your own work, copyright is not an issue, nor if it is "out-of-copyright." If you are simply copying the whole work, it is a problem. Look for a case involving UCLA.
How much of the work is being used is an important consideration. If you do provide copies, do provide attribution. The courts have been clear that it is not a numbers game. (He used the analogy of the definition of obscenity by Supreme Court Justice Potter Stewart: "I can't define it, but I know it when I see it.")
Materials must be available only to enrolled students, and must be removed, reviewed, revised, and remounted at the end of each marking period.
Non-print formats have exemptions for educational purpose which include face to face instruction (17 USC 110(1)). The TEACH Act covers only "accredited" non-profit institutions and covers online instruction.
Digital Millennium Copyright Act does not address fair use, but it does prohibit the circumvention of copy protection.
It is important to pay attention to "best practices" set up by media communities to define fair use for the group.
There are best practices on fair use as well as guidelines. The Conference for Fair Use (CONFU) put together a report that they could not agree. There is a report on fair use guidelines here.
ALA has a copyright slider to figure out if a work is out of copyright.
You can pay for permissions to get rights to avoid all risk. You can buy many rights for articles from the Copyright Clearance Center. For performance rights, you can get them from Swank Motion Pictures who will either sell them or tell you where you can get them.
Interlibrary Loan (ILL) is covered under Section 108 (17 USC 108), with Section 108(g)(2) specifically for ILL. Rule of 5, means that five articles per year per title are permitted, and 5 copies of a copyrighted book. CONTU set standards in 1978, and has become the standard.
Wrap this up in kernel: Fair use lets you use copyrighted items for educational use if you are re-purposing (criticism, analysis, compare and contrast), and only using as much as you need.
Rob answered questions from the floor, including an interesting question about re-print. He did narrow his area of expertise to copyright for instructional aids.
Thursday, March 11, 2010
State of the State Library
State Librarian Rebbecca Hamilton began her presentation with an overview of where the State Library is, mid-year budget cuts, and where the library is going.
The state is facing $1 billion deficit this year. Every state agency is taking a cut. For the state library, the mid-year cut is very minor $107,000. Not bad for the Library because the Library spends a lot of money on the front end.
The presentation which will be on the web site, has many graphs. Over the past few years the State Library has lost seven positions as well as funds from database budget. In 2005, the Library restructured after the storms. One of the arguments that the State Library makes on behalf of the Library is that the SLOL has already streamlined, back in 2005.
As a point of reference, the State Library pays a total of database costs of $650,000 for access for all of the libraries in the state, if libraries had to buy, it would cost libraries in the aggregate $8.5 million.
Without state-wide initiatives, almost 2/3 of the budget is personnel. Next largest is Inter-agency transfers for building and grounds costs.
Almost $4 million is spent in providing direct services to public libraries. All cuts to date have been taken on the operational side. Cuts in the future are likely to be made from the direct services to public libraries. These include: databases, ILL, delivery services, Internet, direct state library aid, services to the blind and physically handicapped, and workshops. Lots of discussion at the highest levels about cutting direct aid.
Rebbecca expects the cut to be about 3.8% of the budget which will affect the federal maintenance of effort funding. A cut of $364,000 in state funds would result in a loss of $100,000 in federal funds. For federal funding, the library also needs a 5-year strategic plan which requires a matching funds where the total budget for any federally funded project has 66% federal dollars and 34% state dollars.
The Louisiana Book Festival has been incredibly successful. It is ranked the second best festival to attend for authors. It has been a good tourism/economic development driver. The Festival has also provided more programs including a huge increase in the number of Letters about Literature.
SBPH has sent new digital players to over 1,200 users. Expect to add 2,000 titles this year. Concern is that this program affects only 7,000 people, but it is the only program in the state.
Other current programs include a very important and successful Leadership Grant from IMLS, Statwide staff days (that were so successful that this year it was done in two separate locations), public libraries have site visits by SLOL IT staff. The State Library of Louisiana was the first organization in the country which had a course approved for the ALA-APA Library Support Staff Certification Program. Twenty staff completed the class, a first in the nation.
What is next? SLOL successfully applied and has been notified that it received an $8.8 million BTOP grant. It is a 3-year grant. Had started with a cooperative app with other agencies which would have served just the Delta. Pulled out to do a grant for the whole state. It was ranked #1 by the Governor's office of all grants from Louisiana. Staff deserves great credit for the success.
SLOL is applying for Round 2 with a larger grant, the deadline is Monday, March 15.
Summer Reading Program has been a huge success.
The State Library is moving to a new software for web training sessions. The SLOL is working with the library school at LSU to have a web site for every library in the state. Recently the bandwidth for the State Library has been upgraded.
A question was asked about not the upcoming legislative session, but the one after, and Rebecca is concerned, but does not know what will happen. She worries about what will happen. Do the people that matter understand what it is that libraries (public and the State Library) do in providing service to the public.
The state is facing $1 billion deficit this year. Every state agency is taking a cut. For the state library, the mid-year cut is very minor $107,000. Not bad for the Library because the Library spends a lot of money on the front end.
The presentation which will be on the web site, has many graphs. Over the past few years the State Library has lost seven positions as well as funds from database budget. In 2005, the Library restructured after the storms. One of the arguments that the State Library makes on behalf of the Library is that the SLOL has already streamlined, back in 2005.
As a point of reference, the State Library pays a total of database costs of $650,000 for access for all of the libraries in the state, if libraries had to buy, it would cost libraries in the aggregate $8.5 million.
Without state-wide initiatives, almost 2/3 of the budget is personnel. Next largest is Inter-agency transfers for building and grounds costs.
Almost $4 million is spent in providing direct services to public libraries. All cuts to date have been taken on the operational side. Cuts in the future are likely to be made from the direct services to public libraries. These include: databases, ILL, delivery services, Internet, direct state library aid, services to the blind and physically handicapped, and workshops. Lots of discussion at the highest levels about cutting direct aid.
Rebbecca expects the cut to be about 3.8% of the budget which will affect the federal maintenance of effort funding. A cut of $364,000 in state funds would result in a loss of $100,000 in federal funds. For federal funding, the library also needs a 5-year strategic plan which requires a matching funds where the total budget for any federally funded project has 66% federal dollars and 34% state dollars.
The Louisiana Book Festival has been incredibly successful. It is ranked the second best festival to attend for authors. It has been a good tourism/economic development driver. The Festival has also provided more programs including a huge increase in the number of Letters about Literature.
SBPH has sent new digital players to over 1,200 users. Expect to add 2,000 titles this year. Concern is that this program affects only 7,000 people, but it is the only program in the state.
Other current programs include a very important and successful Leadership Grant from IMLS, Statwide staff days (that were so successful that this year it was done in two separate locations), public libraries have site visits by SLOL IT staff. The State Library of Louisiana was the first organization in the country which had a course approved for the ALA-APA Library Support Staff Certification Program. Twenty staff completed the class, a first in the nation.
What is next? SLOL successfully applied and has been notified that it received an $8.8 million BTOP grant. It is a 3-year grant. Had started with a cooperative app with other agencies which would have served just the Delta. Pulled out to do a grant for the whole state. It was ranked #1 by the Governor's office of all grants from Louisiana. Staff deserves great credit for the success.
SLOL is applying for Round 2 with a larger grant, the deadline is Monday, March 15.
Summer Reading Program has been a huge success.
The State Library is moving to a new software for web training sessions. The SLOL is working with the library school at LSU to have a web site for every library in the state. Recently the bandwidth for the State Library has been upgraded.
A question was asked about not the upcoming legislative session, but the one after, and Rebecca is concerned, but does not know what will happen. She worries about what will happen. Do the people that matter understand what it is that libraries (public and the State Library) do in providing service to the public.
Tweet, Tag, Connect: Using Social Networking in Your Public Library
Staff from the Terrebonne Parish Library did the presentation. Lauren Ledet and Tracy Guyan.
Much of the discussion is on the Facebook "Fan Page" and differences between the two.
As a library they have a profile page, and do not see much use. See a lot of spam, marketing from authors on the profile page. For the general public, most use the fan page. For events, you cannot "invite" people who are fans, even though you can invite those who are "friends" on the profile page.
The fan page is linked to their Twitter account. One disadvantages is that Twitter is limited to 140 characters. They use tinyurl.com for shortened links.
They have a MySpace account, but are finding that the volume of use is very much lower. Also feel like Facebook is "more professional."
As the administrator of their Facebook page, they can see demographics of users. In Terrebonne, Lauren is the only one who posts. Some libraries have multiple posters. In Terrebonne, Lauren does post at the request of other staff (like her director!).
Use Facebook for marketing of events, and Lauren showed several examples. She has "friended" all of the local reporters so that they get all the updates and tweets. Tries to post every day, takes about 30 - 60 minutes distributed over the day. Because it is for the whole parish system, she tries to be sure to post for each of the locations.
They do not promote at library card sign ups, but do promote it in newsletters and signature files for email. An excellent question about choosing between Twitter and Facebook. Lauren noted that she deals with more people on Facebook, and with more organizations on Twitter.
Ouachita Parish Library is using links to promote summer reading and expects that the use of the Facebook page will skyrocket.
Tracy mentioned that they do not have a policy on social networking. They monitor what is said, however.
Tracy talked about "Text a Librarian" service which costs them about $1600 per year [originally incorrectly posted as $16,000 per year -- Lauren corrected me]. Cost is based on how many people are available to answer a question. She demonstrated the service. For them, they use Meebo to integrate all of the chat and message services. There are set hours, and there is an auto-response for when they are closed. It does have templates to answer common questions (like hours). For the people answering there is also a toolbox of commonly used URLs. Not a high volume serve.
Some of the libraries represented in the audience have much higher use (1,800/month in one). Those libraries market directly to teens, and encourage them to save the number when they make the presentation.
Terrebonne has a Meebo widget on the web site. Meebo is answers questions only at the Reference Desk at the main library (the branches are small, and have very limited staff). They have a poll on their web site.
They have also posted some things to YouTube including how to use databases, Interlibrary Loan, how to use "Text-a-Librarian," and other events. They had a former staff member who had also been a film maker so the quality is good. They have a total of 19 videos posted.
The Reference Department also has a blog. They monitor what is posted. It reflects the color scheme of the library web site. Staff will post items relevant to the date, and they repeat some of the items from Facebook/Twitter.
They had a spike in users when the offered workshops on how to use social networking sites.
The Library Director noted that when they added Facebook, etc. on the Library's site, the schools were required to block the site.
Discussion continued, but I want to add this before the session ends.
Much of the discussion is on the Facebook "Fan Page" and differences between the two.
As a library they have a profile page, and do not see much use. See a lot of spam, marketing from authors on the profile page. For the general public, most use the fan page. For events, you cannot "invite" people who are fans, even though you can invite those who are "friends" on the profile page.
The fan page is linked to their Twitter account. One disadvantages is that Twitter is limited to 140 characters. They use tinyurl.com for shortened links.
They have a MySpace account, but are finding that the volume of use is very much lower. Also feel like Facebook is "more professional."
As the administrator of their Facebook page, they can see demographics of users. In Terrebonne, Lauren is the only one who posts. Some libraries have multiple posters. In Terrebonne, Lauren does post at the request of other staff (like her director!).
Use Facebook for marketing of events, and Lauren showed several examples. She has "friended" all of the local reporters so that they get all the updates and tweets. Tries to post every day, takes about 30 - 60 minutes distributed over the day. Because it is for the whole parish system, she tries to be sure to post for each of the locations.
They do not promote at library card sign ups, but do promote it in newsletters and signature files for email. An excellent question about choosing between Twitter and Facebook. Lauren noted that she deals with more people on Facebook, and with more organizations on Twitter.
Ouachita Parish Library is using links to promote summer reading and expects that the use of the Facebook page will skyrocket.
Tracy mentioned that they do not have a policy on social networking. They monitor what is said, however.
Tracy talked about "Text a Librarian" service which costs them about $1600 per year [originally incorrectly posted as $16,000 per year -- Lauren corrected me]. Cost is based on how many people are available to answer a question. She demonstrated the service. For them, they use Meebo to integrate all of the chat and message services. There are set hours, and there is an auto-response for when they are closed. It does have templates to answer common questions (like hours). For the people answering there is also a toolbox of commonly used URLs. Not a high volume serve.
Some of the libraries represented in the audience have much higher use (1,800/month in one). Those libraries market directly to teens, and encourage them to save the number when they make the presentation.
Terrebonne has a Meebo widget on the web site. Meebo is answers questions only at the Reference Desk at the main library (the branches are small, and have very limited staff). They have a poll on their web site.
They have also posted some things to YouTube including how to use databases, Interlibrary Loan, how to use "Text-a-Librarian," and other events. They had a former staff member who had also been a film maker so the quality is good. They have a total of 19 videos posted.
The Reference Department also has a blog. They monitor what is posted. It reflects the color scheme of the library web site. Staff will post items relevant to the date, and they repeat some of the items from Facebook/Twitter.
They had a spike in users when the offered workshops on how to use social networking sites.
The Library Director noted that when they added Facebook, etc. on the Library's site, the schools were required to block the site.
Discussion continued, but I want to add this before the session ends.
The Agile Librarian's Guide to Thriving in Any Organization
Great program by an LSU prof who has a lot of field experience and has written a book by that title.
She has condensed her book (and what had been a day long seminar) into just less than 2 hours.
Here are the topics she covers (and titles of the chapters):
One of her strong points was about building relationships. When she sees cuts, she asks, "what was their relationship with 'their' librarian. Is that what caused the attitude?"
Her final slide was a quote from Martin Luther King, Jr. (bold added for emphasis):
She has condensed her book (and what had been a day long seminar) into just less than 2 hours.
Here are the topics she covers (and titles of the chapters):
- Know your value to your organization
- Delight your clients
- Expand your political influence
- Please your boss
- Impress decision makers
- Choose an instantly credible professional image
- Ensure positive communication
- Marketing, advertising[,] and public relations
- Gathering and using evidence to support decisions
- Behaving ethically
- Sustaining your green and growing career
One of her strong points was about building relationships. When she sees cuts, she asks, "what was their relationship with 'their' librarian. Is that what caused the attitude?"
Her final slide was a quote from Martin Luther King, Jr. (bold added for emphasis):
Some of us, of course, will die without having received the realization of freedom, but we must continue to sail on our charted course. We must accept finite disappointment, but we must never lose infinte hope. Only in this way shall we live without the fatigue of bitterness and the drain of resentment.Great program.
LLA Opening General Session
The program began with remarks by Melanie Sims (LLA President). She thanked the sponsors and those who produced the conference. She introduced Jim Lorenz, Chief Administrative Officer for East Baton Rouge Parish and representative of Mayor-President Kip Holden. He made the usual comments about libraries and having a special place in his heart growing up in Alexandria. He ended by talking about our attendance at the conference with a joke, “keep spending your money here, we need the sales tax revenue.” He then read the proclamation declaring March 8-12 Louisiana Library Association Week.
Melanie the introduced board and mentioned the display in the lobby in memory of Sallie Farrell. ALA Chapter Councilor Stephanie Braunstein read the ALA Memorial Resolution.
Melanie then introduced Camila Alire (ALA President). [Disclosure, I have known Camila for about 15 years. We began on ALA Council as Chapter Councilors at the same time.] Camila started by noting that she has eaten all over the world, but she had her best meal at Juban’s in Baton Rouge. She also noted that the ALA Annual Conference will be in New Orleans in 2011. As ALA President she has two initiatives, the one she talked about today is the main one. There was a great all day workshop yesterday with good attendance and covering the advocacy topic in detail. Below are some notes based on her talk and slides.
Advocacy from the front lines.
What is advocacy – active support of a cause or course of action (or supporting a group or person).
Traditional types of advocacy: legislative where library administrators, trustees, friends, and general public (library users primarily). Spokane Moms for school libraries in Washington state. Frontline advocacy includes librarians and library support staff (not administrators).
Two simple concepts: be able to articulate the value of our libraries [story about talking with NMLA members who had two reactions: “deer in headlights” not my job; my director will not allow that]; value as library employees. i.e. what can the library do for you.
Need staff to serve as connectors and talk with everyday users. Talk about what the library has. These new users will become the grassroots folks who will speak to support the needs of the library.
Camila used as an example, the University of New Mexico Library's quest to increase their base budget for library materials. They were successful, ultimately, by enlisting staff to advocate with their user groups.
Should everyone be involved in frontline advocacy? Yes, as long as the staff are working at their own comfort level. Level I: Based on title/responsibilities; Level II: other librarians and library staff.
Build a team: determine the extent of frontline staff involvement; involve librarians and library staff in brainstorming/messaging.
Empowering staff: match message with venues and delivery methods; provide scripts and/or “cheat sheets” (i.e. talking points or visuals); work with staff for input on process and delivery; staff members deliver the message; meet to assess outcomes.
Library Advocacy? It’s everybody’s job!
At the end, she said “Anyone who thinks they are too small to be effective….has never been in bed with a mosquito!”
ALA web site with tool kits
Finally she answered two questions. The first was about the timing and remaining work on the ALA strategic plan. The second was about what she what to do if school principal will not release funds for books and magazines what to do… The latter was an interesting situational discussion. The first will be covered in a separate post.
The opening general session ended with two book cart drill teams. The first was the Ouachita Girls whose theme involved the Super Bowl Champion New Orleans Saints. The second performance by East Baton Rouge Dewey Deci-Belles with a theme which promotes the Big Read book (this year, The Great Gatsby).
YouTube videos have been posted:
Melanie the introduced board and mentioned the display in the lobby in memory of Sallie Farrell. ALA Chapter Councilor Stephanie Braunstein read the ALA Memorial Resolution.
Melanie then introduced Camila Alire (ALA President). [Disclosure, I have known Camila for about 15 years. We began on ALA Council as Chapter Councilors at the same time.] Camila started by noting that she has eaten all over the world, but she had her best meal at Juban’s in Baton Rouge. She also noted that the ALA Annual Conference will be in New Orleans in 2011. As ALA President she has two initiatives, the one she talked about today is the main one. There was a great all day workshop yesterday with good attendance and covering the advocacy topic in detail. Below are some notes based on her talk and slides.
Advocacy from the front lines.
What is advocacy – active support of a cause or course of action (or supporting a group or person).
Traditional types of advocacy: legislative where library administrators, trustees, friends, and general public (library users primarily). Spokane Moms for school libraries in Washington state. Frontline advocacy includes librarians and library support staff (not administrators).
Two simple concepts: be able to articulate the value of our libraries [story about talking with NMLA members who had two reactions: “deer in headlights” not my job; my director will not allow that]; value as library employees. i.e. what can the library do for you.
Need staff to serve as connectors and talk with everyday users. Talk about what the library has. These new users will become the grassroots folks who will speak to support the needs of the library.
Camila used as an example, the University of New Mexico Library's quest to increase their base budget for library materials. They were successful, ultimately, by enlisting staff to advocate with their user groups.
Should everyone be involved in frontline advocacy? Yes, as long as the staff are working at their own comfort level. Level I: Based on title/responsibilities; Level II: other librarians and library staff.
Build a team: determine the extent of frontline staff involvement; involve librarians and library staff in brainstorming/messaging.
Empowering staff: match message with venues and delivery methods; provide scripts and/or “cheat sheets” (i.e. talking points or visuals); work with staff for input on process and delivery; staff members deliver the message; meet to assess outcomes.
Library Advocacy? It’s everybody’s job!
At the end, she said “Anyone who thinks they are too small to be effective….has never been in bed with a mosquito!”
ALA web site with tool kits
Finally she answered two questions. The first was about the timing and remaining work on the ALA strategic plan. The second was about what she what to do if school principal will not release funds for books and magazines what to do… The latter was an interesting situational discussion. The first will be covered in a separate post.
The opening general session ended with two book cart drill teams. The first was the Ouachita Girls whose theme involved the Super Bowl Champion New Orleans Saints. The second performance by East Baton Rouge Dewey Deci-Belles with a theme which promotes the Big Read book (this year, The Great Gatsby).
YouTube videos have been posted:
Wednesday, March 10, 2010
Ideas from the business world that libraries need to think about
A while back, I started getting emails from Booz-Hamilton and their web publication Strategy + Business. I suppose I have always kept my finger a little pulse on this part of the world because of my graduate degree in business, and my start as a business specialist in public libraries.
There were two posts/articles recently that had me thinking about what they mean for the library world. That is why they are rating a whole separate post.
The first is about a topic near and dear to my heart, the health industry. Readers know that I have had my issues with health insurance carriers. And certainly there is the current national debate on health care. (Well, nominally it is about "health care" when in reality it is about how we will pay for health care.)
This article has much broader implications. First its title: When Disruptive Integration Comes to Health Care. In a way it is talking about how a "mature" industry changes and deals with changes. Besides the obvious (to me) links about how health care funding affects libraries (in our budgets if nowhere else), there is a much broader picture presented.
They talk about disruptive innovators. Let me paste the important paragraph which describes this concept and what is happening in health care.
Are there places out there which are offering alternative library services? What about the pay-to-get-an-answer-on-your-cell-phone service so poorly named KGB? (I talk about my opinion here.
As librarians we need to pay attention and to think outside the box.
The second article continues that line of thinking. It is Six Industries in Search of Survival. The industry which most sounded like a library to me was retail banking. I checked out the longer article (pdf) which was noted in the longer piece. Here are a couple of important quotes:
And then the big conclusion:
Some interesting thoughts.
There were two posts/articles recently that had me thinking about what they mean for the library world. That is why they are rating a whole separate post.
The first is about a topic near and dear to my heart, the health industry. Readers know that I have had my issues with health insurance carriers. And certainly there is the current national debate on health care. (Well, nominally it is about "health care" when in reality it is about how we will pay for health care.)
This article has much broader implications. First its title: When Disruptive Integration Comes to Health Care. In a way it is talking about how a "mature" industry changes and deals with changes. Besides the obvious (to me) links about how health care funding affects libraries (in our budgets if nowhere else), there is a much broader picture presented.
They talk about disruptive innovators. Let me paste the important paragraph which describes this concept and what is happening in health care.
Disruptive innovators are low-margin, experimental upstart entrepreneurs in an established market, who take advantage of untapped and emergent customer groups and other unfilled opportunities to build new types of business and ultimately reshape the industry. Established incumbents, tied to their existing customers and practices, have a great built-in incentive to overlook the potential impact of these new competitors. Therefore, they ignore them until the upstarts grow large and powerful enough to displace them. It has happened in a variety of industries, including computer components, steel, and media.So what does this mean for libraries? Well is SkyRiver a disruptive innovator? I have seen a number of articles about how they are trying to provide a lower cost alternative to cataloging using OCLC.
Are there places out there which are offering alternative library services? What about the pay-to-get-an-answer-on-your-cell-phone service so poorly named KGB? (I talk about my opinion here.
As librarians we need to pay attention and to think outside the box.
The second article continues that line of thinking. It is Six Industries in Search of Survival. The industry which most sounded like a library to me was retail banking. I checked out the longer article (pdf) which was noted in the longer piece. Here are a couple of important quotes:
... the focus of banks will shift from acquiring new customers to building deeper relationships with existing ones. Banks must surgically identify and capture growth opportunities within their customer base. To do that, banks must significantly revamp their capabilities and evolve their organizations to: target the most attractive customer segments; harmonize the roles of segments, products, and channels; better align corporate strategy and risk; and pursue sustainable cost reduction, such as rationalizing the branch network.
By 2014, Gen Y will comprise the largest segment of the U.S. workforce and by 2025 will account for 60 percent to 70 percent of the employed population. Given its size, connecting with this generation is a must for banks. To do so, they will need to better integrate their channels and interact with customers through each customer’s channel of choice. More than any previous generation, Gen Y is shaped by the Internet and ubiquitous connectivity.
No matter which customer segment a bank targets, it must reorganize around that customer. ... Most banks remain siloed, with limited cross-product or cross-channel integration.
And then the big conclusion:
Booz & Company research shows that mass market customers prefer to conduct their banking at branches, accounting for 70 percent of traffic and resource consumption, yet they are half as profitable as mass affluent customers. The rise of Gen Y will only put further pressure on the traditional bank branch network, which banks may soon be unable to afford. Indeed, we expect that a major rationalization of the branch network will emphasize electronic channels and alternate formats. In the future, for example, branches may cater to specific customer segments, becoming “wealth” branches or “small business” branches, with fewer generic branches open to all.Now, I don't see libraries ever failing to serve "all," I could conceive of a network of smaller branches spread across a community.
Some interesting thoughts.
Links, again (late posting)
There is an interesting post by Barbara Fister (whose writing I have come to admire) which challenges the current academic model. It is in Library Journal, and certainly deserves a great deal of thought.
The recent storms in the East Coast have certainly challenged people's travel. There is an interesting article on how some folks managed to stay in touch. Parts of it remind me of the stories I hear about post-Katrina, and more recently, post-Gustav, and how library workers stayed in touch with each other.
In the ebook saga (I decided to go away from any pugilistic or other violent metaphor), it seems that the cost of ebooks, and how much the author gets, may soon shift. The Financial Times (a reliable source) has an article on how one publisher is wielding its influence and control of the rights (DRM) to increase the publisher and author share.
Who owns Koha?
Jessamyn points to what users want and a synopsis of the longer article.
The recent storms in the East Coast have certainly challenged people's travel. There is an interesting article on how some folks managed to stay in touch. Parts of it remind me of the stories I hear about post-Katrina, and more recently, post-Gustav, and how library workers stayed in touch with each other.
In the ebook saga (I decided to go away from any pugilistic or other violent metaphor), it seems that the cost of ebooks, and how much the author gets, may soon shift. The Financial Times (a reliable source) has an article on how one publisher is wielding its influence and control of the rights (DRM) to increase the publisher and author share.
Who owns Koha?
Jessamyn points to what users want and a synopsis of the longer article.
Tuesday, March 09, 2010
Links - Feb/March and LLA warning
Well, it is that time of year again, LLA (Louisiana Library Association) Annual Conference. Look for blog posts on Thursday and Friday.
You have to love this title: Data, data everywhere as a special report from the Economist.
I forget where I picked this up (probably Dorothea Salvo) about Open Access. I am only part way through reading it, but the opening analogy/story sure caught my attention.
Iris does a great job at Pegasus Librarian, and since this is "statistics time of year" for me (parish libraries are submitting their annual statistics, due, by law, by April 1), the title How Big is My Library caught my eye.
WebJunction is hosting a wiki and discussion on the future of libraries. Now I just need to find the time to read it!
Now, I don't do cataloging, and it has been a long time since I did any. I also have not followed the development of FRBR and RDA, except in a very broad way. Jennifer Bowen (of the University of Rochester [NY]) has, and has written a pretty clear article on metadata, libraries and the cataloging principles for ALA TechSource.
Eric Hellman had the opportunity to attend the Google settlement hearing and wrote a nice summary (which has links to other summaries).
I recently updated my"ALA 101" posts to reflect name changes in divisions. April Bunn, Media Specialist, has written in Library Garden about the fact that AASL is going back to calling themselves librarians! [My favorite job title was when I was "City Librarian!"]
Peter Bromberg has an interesting take on privacy (also in Library Garden).
Jenny Levine (the tech maven on staff at ALA) has a great post on Library 2.0 including some of the recent discussions. (Like Andy Woodworth's "Deconstructing Library 2.0.")
Starr Hoffman, in geeky artist librarian, has a long (for her) post on the academic library mission. Maybe it is the work I have been doing on MPOW's planning that is keeping me so in tune with this topic, but there are some good thoughts here.
Two web items from AARP (yes, I am that old!). Both relate to changes in the workforce:
This probably falls into the category of folks not completely thinking through all of the implications of a name: iMaxi: Finally, the iPad Gets the Protection it Deserves
One of my college buddies has co-written a very long, thoughtful post about the health care conversation. I am not sure I agree with it all, but it is important to pay attention to the thoughtful items!
This piece talks about how to find things inside slide presentations posted on the 'net. It would seem to be a useful resource.
Dorothea Salvo did something that I should probably do, but won't until after the weekend. She expicitly talks about the shift in focus of her blog, and even edited the tag line. [Stay tuned, folks!]
You have to love this title: Data, data everywhere as a special report from the Economist.
I forget where I picked this up (probably Dorothea Salvo) about Open Access. I am only part way through reading it, but the opening analogy/story sure caught my attention.
Iris does a great job at Pegasus Librarian, and since this is "statistics time of year" for me (parish libraries are submitting their annual statistics, due, by law, by April 1), the title How Big is My Library caught my eye.
WebJunction is hosting a wiki and discussion on the future of libraries. Now I just need to find the time to read it!
Now, I don't do cataloging, and it has been a long time since I did any. I also have not followed the development of FRBR and RDA, except in a very broad way. Jennifer Bowen (of the University of Rochester [NY]) has, and has written a pretty clear article on metadata, libraries and the cataloging principles for ALA TechSource.
Eric Hellman had the opportunity to attend the Google settlement hearing and wrote a nice summary (which has links to other summaries).
I recently updated my"ALA 101" posts to reflect name changes in divisions. April Bunn, Media Specialist, has written in Library Garden about the fact that AASL is going back to calling themselves librarians! [My favorite job title was when I was "City Librarian!"]
Peter Bromberg has an interesting take on privacy (also in Library Garden).
Jenny Levine (the tech maven on staff at ALA) has a great post on Library 2.0 including some of the recent discussions. (Like Andy Woodworth's "Deconstructing Library 2.0.")
Starr Hoffman, in geeky artist librarian, has a long (for her) post on the academic library mission. Maybe it is the work I have been doing on MPOW's planning that is keeping me so in tune with this topic, but there are some good thoughts here.
Two web items from AARP (yes, I am that old!). Both relate to changes in the workforce:
- Communication styles vary between generations; and
- The demographics of the workforce are changing.
This probably falls into the category of folks not completely thinking through all of the implications of a name: iMaxi: Finally, the iPad Gets the Protection it Deserves
One of my college buddies has co-written a very long, thoughtful post about the health care conversation. I am not sure I agree with it all, but it is important to pay attention to the thoughtful items!
This piece talks about how to find things inside slide presentations posted on the 'net. It would seem to be a useful resource.
Dorothea Salvo did something that I should probably do, but won't until after the weekend. She expicitly talks about the shift in focus of her blog, and even edited the tag line. [Stay tuned, folks!]
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