In the last two weeks, I have received some positive reinforcement for what I did years ago. It was nice. I am not naming names because neither of them gave me permission.
The first was someone who was in a library school class I spoke to back in my Connecticut days. I was a guest speaker (I did it many times) and talked about professional associations (ALA, CLA, NELA), about the cooperatives in the state, and what it was like to be a public library director. He now works in an academic library, but contacted me (and a number of others) to talk about some of the issues facing library administrators.
The second was someone I met when I interviewed for a job. As part of the casual conversation, I talked about how to get involved in ALA. It was fairly soon after I had served on the ALA Executive Board, and is something that I both care about, and know a little bit about. She took the advice and is now involved in several different parts of the Association.
You never know when you are in the process of "paying it forward." In both cases, they expressed their appreciation. It made for a great day!
Showing posts with label future. Show all posts
Showing posts with label future. Show all posts
Friday, July 13, 2012
Tuesday, April 12, 2011
Links - April 2011
A great idea from the Librarian in Black: a day against DRM!
Here are some cogent thoughts from one of my favorite library bloggers and library writers, Karen Schneider, they were written in reaction to the presentation at Penn State by Jeff Trzeciak of Macmaster University in Canada.
The digital divide continues. Here is a link to Jessamyn West's presentation at SXSW on a topic on which we share concern. My original concerns originated in my urban roots. How many inner city homes even have land-lines these days. My exposure to the rural situation has been broadened by my Wisconsin and now Louisiana experiences.
Jessamyn also links to a nice article about SXSW.
Here are some cogent thoughts from one of my favorite library bloggers and library writers, Karen Schneider, they were written in reaction to the presentation at Penn State by Jeff Trzeciak of Macmaster University in Canada.
The digital divide continues. Here is a link to Jessamyn West's presentation at SXSW on a topic on which we share concern. My original concerns originated in my urban roots. How many inner city homes even have land-lines these days. My exposure to the rural situation has been broadened by my Wisconsin and now Louisiana experiences.
Jessamyn also links to a nice article about SXSW.
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.
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!]
Sunday, February 14, 2010
Links - Mid February
Here is the scariest news story I have seen lately: FBI wants records kept of Web sites visited
Almost as scary is this one about copyright of photographs in Britain. It is a long article, and I admit to not having either completely read it, or to understanding all the implications.
A friend of mine in Boston sent this link to an article praising librarians as "pioneers" in the digital age. (It even mentions HenrietteHarriet Avram!) [Thanks to Sue Kamm for the first name correction! 2/26]
I found this brief article on assessment in academic libraries interesting.
This post from a doctoral student in language and literacy at the University of Georgia talks about the current rage for testing in schools and for tying the results of testing to teacher performance judgments. His/her name does not appear on the blog (even though there is a list of publications).
And now a series of "clipped" notes from my blog reader....
Michael Stephens noted in ALA TechSource that he has found a new "tribe" at Educause. I think it is important to have several different circles of friends. Talking only to the same people all the time creates the opportunity for groupthink, which will not lead to real progress.
The indomintable Dorothea Salvo has written a long-ish post about "pre-prints" and open access. (When I need to learn more about open access, it is to Dorothy to whom I turn.)
Current ALA Executive Board (EB) member Courtney Young posted some EB documents about the potential new ways of communicating within ALA.
Chad Haefele (Hidden Peanuts) has an interesting post about e-books, digital rights managment, and electronic publishing.
Sarah Houghton-Jan has a great post on using technology in your library to save money on technology.
A few years ago, I picked up on a blog dealing with technology and innovation for associations Principled Innovation. There is a great post on their blog with five important thoughts/trends for 2010.
There is a new blog in the library world, Quid est veritas? [I know who the author is, but have temporarily forgotten. However, it is in my blog reader now.] There is a great post on "Inputs and Outputs." The concepts of inputs and outputs, which is what we have traditionally measured, is very important as many organizations (like the Institute of Museum of Library Services [IMLS]) start to request outcomes as the measurement for grant services.
Amanda McNeil is a library school student in Boston. She writes a blog called Opinions of a Wolf which is a mix of thoughts on library school and the profession and book reviews. She wrote an interesting post "What public libraries should be."
Kim Leeder, of In the Library with a Lead Pipe, posted a year starting discussion of Learning Commons activities and rumination about the role of the library (in general). It is long but worth reading.
My final set of links is from Stephen Abram. With his recent change in employment, his blog Stephen's Lighthouse has moved. However there are seven posts to which I wish to point:
Almost as scary is this one about copyright of photographs in Britain. It is a long article, and I admit to not having either completely read it, or to understanding all the implications.
A friend of mine in Boston sent this link to an article praising librarians as "pioneers" in the digital age. (It even mentions Henriette
I found this brief article on assessment in academic libraries interesting.
This post from a doctoral student in language and literacy at the University of Georgia talks about the current rage for testing in schools and for tying the results of testing to teacher performance judgments. His/her name does not appear on the blog (even though there is a list of publications).
And now a series of "clipped" notes from my blog reader....
Michael Stephens noted in ALA TechSource that he has found a new "tribe" at Educause. I think it is important to have several different circles of friends. Talking only to the same people all the time creates the opportunity for groupthink, which will not lead to real progress.
The indomintable Dorothea Salvo has written a long-ish post about "pre-prints" and open access. (When I need to learn more about open access, it is to Dorothy to whom I turn.)
Current ALA Executive Board (EB) member Courtney Young posted some EB documents about the potential new ways of communicating within ALA.
Chad Haefele (Hidden Peanuts) has an interesting post about e-books, digital rights managment, and electronic publishing.
Sarah Houghton-Jan has a great post on using technology in your library to save money on technology.
A few years ago, I picked up on a blog dealing with technology and innovation for associations Principled Innovation. There is a great post on their blog with five important thoughts/trends for 2010.
There is a new blog in the library world, Quid est veritas? [I know who the author is, but have temporarily forgotten. However, it is in my blog reader now.] There is a great post on "Inputs and Outputs." The concepts of inputs and outputs, which is what we have traditionally measured, is very important as many organizations (like the Institute of Museum of Library Services [IMLS]) start to request outcomes as the measurement for grant services.
Amanda McNeil is a library school student in Boston. She writes a blog called Opinions of a Wolf which is a mix of thoughts on library school and the profession and book reviews. She wrote an interesting post "What public libraries should be."
Kim Leeder, of In the Library with a Lead Pipe, posted a year starting discussion of Learning Commons activities and rumination about the role of the library (in general). It is long but worth reading.
My final set of links is from Stephen Abram. With his recent change in employment, his blog Stephen's Lighthouse has moved. However there are seven posts to which I wish to point:
- Social Media for Employees -- Rules? which indirectly follows up on some posts of mine. It consolidates some additional suggestions.
- How many ways are there to visualize data? Visualization of data is something that Stephen pays attention to. I often get some great ideas thanks to his consolidation and re-posting.
- Web searching skills recommendation is a longer article with comments from Stephen.
- Florida Libraries Rock talks about the update to the Florida State Library's update of its ROI (Return on Investment) study. The new study shows that investment in libraries (i.e. tax support) returns $8.32 for every dollar invested.
- 10 Fool-Proof Predictions for the Internet in 2020 reminds us some of the obvious trends.
- Social Technology and Libraries includes a great chart showing the technologies, Sescription, stage of development, and impact.
- 8 Things You Need to Know about Collaboration recaps a post on collaboration.
Friday, January 29, 2010
January links - part 2
LibLime purchase what does it mean? Go to Hellman has an interesting take.
EBSCO exclusive contract comments the great Open Access advocate Dorothea Salvo has a great set of thoughts about the implications of the EBSCO contract
Getting older? An interesting post
A great post on Twitter and ALA is Everything I Needed to Know about Twitter I Learned at Midwinter on the YALSA blog
Heidi Blanton has an interesting post on managing conference information.
The Learning Commons is one of the hot topics in academia. I have a close personal friend who "coordinates" the Learning Commons for a Louisiana private university, so I hear a lot about it. Kim Leeder has an early January post on In the Library with the Lead Pipe (a great blog title, I think) with a very broad vision of what LC is all about. Read it here.
The New York Times is back-sliding! In the beginning of the web, their web site was free. Then they went to a pay site. Folks stopped reading it, and did not pay, so they went free. Now, they are going back to pay or at least "partial pay." Ars Technica has a good overview.
Facebook's privacy changes caught attention. Here is some of what I picked up:
Violating contract with users
Facebook developer says privacy is over
And then a comment about why the new policy is wrong
What the Internet and filters can do. A respected Canadian magazine has to change its name. Here is the story.
Will Manley is blogging at a new location. Here is his new blog. Even though we worked in Arizona at the same time, I never met him until he spoke at the Connecticut Library Association back in the late 80s or early 90s.
One of my nieces is working at the Olympics as part of an internship. She is blogging, and it should be interesting to read her experiences.
Agnostic, Maybe [Andy, in New Jersey]has a couple of interesting posts, the first is on the future of libraries, and the second is a reaction to another author's post called "Nothing is the future."
EBSCO exclusive contract comments the great Open Access advocate Dorothea Salvo has a great set of thoughts about the implications of the EBSCO contract
Getting older? An interesting post
A great post on Twitter and ALA is Everything I Needed to Know about Twitter I Learned at Midwinter on the YALSA blog
Heidi Blanton has an interesting post on managing conference information.
The Learning Commons is one of the hot topics in academia. I have a close personal friend who "coordinates" the Learning Commons for a Louisiana private university, so I hear a lot about it. Kim Leeder has an early January post on In the Library with the Lead Pipe (a great blog title, I think) with a very broad vision of what LC is all about. Read it here.
The New York Times is back-sliding! In the beginning of the web, their web site was free. Then they went to a pay site. Folks stopped reading it, and did not pay, so they went free. Now, they are going back to pay or at least "partial pay." Ars Technica has a good overview.
Facebook's privacy changes caught attention. Here is some of what I picked up:
Violating contract with users
Facebook developer says privacy is over
And then a comment about why the new policy is wrong
What the Internet and filters can do. A respected Canadian magazine has to change its name. Here is the story.
Will Manley is blogging at a new location. Here is his new blog. Even though we worked in Arizona at the same time, I never met him until he spoke at the Connecticut Library Association back in the late 80s or early 90s.
One of my nieces is working at the Olympics as part of an internship. She is blogging, and it should be interesting to read her experiences.
Agnostic, Maybe [Andy, in New Jersey]has a couple of interesting posts, the first is on the future of libraries, and the second is a reaction to another author's post called "Nothing is the future."
Thursday, January 14, 2010
January links
I need to read and understand this better, but Char Booth has written an article in Library Journal about data visualization which I just can's seem to get my head around ... yet.
I found a new, interesting blog: Go To Hellman. It was brought to my attention in the discussion about ebooks. Here is the second post. And here is a third one.
The wonderful Jenny Levine wrote a great post about Twitter and policies (oh, and ALA). I am thinking I should find the time to consolidate all that I have learned into a new post.
In a really "library geek" vein, there is a post on ALA Techsource about RDA and FRBR -- which are supposed to replace AACR2. This post has some diagrams which help explain. (The bottom line for the non library geeks is that it should make our catalogs/access systems much more user friendly, and theoretically even better than Amazon or Google!)
And finally in this list, and to bring it back full circle, Ryan Deschamps has written about the future of the library and Seth Godin's comments. Read it here. [I have an issue with the title, it should not be "Neither Libraries Nor Information is Free" but "Neither Libraries Nor Information Are Free." Grammatically, both "libraries" and "information" are plural nouns, and the conjunction compounds the pluralness.]
I found a new, interesting blog: Go To Hellman. It was brought to my attention in the discussion about ebooks. Here is the second post. And here is a third one.
The wonderful Jenny Levine wrote a great post about Twitter and policies (oh, and ALA). I am thinking I should find the time to consolidate all that I have learned into a new post.
In a really "library geek" vein, there is a post on ALA Techsource about RDA and FRBR -- which are supposed to replace AACR2. This post has some diagrams which help explain. (The bottom line for the non library geeks is that it should make our catalogs/access systems much more user friendly, and theoretically even better than Amazon or Google!)
And finally in this list, and to bring it back full circle, Ryan Deschamps has written about the future of the library and Seth Godin's comments. Read it here. [I have an issue with the title, it should not be "Neither Libraries Nor Information is Free" but "Neither Libraries Nor Information Are Free." Grammatically, both "libraries" and "information" are plural nouns, and the conjunction compounds the pluralness.]
Tuesday, September 08, 2009
Links
The Google settlement, from a Brit's perspective.
The CNN story and reactions:
And Cushing Academy takes a hit:
The CNN story and reactions:
- From a newly discovered blog, Opinions of a Wolf, on stereotyping
- This piece does not take our side, but at the same time lashes out at CNN
And Cushing Academy takes a hit:
- Jessamyn is always one of my favorites, and as always she has some stellar links here
- Nicholas Brisbanes notes that most likely the library staff were not consulted in an interesting piece
- Five Most Common Mistakes Made by Nonprofit Admins on Facebook
- Mindset List for Librarians (parody of the Beloit College list aimed at librarians)
- The Gospel of Good Enough from the thoughtful Jason Griffey which talks some more (and has links) to ideas presented at ALA this summer.
Wednesday, August 05, 2009
Links from around the web
- Here is a thoughtful post from Helene Blowers about books and print, it has a catchy title, too: Future of the book is not a "container question"
- An interesting article from PW about the Google Book Search Settlement and a panel discussion at New York Public Library
- When you "buy" a download, can you keep it forever? Some think not. Here is an article from boingboing on the topic.
- Streaming video is displacing DVDs
But I wonder where does that leave the majority in Louisiana who do not have Internet at home? - He also has some cogent thoughts on Bing and Yahoo (As he suggests, I have started using Bing.)
- I picked this up off PUBLIB, where the poster noted that this conservative paper generally is against any taxes and increases in public spending, but does support public libraries. It is an interesting article.
- Archiving the transition of power in Alaska This shows the important role we libraries have in conserving today's information for tomorrow's researchers
- I am a little disappointed that I did not make the Top 100 list, and I have some quibbles, like librarian.net not being in the top 5! But there are some other obviously good choices. There were even a few I had not followed/found.
Thursday, July 30, 2009
The future: music, film, print
I wish I were as cogent a thinker and as eloquent a writer as Walt Crawford. His most recent post is called Five years on. In it he offers his opinion (with which wholeheartedly agree) about the future of music, film, and the various print products of today.
It is worth reading.
It is worth reading.
Wednesday, July 08, 2009
Links and comments
ALA is coming up at the end of the week. Time to clean off the desk -- actual and virtual!
What counts as "broadband?" Jeff Scott has a good analysis with comments about this. His comment that defining it as one-half of a T-1 line is short-sighted, is insightful. Louisiana was one of the first states to have Internet available to the public in every "main" library in the state. Many are finding that the bandwidth currently provided is not adequate. Many libraries here, and elsewhere I assume, were hoping that the stimulus funding would help them improve network speed. This seems not to be the case.
Annette Day and Hilary Davis have an interesting article about the process of journal selection (and de-selection) for academic libraries in a group blog which I have only recently found: In the Library with a Lead Pipe.
Meredith Farkas is back and continues to be insightful and probably ahead of her time. She talks in a recent post about relying on free/web-based services to deliver critical functions. Her post makes me also think about how is our discussion about things like Library 2.0/Web 2.0 being stored for the future. We can read about the late 19th discussions on the pros and cons of public libraries collecting and circulating fiction because those discussions took place in print. Will library scholars of the end of this century be able to do the same for our discussions? (I'm also going to point to a related/similar discussion imbedded in Walt Crawford's August (?) Cites and Insights. I am sure, since I was reading it in the doctor's office yesterday, that his "Writing about Reading" has influenced my thoughts on Meredith's post.)
I am watching the Google OS situation somewhat closely, in part because we are considering purchasing a "netbook" for our regular travel.
Finally, is my new work love: statistics. In a short (3 minute) TED talk, mathematician Arthur Benjamin talks about the need to redefine the teaching of mathematics. Currently, calculus is the "holy grail" or highest level. He notes that most of us do not use calculus in our daily lives. (Engineers are exempt from this characterization.) However, if everyone had a better understanding of statistics, a lot of us would do better in life.
The link is above....I will try to embed it here:
What counts as "broadband?" Jeff Scott has a good analysis with comments about this. His comment that defining it as one-half of a T-1 line is short-sighted, is insightful. Louisiana was one of the first states to have Internet available to the public in every "main" library in the state. Many are finding that the bandwidth currently provided is not adequate. Many libraries here, and elsewhere I assume, were hoping that the stimulus funding would help them improve network speed. This seems not to be the case.
Annette Day and Hilary Davis have an interesting article about the process of journal selection (and de-selection) for academic libraries in a group blog which I have only recently found: In the Library with a Lead Pipe.
Meredith Farkas is back and continues to be insightful and probably ahead of her time. She talks in a recent post about relying on free/web-based services to deliver critical functions. Her post makes me also think about how is our discussion about things like Library 2.0/Web 2.0 being stored for the future. We can read about the late 19th discussions on the pros and cons of public libraries collecting and circulating fiction because those discussions took place in print. Will library scholars of the end of this century be able to do the same for our discussions? (I'm also going to point to a related/similar discussion imbedded in Walt Crawford's August (?) Cites and Insights. I am sure, since I was reading it in the doctor's office yesterday, that his "Writing about Reading" has influenced my thoughts on Meredith's post.)
I am watching the Google OS situation somewhat closely, in part because we are considering purchasing a "netbook" for our regular travel.
Finally, is my new work love: statistics. In a short (3 minute) TED talk, mathematician Arthur Benjamin talks about the need to redefine the teaching of mathematics. Currently, calculus is the "holy grail" or highest level. He notes that most of us do not use calculus in our daily lives. (Engineers are exempt from this characterization.) However, if everyone had a better understanding of statistics, a lot of us would do better in life.
The link is above....I will try to embed it here:
Friday, June 05, 2009
Links and miscellany
Most recently, I have been collecting interesting links from both Twitter and my Bloglines account. I have gotten into the habit of just leaving the link open in a tab in my browser. Well, it is time to clean up again. Some of the titles are self-evident, but I have added comments to some of them.
And now in categories!
Broadband:
And now in categories!
Broadband:
Bringing Broadband to Rural America (the official FCC report)New technology and Web 2.0
Broadband Nation. A new blog about broadband issues.
Bringing in Broadband. The issues in one Florida county.
Mapping Broadband. This person/organization may well not be a friend for libraries.
Lobbying the FCC for access and no caps.
Paper Highlights Pros and Cons of Twittering at Academic ConferencesIntellectual Property issues (IP)
"librarians express affection through information"
Resolving the 80/20 dilemma "End users are spending less time on gathering the information they need – but their search failure rate is going up." A great article of importance to all librarians, but this one is focused on special/corporate libraries.
Technological accommodation of conflicts between freedom of expression and DRM: the first empirical assessment This links to a much longer PDF file on the Cambridge University web site
Search is too important to leave to one company – even Google Cory Doctorow in the Guardian
Study: Unselfish Individuals Benefit in Social Networks
9 simple suggestions for using social media
Twitter in the workplace. This is a presentation for government leaders on the use of Twitter.
IP rights and the Blind The US, Canada, and the EU try to limit the rights of blind people to use technology to receive written material -- Cory Doctorow on Boing BoingALA
IP: File sharing and Copyright. I have not read the full article (a link to the PDF is here), but the summary presents the intellectual property issues in file sharing in a new light. (Hmmm, maybe a full post is coming.)
Publishers are trying to avoid the Music industry's mistakes.
All Dressed Up with Nowhere to Go: A Survey of ALA Emerging LeadersGeneral Library stuff:
Mommy haven takes a hit in down economyThe Big Picture
How to love your library
The 'M' word always has good stuff about library marketing. Nancy Dowd does a good job, this one is on the future of the media we will need to deal with. {Memo to grammar caucus fans...I did that on purpose.}
Darien Library's new brand image was picked up from John Blyberg. Check out the other clients here.
Job seekers at the library. While this is not new, there are some interesting statistics at the end. I also have to comment that when I first looked at this site, I thought I was at NOLA.com which is the site for the New Orleans Times-Picayune.
Freemium A new way of thinking about library services and charging for them.
Google takes on Amazon from the New York Times...and it is only for e-books.Personal
Communicating a message. An interesting re-post from Stephen Abram on the differences that the wording of a message can make.
Free Range Librarian on where she is in her life and in her blogging life. It is actually a little similar to where I am.
Hot flashes -- a new perspective I found this one absolutely fascinating.
Want. Need I say more?
The rise and fall of LSU. I am not completely sure of the author's credentials, but it certainly is an interesting perspective on the positioning of state universities within the state power structure.
Tuesday, May 26, 2009
Links and miscellany
Somehow, with keeping up on Twitter and blog reading, I seem to have hit "the motherload" today. So, as I sit and wait for the sleep study to begin, here is today's harvest:
27 things to do before a conference. Stephen Abram pointed to this site, which I thought was going to be from him. Chris Brogan looks like someone I know, but in checking out his site, it is clear that I do not know him.
Leaders make the future. Jeff de Cagna of Principled Innovation (a blog I picked up from Mary Ghikas at ALA), did a podcast with the author of this book. There is some good content on the website without listening to the podcast (which I will admit that I have not done).
Stephen Abram also noted an Emmy winning video. Which he picked up from Nancy Dowd's blog about videos.
Google battles Facebook in search. This is a very interesting piece.
EFF on Google Books settlement. Via LIS news, this reproduces most of the text from the Electronic Frontier Foundation.
Clive Thompson on the future of electronic reading.
Data from the Feds. This looks like a very interesting site. I have not had time to play around with it. I look forward to that and a further report.
Board games and information literacy. My friend Chris Harris, of the Infomancy blog, has written a great article on the relationship of playing board games to information literacy and the AASL information standards.
Summer of Mobile Library Services. Tom Peters has written a great article for ALA Techsource.
Relevancy of Libraries in the Future. This is a thoughtful article from LIS News (I just wish they would give full names of the authors of these longer articles.)
Fiber-Fed Libraries can serve as an agent of recovery. Non-librarian Douglas Streeks has written a great article for BroadbandCensus.com
Global CEO Survey. This is a link to Stephen Abram's summary of this annual survey of global CEOs.
Wireless Substitution. Another post from Stephen Abram about the fact that few folks are connected by land lines.
Monday, March 16, 2009
Opening General Session
LLA President Melissa Hymel began with introducing Dean Beth Paskoff from SLIS at LSU who gave a brief state of the school address. Course offerings have changed since I was in library school including: courses on graphic novels, getting a paper through the refereeing process. One course offered each semester is on designing web sites, if you want your library to be on the list for a real web site design contact the school. She said that we should continue to encourage folks to come to library school. She noted that, like us, she is waiting to find out about the fiscal future. Governor Jindal will release the budget today on Friday, March 13. It is a long process. The school’s proposal for PhD program has been put on hold. The University’s Regents have put all ne program proposal on hold for three years. In the rumor control, she noted that the newspaper reported that the MLS program had been included on a list of “low-completion rate programs.” This was an error. The program actually has a high completion rate; registration is up 9% over last year. She also encouraged contributions to the LLA scholarship fund.
Melissa then introduced Keith Michael Fiels, the ALA Executive Director. Keith began in his usual, inimitable, sometimes casual style. He noted that he is having dinner tonight in Seattle with 10,000 academic librarians – it is where ACRL is having its conference. He also apologized for bringing “cold weather” with him. He has made many trips to New Orleans but has also been told that it is not Louisiana. One of the most memorable trips was 4 weeks after Katrina. What he saw was shocking. It was part of making one of the toughest decisions in his life. It was the right decision and that conference showed how libraries can really change lives.
He started as a school librarian, worked in a public library, went back to school. He then was hired by E.J. Josey as a consultant for the New York State Library. Then he ran a multi-type library system in NJ, and the NJ state Library. When he went to Massachusetts, he arrived at a time when libraries being closed. In the next decade all were reopened and they re-built 350 of the 356 main public libraries in the state.
He talked about the future of libraries. But without PowerPoint; with no discussion of paradigm shifts; no demonstration of new cool technologies; he also agreed to not talk about the economic crisis and how things have now changed forever.
There is a danger in talking about the future. Can make you look silly. In our attempts to anticipate the future, we can accidently create it. If we talk about the fact that there will not be enough money for libraries, the result may well be a loss of funding..
“The future does not create us, rather we create the future.”
Series of challenges and choices we face today. How we can respond to the challenges and how our responses will face the future.
How will the Internet and new technologies affect the library. Let’s face it “Library 2.0” is here, let’s embrace it. Welcome to your new collection, not just books, but also e-books and other user generated content. New services: work in person, but also via IM, Facebook, wikis, and blogs. What will be there local history, homework help, e-government. Gaming is now “hot” or Second Life. Twitter…is anyone twittering this? People will be using your library remotely as much as in person. In Florida 20 of use is remote, but they use more frequently up to 3 time faster. E-government is here. Most dramatic was lines at libraries to file for FEMA aid. All government services will be online. Where will people go? Not Post Office or DMV. Why? There is one in every town, and people are trained. In the US there are more libraries than McDonalds. “The library is the only place you can go and consult with someone with an advanced degree – for free!”
There will always be a gap, and we will need to be there and will need to be there in the future. To do that, we will need more funding. Gates study shows that libraries are at capacity. Bandwidth is a huge issue. There is a significant amount of money available in stimulus package to increase bandwidth for libraries.
Technology is more that popping a piece of software on the computer. Librarians are trained to help and find what you need.
What about the traditional book? By the time as electronic books are as portable, durable, and inexpensive as a book, they will look incredibly like a book. Until they invent one which is “sand-proof” you cannot take it to the beach.
We continue to serve all. Need to overcome barriers of race, disability, language. We need to lead the way in diversity. Profession must change as the nation changes. Spectrum scholarships 70 last year, but it is just a drop in the bucket. We need to work to preserve the first amendment rights of our users. Things like CIPA, USA PATRIOT Act infringe on user rights, and our leadership on these issues increased the role of librarians. Need to fight to keep information free. Copyright is a huge issue. Access to government information is key. There is a constant struggle to get government information. About 18 months ago, EPA started to close their libraries, and ALA fought to get Congress to change that. We need to continue to recruit the best and the brightest. Need to shatter the image of librarian. “Libraries are about people.” We need people-people in the profession. The retirement myth: Baby Boom-Y2K. [Thanks to the stock market, I will work until 90.] Need to be careful about the myths we create. Globalization has an effect and librarians we need to lead the world. We need to be involved in development. Important role in
Library funding…what can we do to increase funding? We will need more money because we are doing more not less. The economy is in tough shape. It goes up and down. The problem is that the library is often the first to be cut in a bad time. The reality is that we will be seeing cuts in the next year. More disturbing are proposals like, why don’t we run it with volunteers. Privatization. Can we do anything? Yes…advocacy is critical. Everyone talks about it, but what does it mean? Advocacy is the process by which we secure additional support by working with community members to reach those who make funding decisions. We need plans. If we had more money, this is what we can do. It is vision which drives funding growth. We need to assert our role in education. Public libraries are where most children develop their reading habits, often before they even get to school. Need to go head to head with the education establishment. “How can you say you care about education and cut libraries?” We need to use research on the value of libraries, and there are many studies out there. We need to do a better job of involving the public in promoting the role of libraries. FOLUSA becoming part of ALA. www.lovelibraries.org has opportunities to be involved in local groups. Need to increase public awareness of the importance of libraries using radio, TV, print media, and the Internet. Many are not aware of the range of services offered at the library.
Easier than we think to get increased funding, mostly because we get so little. Locally we get 1%, statewide 0.1%, and nationally $0.001. We need to shamelessly plug libraries. We do good things. OCLC study: resonate – equal access to all.
Need to ask for money!
Last challenge and toughest challenge, can libraries survive? Those who say that libraries are not needed with the Internet – don’t believe them. Our libraries are busier than ever. Library visits are up 10-15% nationally: economy, e-government, etc. People come to libraries for more than what a library provides (including social interaction).
The library is a mechanism by which a community gathers resources for use by all.
This is hard work. Nothing has ever been achieved without persistence and hard work. The libraries we have today were built, brick by brick through the hard work of our predecessors.
Melissa then introduced Keith Michael Fiels, the ALA Executive Director. Keith began in his usual, inimitable, sometimes casual style. He noted that he is having dinner tonight in Seattle with 10,000 academic librarians – it is where ACRL is having its conference. He also apologized for bringing “cold weather” with him. He has made many trips to New Orleans but has also been told that it is not Louisiana. One of the most memorable trips was 4 weeks after Katrina. What he saw was shocking. It was part of making one of the toughest decisions in his life. It was the right decision and that conference showed how libraries can really change lives.
He started as a school librarian, worked in a public library, went back to school. He then was hired by E.J. Josey as a consultant for the New York State Library. Then he ran a multi-type library system in NJ, and the NJ state Library. When he went to Massachusetts, he arrived at a time when libraries being closed. In the next decade all were reopened and they re-built 350 of the 356 main public libraries in the state.
He talked about the future of libraries. But without PowerPoint; with no discussion of paradigm shifts; no demonstration of new cool technologies; he also agreed to not talk about the economic crisis and how things have now changed forever.
There is a danger in talking about the future. Can make you look silly. In our attempts to anticipate the future, we can accidently create it. If we talk about the fact that there will not be enough money for libraries, the result may well be a loss of funding..
“The future does not create us, rather we create the future.”
Series of challenges and choices we face today. How we can respond to the challenges and how our responses will face the future.
How will the Internet and new technologies affect the library. Let’s face it “Library 2.0” is here, let’s embrace it. Welcome to your new collection, not just books, but also e-books and other user generated content. New services: work in person, but also via IM, Facebook, wikis, and blogs. What will be there local history, homework help, e-government. Gaming is now “hot” or Second Life. Twitter…is anyone twittering this? People will be using your library remotely as much as in person. In Florida 20 of use is remote, but they use more frequently up to 3 time faster. E-government is here. Most dramatic was lines at libraries to file for FEMA aid. All government services will be online. Where will people go? Not Post Office or DMV. Why? There is one in every town, and people are trained. In the US there are more libraries than McDonalds. “The library is the only place you can go and consult with someone with an advanced degree – for free!”
There will always be a gap, and we will need to be there and will need to be there in the future. To do that, we will need more funding. Gates study shows that libraries are at capacity. Bandwidth is a huge issue. There is a significant amount of money available in stimulus package to increase bandwidth for libraries.
Technology is more that popping a piece of software on the computer. Librarians are trained to help and find what you need.
What about the traditional book? By the time as electronic books are as portable, durable, and inexpensive as a book, they will look incredibly like a book. Until they invent one which is “sand-proof” you cannot take it to the beach.
We continue to serve all. Need to overcome barriers of race, disability, language. We need to lead the way in diversity. Profession must change as the nation changes. Spectrum scholarships 70 last year, but it is just a drop in the bucket. We need to work to preserve the first amendment rights of our users. Things like CIPA, USA PATRIOT Act infringe on user rights, and our leadership on these issues increased the role of librarians. Need to fight to keep information free. Copyright is a huge issue. Access to government information is key. There is a constant struggle to get government information. About 18 months ago, EPA started to close their libraries, and ALA fought to get Congress to change that. We need to continue to recruit the best and the brightest. Need to shatter the image of librarian. “Libraries are about people.” We need people-people in the profession. The retirement myth: Baby Boom-Y2K. [Thanks to the stock market, I will work until 90.] Need to be careful about the myths we create. Globalization has an effect and librarians we need to lead the world. We need to be involved in development. Important role in
Library funding…what can we do to increase funding? We will need more money because we are doing more not less. The economy is in tough shape. It goes up and down. The problem is that the library is often the first to be cut in a bad time. The reality is that we will be seeing cuts in the next year. More disturbing are proposals like, why don’t we run it with volunteers. Privatization. Can we do anything? Yes…advocacy is critical. Everyone talks about it, but what does it mean? Advocacy is the process by which we secure additional support by working with community members to reach those who make funding decisions. We need plans. If we had more money, this is what we can do. It is vision which drives funding growth. We need to assert our role in education. Public libraries are where most children develop their reading habits, often before they even get to school. Need to go head to head with the education establishment. “How can you say you care about education and cut libraries?” We need to use research on the value of libraries, and there are many studies out there. We need to do a better job of involving the public in promoting the role of libraries. FOLUSA becoming part of ALA. www.lovelibraries.org has opportunities to be involved in local groups. Need to increase public awareness of the importance of libraries using radio, TV, print media, and the Internet. Many are not aware of the range of services offered at the library.
Easier than we think to get increased funding, mostly because we get so little. Locally we get 1%, statewide 0.1%, and nationally $0.001. We need to shamelessly plug libraries. We do good things. OCLC study: resonate – equal access to all.
Need to ask for money!
Last challenge and toughest challenge, can libraries survive? Those who say that libraries are not needed with the Internet – don’t believe them. Our libraries are busier than ever. Library visits are up 10-15% nationally: economy, e-government, etc. People come to libraries for more than what a library provides (including social interaction).
The library is a mechanism by which a community gathers resources for use by all.
This is hard work. Nothing has ever been achieved without persistence and hard work. The libraries we have today were built, brick by brick through the hard work of our predecessors.
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