Tame the Web: Libraries and Technology

Just Askin?

Coming off of IL05 and reading over "Listening to You," I must ask:

Are you listening to your users?

You should be.

Ten Steps to Insure Staff Buy-In for the Technology Projects

A companion to a presentation I'm giving at Internet Librarian 2005.

Download the big old 10MB file here!

Ten Steps to Insure Staff Buy-In for the Technology Projects

"Why are we doing this?"

A few months ago the Reference staff at SJCPL trained the librarians who would be using IM at their service desks. Katie, who was doing the particular session I heard about, asked the group: "Why are we doing this training?"

"IM is cool" Someone said..."IM is so hot right now," said another (who may read my blog too much!)

"Nope," Katie said. "We are doing this because it is a way to reach a good segment of our users...." She went on to cite some of the recent articles, studies and surveys out there that make the case for IM.

"Why are we doing this?" may be asked more than you think at your library as more and more projects center around technology. If the question is there, you may be missing a perfect opportunity to create staff buy-in for such projects. What follows are ten hints to Insure buy-in..

#1 Listen to Your Staff

Cluetrain time folks. There are conversations going on in your libraries..some in person ("Elevator talk") and some via electronic means. What's beeing said? Are people unhappy? Have you suprised the staff with yet another big project that just seemes to be spending money and time for no discernible ROI? When you meet with folks, listen. The message may come through if you want to hear it: communicate..keep us in the know.,..let us plan with you....

How agile is your library?

#2 Involve Staff in Planning

From the get go, convene a team to plan whatever new thing you are doing made up of staff from all areas of your organization -- focusing on the key players and the stakeholders. If they are engaged, heard and actively researching, discussing and decided in stuff, they are wedded to the project. This is particularly true for new buildings.

#3 Tell Stories

I've talked about this alot: one way for libraries to promote their value and relevance is to tell the library's story every chance you get. Beyond daunting columns of statistics, users -- and staff -- might benefit from a story about "how the library helped its users today?" Ponder a staff exchange where internal stories can be told. You may find a lot of answers to the question: "Why are we doing this?"

This flickr set of "Rock the Shelves" really tells a story for me.

#4 Be Transparent

Don't be secretive about projects. Don't ambush staff with a new computer on the reference desk no one was told about. Be transparent with you users and your staff as well. Staff intranets cry out to be used as a means to announce and discuss new projects, with facts figures, COST and outcomes. Staff wikis scream to be used to develop plans and timelines for all staff to access and review.

#5 Report and Debrief

http://www.tametheweb.com/ttwblog/archives/001298.html

I love this example of the post-conference debrief we did at SJCPL. Staff often wonder what folks are doing trooping off to Seattle or Washington DC or . Reporting from the conference via a blog or posting reports upon returning to work let's folks see that those attending conference were gathering knowledge to bring back.

#6 Do your Research

There is no excuse in 2005 not to be "in the know" on whatever technology initiative you are planning. there's no excuse not to have done a literature search for articles in our professional litertaure that will help the discussion and inform the participants of strategy meetings.

#7 Manage Projects Well

There are some great books out there that bloggers have pointed to and discusssed!

http://daweed.blogspot.com/2005/05/im-getting-things-done.html

You might read this one too

#8 Offer training for All technologies you Roll Out

One of my soapbox topics. You know how important it is to train staff. To keep them in the know. Training doesn't have to be the formal in a room variety, but you might use any number of method to deliver instrruction about new stuff or changes to current systems.

#9 Let them Play

In our Training Workshop yesterday, one of the participants stressed the need for a "playground" where staff could put their hands on new technologies: terminals running a newe OS, a new ILS or updated software, or new gadgets and devices the library might be evaluating. I love this idea. We also went so far to theorize that the playground might be virtual as well as physical.

For that gaming initiative, take folks out to the arcade or set up the consoles in the staff lounge and do some DDR! Let them expwerience first!

#10 Celebrate Successes

Do you do this? Do you stop amidst all of your ongoing tech projects and celebrate the launch of the new Web site? The new service? Do you congratulate each other?

Breaking the Rules

Sometimes we rely too heavily on rules, protocols and procedures. The best policies and practices in libraries are those that can be bent or ignored when the situation calls for it. I admire those managers and administrators that get that and see the difference between micro-management/never break the rules and those that realize we are all in this big thing called life together and yes stuff happens.

Like someone wanting to use the phone.

Thanks FGL for the reminder.

NEWS: Purdue gets Info Lit Chair

http://www.insideindianabusiness.com/newsitem.asp?id=15312

Hopefully, many more universities will follow with similar programs!

Cluetrain & Public Service

From the Rambling Librarian:

http://ramblinglibrarian.blogspot.com/2004/09/differentiating-public-service.html

We should go out there and engage potential users in the forums, chatrooms etc. As I wrote in my other blog:"... the presence that librarians project can no longer be the “Thou knoweth more than you-eth” attitude. To connect with our average information-customer, we need to show them that we’re as human as they are; as fallible, and there’s nothing to be fear from us."

In providing our service, be it answering reference enquiries or Readers' Advisory, or checking a reader's loan record, PLS librarians can distinguish themselves by engaging in conversations with the reader. In a real conversation, we don't go "Dear Mr Lee, with regards to your enquiry..." but we say things like "Hi Mr Lee, that's a most interesting question. It's something new to me but I've checked with my colleagues and...". Our tone (written or verbal) should be informal, approachable, human.

Heck yeah! The "voice" of the library should be human. It should resonate with emotion, interest and sincerity -- on the web, via IM, on the phone and in person.

Terrebonne Libraries & Katrina

I interviewed Wanda Bruchis for my technology planning article last year. I emailed shortly after Hurricane Katrina and was glad to hear she's fine. She sent along a link to local coverage of the hurricane and her library.

http://houmatoday.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20051006/NEWS/510060315/1026/ARCHIVES14

Inspiring Innovation for You & Your Library

Stephen Abram links to two articles he has written for SirsiDynix One Source:

http://stephenslighthouse.sirsi.com/archives/2005/09/32_tips_pat_two.html

Go. Read. Now.

A Sad Day in the Info Science Community

My colleague and cohort chum Joyce Valenza sent me a message this morning:

Dr. Laurel Anne Clyde, a professor of Social Science at the University of Icelandin Reykjavík, Iceland, suffered a fatal heart attack on Sunday, September 18, 2005. I have read many of Dr. Clyde's scholarly papers, presentations and articles on social software. She authored Weblogs & libraries last year, the first scholarly work on the topic!

I had hoped she and I would meet at some future info science conference because I she was certainly a source of inspiration for my research and writing.

Here is her page at the University of Iceland:

http://www.hi.is/~anne/

I'll link to an obituary as soon as I find one.

10 Ways To Make The Internet A Better Place

From Blake, who rocks my web-hosting world, comes "10 Ways To Make The Internet A Better Place." Well done and we all should take note.

http://www.lisnews.com/article.pl?sid=05/09/19/1140228

Jessamyn's Talk at IU SLIS

http://www.librarian.net/talks/iu/

This was my first time hearing Jessamyn speak and she did a great job looking at how libraries make choices about services and technology. There were SLIS Bloggers in the room as well: here's a transcript, some photos and more.

Virtual Visit to Australia

Last night, from 6pm to 7pm, I gave a talk with a group of 60 librarians at the State Library of Victoria, Australia. It was 9am today for them... so as I was nearing the end of my day, sitting in front of my Mac with my boys on the floor beside me, those folks were at work, probably enjoying coffee or tea and planning for the day's activities. ( There was actually a test of the fire alarm system about halfway through!)

We used a combination of Skyp and Jybe to do the "Virtual Visit," which was planned by librarian Anne Beaumont from the library down there. Anne arranged for the session and we worked up a list of web pages she asked me to visit and tell the stories related to each page.

We talked about my experiences at TADL, my thoughts on iPods and devices, flickr and tagging, and about libraries actually having a VOICE and conversations with their users, which in my book is the most important thing librarian web folk should be looking at as they create Web presence.

I thoroughly enjoyed this chance to chat with folk on the other side of the world. Once again, I realize we are facing many of the same things as libraries evolve and change with users.

How agile is your library?

Sometimes it's good to return to an article/blog post/presentation and see how it stacks up after some time has passed. For example, I just found a print of this from a 2001 LJ:

http://www.libraryjournal.com/article/CA71785.html

Roy Tennant writes in April 2001 about building agile organizations and suggests three key factors to have a grip on: Communication, management and staffing.

Through my late 2005 lens, this resonates:

Good communication within the organization - both from above and below - is essential. Communication should not be stifled by overcontrolling management or by resentful staff. An agile organization offers many avenues of communication. Line staff must have ways to bring issues to management's attention, and managers must promulgate decisions without delay to all staff.

Nothing harms the esprit de corps of an organization quicker, or with worse effect, than regularly hearing about an internal decision from an external source. Similarly, management should not have to discover front-line problems from customers.

Yes. Indeed. This is Cluetrain stuff as well. Businesses -- and organizations like libraries -- should be having internal conversations at all levels and with no roadblocks or barriers. How do you communicate in your library? I'm all about new tools, so yes an internal blog or wiki might work wonders. I'm also about the face to face. How effective are your meetings? Are they tangential, crowded affairs that seem to disentegrate?

Tennant writes: "Librarians are better consensus builders than leaders. That makes us inclusive, cooperative, and willing to build on the work of others. However, we don't always rise to the occasion on an individual basis. In an attempt to include everyone in decision-making, we end up watering down the decision."

Read Death by Meeting. Now. I'll wait.

Finally, Tennant urges librarians to examine staffing issues, creatively as possible and to look at funding options for new endeavors. This is a good read. Give it a look through your '05 glasses and let me know what you think.

Happy Birthday Jessamyn

Here's the page of all photos tagged happybirthdayjess:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/tags/happybirthdayjess/

5 Reasons TADL Rocks (or A Lesson in Good Service)

I use the Traverse Area District Library a lot when I'm Up North. Yesterday was one such time where everything was so smooth, so perfect as a library experience, I need to write about it. I had to print some documents to overnight to Texas for my research project, so off I went to TADL. I must admit I was in a little time crunch because I needed to print and get to the post office before it closed.

A note: other than my IM chum Jeff, none of the folks there know I'm a librarian so I was in pure "patron mode."

1. Thoughtful staff. I sat in the Reference Area for a bit with my PowerBook. A librarian came over and asked "Did you find the outlet?" motioning to a hidden outlet in the table top I had not noticed. "Feel free to plug in."

2. Streamlined access to PCs and printers, no muss, no fuss. I was able sign my name on a sheet, plug in an ethernet cable at a nice desk facing a window and immediately begin printing.

3. Receipts for printouts, no worries. I printed 50 pages so a receipt is useful for my recordkeeping for school. The librarainas at the computing center were quick to give me a snazzy printed receipt (and two paperclips!).

4.Sunny skies. Well, no, TADL didn't provide me with sunny skies but the television monitors in the AV area tuned into the Weather Channel offered a quick look at what to expect for my last weekend up here for a long while! :-(

5. Great Spaces lead to Great Experience? Maybe it's the beautiful building, the local artwork in the gallery space, or the Children's Garden I passed through on the way to my car, but what could have been a series of hurdles to get my documents printed turned out to be a poerfect library experience. "Thanks" said the staffer at the circ desk as I left..."have a nice weekend."

Take away: Visit another library sometime and make use of their services...see how the experience goes. Then: ponder how your own library creates experiences like the above. Is your staff going the extra mile for customer service?

Southland Libraries

My heart aches today for everyone in the southland but particularly for librarians and libraries in those states affected by the hurricane. I hope we can come together and help in anyway possible as the clean up and healing begins.

I just emailed a colleague down in Terrebonne Parish to see how she is. I hope I hear back soon.

I can't help wonder: will ALA meet in New Orleans as planned? I hope so..to bring our ranks, our money and our support to this most unique of American cities.

Here's a post about wikipedia and the hurricane from Ken Smith...

New Orleans and Points South

Thoughts and prayers to the folks in the Southland.

Welcome Baby Carver & Baby Schwartz!

http://www.ecarrie.com/gallery/Baby

http://openstacks.net/os/archives/000849.html

Congrats to both families from TTW!

The Power of Reading

Anyone who reads TTW..please make room in your aggregator for FGL...

http://feelgoodlibrarian.typepad.com/feelgood_librarian/2005/08/what_books_do.html

We need to remember why we do what we do folks... just saying...

Congrats to Brian Kenney, New Editor of School Library Journal

http://www.schoollibraryjournal.com/article/CA630776.html

School Library Journal has a new editor. Brian Kenney, Library Journal's executive editor, technology & web, has been promoted to editor-in-chief of School Library Journal, effective August 1. He succeeds Evan St. Lifer, who left in June to join Scholastic Library Publishing as VP and general manager.

I have been so lucky to work with Brian these last few months. I have learned a lot from him about writing, libraries and the "big picture." Brian gets libraries big time and he understands the place where libraries and technology meet! Best wishes...

Oh, and:

In 2004, he received a federal Institute of Museum and Libraries Services fellowship for study in the interdisciplinary Ph.D. program at the University of North Texas, Denton. This Web-enhanced doctoral program supports a cohort group engaged in researching school or public library issues.

:-)

Have you been at your library too long?

http://money.cnn.com/2005/07/26/commentary/everyday/sahadi/index.htm?section=cnn_topstories

Rock the Shelves

Check out this set:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/michaelcasey/sets/632151/

These images say alot: library as community meeting place...library as cultural center...library as a place young people would like to be and hang out...and make some music. Well Done Gwinnett County Public Library!

Congrats to Chad!

On his new job!!!!

Up North: Library Lane

Library Tour: Happy Diversion

I went to the Traverse Area District Library today to print articles to read for my preliminary research. I finally got to meet Jeff, who works in IT there and who has been an IM buddy for over 2 years. He and David, the head of tech services, took me on a tour of their beautiful library and surroundings! What a nice diversion to hang with some library folk.

At flickr, the tag for TADL is tadl:http://www.flickr.com/photos/tags/tadl/

London

Thoughts and prayers go out to colleagues and friends in London, England.

Congrats Techman!

Just heard that my colleague, workshop collaborator, and DDR player D. Scott Brandt, has been named Associate Dean for Research at the Purdue Libraries! Hooray!

Congrats to Scott!

Feel Good Librarian on the Future (and our Library Present)

I heart this:

We think of ourselves differently, too, I am finding. We are a scared bunch these days, frightened that we won't find jobs, now or ever. We're scared that libraries won't keep their place in society. Or that they will, and we won't like it. We're scared that the generations who are clashing on our staffs won't ever get along. That the techno-terrified will hold all the rest of us up, or the techies will drag us all kicking and screaming into a future where we will be replaced by machines.

And, like many of the librarians I hung with this weekend, I heart The Feel Good Librarian!

LISWiki

http://www.liswiki.com/w/index.php?title=Main_Page

Via Blake...thx!... and what I want to know is who put this wiki up?

Hidden Peanuts Makes My Day

http://www.hiddenpeanuts.com/archives/2005/06/30/ps/

I need to add a number eleven to my list of ten things I learned at ALA:

I haven’t always been quite so excited. But once I started blogging, once I started making connections outside the classroom I quickly reached critical mass....... OK, so maybe I didn’t learn this just at ALA. But it sure was reaffirmed. I met and re-met so many wonderful people, and I can’t wait to join you all as a full colleague.

Sigh. Chad..you are totally a colleague! Well done!

Presence

On an envelope from Alan at Darien Public Library...nice touch.

Stop..Look..Listen...

I was just thinking this am whilst getting ready for work that I am a busy guy the next 2 weeks: workshops in Indiana, Connecticut and school in Texas. On the way to work, a good friend who works with me called to say one our SJCPL employees had died suddenly Monday night. It's like a blow to the stomach, friends.

It makes me realize how fragile everything is and how we shouldn't get so caught up in buzz buzz business and "drama" in our workplaces. I just "shot the breeze" yesterday afternoon with this employee..and now he is gone.

So..do this.. stop for a minute at your desks, in your offices..wherever... and breathe and look around you..and listen to what your inner voice says is important. Balance... renewal...life...love. Take care of yourselves and the people around you.

Talkin' About Presence: Hennepin Co PL Extranet

Check it out:

http://www.hclib.org/extranet/

Glenn peterson pointed me to this site to check out his full PPT from IOLUG. What strikes me is this is an excellent example of presence and transparency!

The page reads in part: "Welcome to Hennepin County Library's extranet. Here we offer a sampling of resources from our staff intranet and public web site to the broader library community. We welcome your comments and suggestions."

How wonderful is it to share stuff on the system level with other libraries and librarians! Not only does this promote staff achievement but it promotes the library as an active member in the online LIS community! It also shows Hennpin's users what the library does with staff time and resources!

To the folks at HCPL - I say "Well Done!"

Abram on the Value of Libraries

Via Alice at the Scan Blog: http://scanblog.blogspot.com/2005/05/economic-value-of-libraries.html

For librarians who plan, ponder or just want to get a grip on the big picture, Stephen Abram writes about the value of libraries - Read this Now!

On Michael Porter's Mission Statement

I enjoy Michael Porter's (aka Libraryman) blog and his view on the world of libraries. He works at OCLC now and he's busy, after many months of teaching tech on cruiseships and working as a Gates Trainer! His posts are pretty darn cool, grab his feed!

In January 2004, Michael came through Mishawaka and we sat down for Thai and talk. It helped me decide to pursue the PhD!

Michael gets it and gets it well. On Mission Statements:

A librarian's professional mission statement would be pretty darn impressive. Sure, Google says they want to "do no evil" but we library professionals are really striving hard to "do only good" while swimming in an increasingly Googlefied information world. Because of this, my professional mission statement is in what seems to be a permanent state of flux. I like it like this, even though I get dizzy on occasion. Like many of the fine folks reading this, most of the flux in mission is due to technological changes and the speculations that can be extrapolated from reading a great deal and talking with smart library and technology professionals.

I have written about blogger's missions... but the idea of a personal mission statement for me as a libraraian intrigues me. What are my values? Goals? I think though, we can have some core values that never change: maybe one goal for me is to serve library users the best way I can. Because I don't do as much public service I have to find other ways, such as training staff to blog, use new technological tools and showing them what is within their reach as librarians.

MP notes he discusses stuff with colleagues. OH yeah! You know, dear readers, that I am all about the rubbing of elbows and exchanging knowledge and experience. Just a couple of days ago, my cell rang and it was MP to shoot the breeze for a sec about some cool development in libraryland. Nice.

Look into MP's crystal ball:

My readings and watching and discussions and thoughts tell me libraries will be drastically different than what they are now. My gut tells me a lot of folks reading this won't have a job in libraries in 20 years if we aren't very, very careful, active, thoughtful, creative and hard working. What will libraries do and be in 20 years? They will be all about technology (however small and portable), resource sharing, partnerships, training, and acting as physical spaces to play, learn, share and develop community. Yep, those are all words in my professional mission statement. I hope they are in yours too.

So, shall we ponder our mission statements? Is this like Planning for Results for Librarians? What goals and objectibves do you have?

MAO and MPL

Via Glenn:

Interesting reading about Minneapolis and their ad campaign. I do like the Batgirl version!

http://www.startribune.com/stories/462/5417554.html

Jessamyn is quoted as well!

Hamilton East Public Library

IOLUG's Spring Meeting was held here:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/michaelsphotos/sets/359949/

http://www.hepl.lib.in.us/

Roy Tennant Inspires II

From the new Information Today (May 2005), a piece called "In the Beginning, there was Content" that features some cool folks discussing presence and the Web -- as well as adapting to the rapid pace of change in our professional lives.

Roy Tennant discusses content, creation and change:

"In this world of ubiquitous and fluid content creation and distribution opportunities, only the flexible will survive. Those who can effectively use new modes of communication will be the primary creators of content...and librarians who can make sense of it all on behalf of their clientele will remain treasured assets to society. In such a world, those who thrive on change are king."

Roy, you rock my world. Librarians need to be riding the crest of this wave: the blogging wave, the social software wave, the web catalog innovations wave. It's time.

Outstanding PL Web Presence

3 Public Library Websites that ROCK my World

For the INCOLSA workshops I'm presenting with Sharon and Dan Wiseman, I've been looking at some of the best user-centered, community-centric, forward thinking PL web sites there are. If you asked me to name a couple today, out of many many excellent sites, I might mention:

Kansas City Public Library

Hennepin County Public Library

And guess what? At NE-ASIST, three speakers: Megan Fox, Jenny Levine and I, all mentioned these libraries in our presentations as on the cutting edge of what PLs can do with web presence without consulting with each other. That says a lot! Take a look...

More on Librarians Learning to Learn

Nice!

http://filipinolibrarian.blogspot.com/2005/05/blograrians-learning-to-learn.html

Librarians Learning to Learn

Check out Will Richardson's post:

http://www.weblogg-ed.com/2005/05/06#a3517

Good stuff and it inspires me. He concludes:

I'm going to bet that most bloggers who stick with it do so because they are fearless learners. We want to know more, push our thinking, exchange ideas. We have found teachers that inspire us and move us with their own intelligence or creativity or sense of possibility, and they teach us daily.

As I do with many of Will's incredible posts, I substitute the word librarian for teacher. Have you found a librarian to learn from? A librarian blogger? A mentor in library school or in your library? Are we still learning to learn? Are our organizations still learning? I think some folks in libraryland may not be...and that scares me.

Is Change a Dirty Word at your Library?

Meredith writes:

My interviews have offered me more insight into this problem. I've been to libraries that were passionate about user-centered innovation and were looking at how every bleeding edge technology could be used to improve services to patrons. These libraries tried to stay just ahead of their patrons and anticipate their needs rather than being reactive to patron demands. I've been to libraries that weren't particularly tech-forward, but that were at least trying to keep up with their patrons. The librarians there may not have known what RSS was, but they were willing to learn if it could help their patrons. Then there were the libraries where change seemed to be a dirty word. For every question I asked (have you thought about wifi?, what do you think about your current web presence?, etc.) there was an excuse for why they haven't kept up. And while I obviously didn't call them on it in a job interview, these excuses sounded pretty hollow to me. Obviously not every library's service population is super tech-savvy, but at some of the libraries, I've felt a palpable disinterest in learning new things and trying new things. It's the we've always done it this way and it's worked fine so far so why rock the boat mentality. Unfortunately, they don't seem to realize that their service population has changed right under their noses, and with that change comes new requirements to meet patrons' needs.

This is absolutely incredible and most telling. While interviewing, Meredith has encountered all sorts of libraries. Read that bit again -- and read Meredith's blog -- and honestly answer this question: what type of library is yours? What type do you want your library to be? Not sure how to answer? Try this on for size:

I worked in a library where the front-end of the ILS was completely outmoded and unusable by patrons, but it was not changed because the back-end was comfortable and familiar to the staff.

In chat lingo that merits an OMG! But stuff like this happens: We've always had this ILS. We always see ID before anyone uses a computer. We can't have IM on our Public PCS -- people might use it! Those kids can't play that game in here. Why does anyone want a book on iPod? Why would a librarian want to BLOG - it takes too much time???

We have always had the pencil sharpener on the right side of the desk. :-)

Okay..I must stop quoting this, but one more:

I feel for librarians who are full of ideas for improving services to patrons but are stymied at every turn by either their colleagues or the powers that be. I think it is probably the biggest problem libraries have in retaining young/new librarians (with pay being a close second). And more than losing passionate, tech-savvy new-ish librarians, these libraries are alienating entire generations of potential library users - people who believe that libraries are dinosaurs of the pre-digital era, because those are the only libraries they've known.

It breaks my heart to get email from a young librarian that is already disillusioned in their job because of narrow views, colleagues refusing to shift, micro-management and what I perceive to be an unwillingness to dive in and take a chance with new services, new ideas and new technologies. There's this beautiful space in the middle - it's not all tech and it's not all tradition and the "way we have always done it." It's collaboration. It's learning from each other. It's what we did during our debrief last week - all levels and years of experience staff meeting to discuss learning and change.

There is much food for thought here and it is right up TTW's alley. More soon... and I can't wait to meet Meredith at ALA. Oh, have you seen her ALA Wiki? ALA should fall at her feet for such innovation.

And give this a read through as well: http://webjunction.lishost.org/?p=5

Knowing When to Log Off

At the Chronicle:

http://chronicle.com/free/v51/i33/33a03401.htm

(Gorman's in there too... do with that what you will...)

Last night, I was almost in bed and I stopped to check a couple of things on the Mac. Suddenly I had 4 IMs even with an away message. I just told folks I was off to bed and we'd talk today. Balance. Breathe. Nice.

Indianpolis/Marion Co. PL & Dr. Callison's Thoughts

Intriguing article in the Indy Star:

http://www.indystar.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050426/NEWS01/504260413/1006/NEWS01

The IMCCPL is changing as the new Main Library is renovated. Changes include more best sellers, more libraries open on Sundays (and the elimination of overtime pay for Sundays) and changes to the way the librarians do their jobs:

Librarians themselves will morph:

• Users will do more self-service.

Wow. This intrigues me. It spotlights what is happening in many libraries across the country: budget constraints, services changing, and "transitions."But what intrigues me more is Dr. Danny Callison's open letter to the author that has been posted on many of the Indiana Librarian's lists. I e-mailed him and he said I could quote him here:

Although IMCPL faces what we understand to be very difficult financial decisions, a dramatic shift away from professionals in key management, subject expertise and service positions can result in deterioration of public services regardless of how efficient support staff may be. The expectations for professional librarians today have increased in these areas:

Daniel Callison, Professor
Executive Associate Dean
Jean Preer, Associate Professor
Marilyn Irwin, Associate Professor
Indiana University
School of Library and Information Science – Indianapolis

Well put! User-centered...that local flavor...and info literacy for all. There's a lot to be considered with the article and Dr. Callison's reply. This is a good dialogue to entertain: where is your library at on the continuum of change? Have you transitioned? Are you transparent? Are you User-centered?

I am a Librarian

http://www.iamalibrarian.com/gallery.html

I Am a Librarian

My name is Cynthia Wilson. I received my Masters Degree in library science from Clarion University and I am a photographer. I have been looking for librarians and library school students in the United States who would be willing to get their picture taken, and answer a short interview for a book that I am working on, titled “I am a Librarian!”

Cynthia took my picture one sweltering day in Orlando last June with my beloved PowerBook. Here's the image, which is one of many on display at the University of West Florida, Fort Walton Beach campus library for National Library Week 2005:http://www.iamalibrarian.com/gal2.html

OH! And here's Cynthia at Libraryman's flickr page and here's her blog!

"The Beauty of Dirt"

Thanks FGL for such a nice bit to ponder this am.

http://feelgoodlibrarian.typepad.com/feelgood_librarian/2005/04/the_beauty_of_d.html

Are you reading this most cool Front Line Blog?

"Defusing the Angry Patron" Presentation

Wow! The Library supporter posts some learning objectives, a reference to a cool Neal Schuman title, AND a PPT of a presentation up called "Defusing the Angry Patron" on the blog today. I have been reading this blog all week and had it in my "to be blogged" folder. There's some good stuff here.

Talk about "ready to go content!" Thanks Library Supporter!

LII Survey - Please Visit

http://freerangelibrarian.com/archives/041805/survey_launchpleas.php

Take a minute or three and visit Karen's survey! She reports: "I have been informed LII would like to get a good response from the bloggier side of librarianship."

Workshop: Reinventing Libraries Session One

Reinventing Libraries: People, Place and Purpose

This was the first of three workshops co-taught with Sharon and Dan Wiseman of Wiseman Consulting. We began the day with some ground rules -- one conversation, suffering is optional, etc -- and then Sharon presented some groundwork on the roots and traditions of libraries, librarians and our collective history. Sharon noted it's amazing how many libraries started as Ladies' Libraries back in the day.

Then we worked through these questions:

What is happening in Libraries (down the street and around the block)

What actions can or should I take

I did my "Trends for 21st Century Libraries" talk, based in part on the OCLC Pattern Recgnotion Report. The group had some great questions. I touched a bit on Technology, but most of that will be in Part 3.

The afternoon was sopent with Dan presenting the "Sacred Cow Round Up" -- and this is where it got very interesting!

SACRED COW ROUND-UP
What are aspects of our profession or institution that we need to look at? What are some really new ways of looking at these aspects of library service? What is absolutely essential?

We placed flip chart pages labeled with the "Sacred Cows," including Board Relations, Publicity, Financing and Technology, all around the room and the folks broke into groups to go around and brainstorm at each one. They would write what they thought on each one. This was absolutely incredible! The air of collaboration in the room was tangible.

The group then identified by voting with a dot or a line the most important bits on each one. Then, the folks were told to stand by the "Sacred Cow" they were most passionate about. Is that cool or what? If you are passionate about something, I think you may be in a better spot to create change. Nice!

We concluded by discussing Best Practices for each of the items that received the most votes and debriefed.

Steve Martin, from INCOLSA, has posted pictures:

Flip Charts: http://www.khswildkats.com/pictures/pictures.asp?id=IMISpring051C

The Workshop in Action: http://www.khswildkats.com/pictures/pictures.asp?id=IMI200504Class

I am really looking forward to getting back together with this forward-thinking group of Indiana Librarians. Have I mentioned here that Indiana Librarians Rock?

Library Directors and Change (It's All Good)

This is an important one...one to ponder...

http://scanblog.blogspot.com/2005/04/does-non-dynamic-library-have-future.html

But it's not just about giving people what they want. Leadership is about creating a vision that you can share with the board, with elected officials and business people, with the library's clients, and most of all, with the library staff. (One of our side discussions during this meeting was about the importance of not blaming the staff for not being willing to change. If the leaders cannot explain the change and provide a reason for it, the problem lies not with the staff, but with their leaders.)

Thus, the importance of staff buy-in for projects, initiatives and change (with technology or otherwise). Pardon me, but adminstrators must be able to make the case for changes and COMMUNICATE them. We discussed this during the "Reinventing Libraries" workshop. One director told me he wanted to be as open and honest with his staff as possible, would ask them to change with him and would stand up for each and everyone of them and "take the blame" if something didn't work out. Nice.

Am I a broken record? In our planning meetings, are we asking the right questions? How does it serve our users? How does it improve services? Are we sending the right message to the staff ij the right ways?

Watch blogs like "It's All Good" -- this is good stuff and cannot be ignored.

This is Important

http://www.librarian.net/stax/1215

"...we all know libraries are changing. The library workforce is changing and the nature of the job is changing. The more librarians know the lingo of the new tech world of fee-for-service models instead of you-bought-it-you-own-it models of yore, the better we will be able to advocate for our patrons to provide the best service for them and the best return for their investment in us. You don’t have to live on IM to understand why IM might be a good alternative to 24/7 ref. You don’t have to check your email 100 times a day to know why email is a good way to increase patron contact options. You don’t have to podcast to understand why podcasts are an interesting and homegrown alternative to increasingly centralized and depersonalized audio content.

In the same way we don’t all have to be graphic novel fans to select them and realize their value for our patrons, we don’t all have to become cyborgs to realize the value of technology to our patrons, and the way technology can change lives, whether people access it in libraries or not. I’ll be presenting a lot of ideas librarians should, in my opinion, be learning about not as a way to say “Hey dork, if you don’t know about this you’re falling behind!” or even “All libraries should have this!” but as a way to say “When the time comes for you to decide if your library needs this, and that time will come, here are the things you’ll need to help you make that decision.” Smart librarians make smart choices and I’d like to help all of you get smart, no foolin’."

Word of the day: resonate. This resonates deeply with me. the first paragraph is all about being "in the know." When I write about those meetings that take place in libraries where people talk tech someone needs to be in the know! That doesn't mean you all have to be geeks BUT I want knowledgable people around my meeting room table. The second paragraphs dances with one of my favorite terms: technolust! "All libraries should have this! Uh, guess what? No, they shouldn't. All libraries should use the tools of technology to meet their mission and fulfill their users needs. Just sayin'.

Lippincott's Net Generation Students & Libraries

http://www.educause.edu/ir/library/pdf/ERM0523.pdf

Lippincott notes:

Libraries could use part of their home page to highcell phones, send simple text-message queries to library catalogs or databases, or check library hours via text messaging. Such services might be particularly valuable for students who live off campus. How will we conceive and design these new services?

Net Gen Info Services include:
Use students on teams that design new services and environments
Integrate services into course management systems
Explore services for mobile devices
Represent services and instruction visually and in multimedia modes
Focus on partnership models
Emphasize how to evaluate information resources
Emphasize information policy issues

Lippincott's piece is aimed at academic settings but guess what? These same insights and service directions fit for public libraries and school media centers too. Is your information policy up to date for new methods of delivery and inquiry, Public Librarian? Does your School Media Center offer collaborative blogging for various research assignments, School Librarian?

Download this one and give it a read.

Super Librarian / State Level Marketing

Take a look:

http://www.njlibraries.org/vid.mpeg

(Thanks Frances!)

Online Reading

Good stuff at LJ Today!

Hey! That's Aaron! I think he has the most famous forehead in library land today!

Scott Brandt is Too Sexy

David King has remixed Scott's rap from the Dead Tech session at CIL2005 and I've already loaded it on my iPod Shuffle!

http://daweed.blogspot.com/2005/03/remixed-information-rap.html

Don't miss this one... maybe Greg can get Scott to do an unplugged version on Open Stacks!

Speaking of Stories

...which was a thread that wound through much of our discussion here at PLA. Don't miss: How Libraries And Librarians Help: A Guide To Identifying User-Centered Outcomes

Amazon link

Libraryman's Goal

I want to be a top notch trainer and provide the sort of support that helps libraries grow, thrive and evolve. I also really want to be the sort of “next generation” librarian that “gets it” and has an important role in “making it happen” all the while improving the role of the library in the communities they serve, despite how large the changes and challenges we face might be.

Thanks Libraryman! You really inspire me!

Roy Tennant Inspires

Here's that quote I alluded to in the TTW Podcast:

“Learn all the time without even thinking about it. We are born to learn, but somewhere along the way many of us pick up the idea that we must be taught in order to learn. We think that if someone doesn't stand up in front of us and talk to us with either a chalkboard or PowerPoint slides, we cannot learn. We must regain our sense of wonder and our desire to learn.”

Thank you, Roy Tennant.

Tech-Savvy Administrators

Oh Librarian in Black! You said it!

How?  Be involved on technology listservs.  Read the "tech" sections of library publications.  Read some good library technology weblogs or online publications.  That's where the good ideas have been coming form as of late.  Administrators don't have to know every little thing about technology, but at least (pleeeeeease) be familiar with it and discuss it with your staff.  If you don't, you are turning a blind eye to a huge area of librarianship.  And your staff will know.  Believe me.

Sarah also states that admin do not have to live and breathe tech but they should be able to carry on a conversation about trends and practices. I have met with a lot of librarians and more than once has someone taken me aside and said "How do I get my (director, boss, supervisor) to get this stuff?" That's the nice way of putting it. The other side, as I pointed out and Sarah agreed, are the librarians who joke about adminstrator X at the water cooler and the fact that he or she "can't even open an attachment in e-mail" It happens, as LIB wrote... "believe me."

The BALANCED Librarian (Updated)

*

scitech library question linked to my 12 Things and 6 Things and makes a point that I didn't in my writing...

When all of "it" comes at us at such a relentless, never-ending pace, we need to find downtime for processing, without feeling guilty that we will miss something, an important post on one of the 225 blogs we monitor daily. The downtime consideration is perhaps the one thing Michael might consider including in his lists. Without downtime, burnout sneaks up and bites us hard. Oh, and of course, some consideration must be given to our lives away from work. Simply put, we need time to stare at the wall, the sun, the tube, the movie screen, the musician or the actor we are watching perform, read our books, and listen to our CDs. Or go for a bike ride or a walk.

I agree wholeheartedly. I should have included "unplugging" -- which I am a champion of -- here and here.

Please library folk... don't live and breathe all the stuff I write about here. UNPLUG. Last fall I was working intensly on SLIS 6700 for UNT, blogging, working, writing and getting ready for two conferences: one in the UK and IL out in Monterey. By late November I was having an MRI because of neck pain... guess what? I had herniated a disc in my neck. NOT FUN. The cause: too much LAPTOP.

Now, I unplug. I take breaks. And I'm doing workouts 4 days a week -- plugging in only to my iPod.

I also think we need to be carerful to pick and choose our interests. I have realized I can't do everything I want to do in libraryland... Choose a handful of your favorite feeds/blogs/news sources... and RELAX!

Here's a post from the OLD tame the Web... it still holds true:

February 9, 2004

Career Development: Seeking Joy & Carpe Diem
Via the Seattle PI:
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/business/159825_gist09.html

Still forming my thoughts on this one but it came out of the blue into my aggregator and I gotta tell you, it really hits home. I've been looking at the big picture for a few months now. Talking with valued colleagues and pondering the
future.

Marilyn Gist writes:

Some describe the past two decades as years of rampant commercialism, materialism, and even greed in our country. The stock market rose in a seemingly endless climb, and we believed technology's promise of economic prosperity and improved quality of life. As consumers, we grabbed for the good life as much as we could. Today, we are seeing an important shift. Many have begun asking, "Is this all there is?" We also suspect technology is a mixed blessing. It increases our options and our efficiency, sometimes fueling economic growth. However, technology also intensifies our pace of life so much that we now lack that irreplaceable resource: time. Without time, our quality of life suffers. We feel more stress. We struggle to balance family and work demands. We feel less connected to community, and we have limited opportunity for leisure activities and personal development. Yes, we have been successful, but many of us feel unsatisfied.

Technology is a mixed blessing! I love what I do...love the gadgets and stuff i get to mess with to help people learn and do their jobs better. Librarians have long discussed "technostress" in their work lives.... "infostress" too. I guess what I'm saying is I'm all about the untethered, techno-library type...I'm one myself....but I hope that person also balances out the rest of their life: love, family, spirit, health, joy.

Gist states: Many of us think achievements at work are significant because we work very hard and stay very busy. Sometimes work achievements are significant, but work is a domain in which we can often confuse "success" and "busy-ness" with significance.

Frances Mayes wrote about being busy in Bella Tuscany .

"I'm so busy..." Mayes comments.

"Maybe living life is so important that we shouldn't be busy. At least not busy with that buzz buzz sound. Ed tells his students to figure out how many weekends they have left, given the good fortune of normal life expectancy. Even to the young it's a shock to see there are only 2800 more. That's it. Done for. Carpe Diem, Si, Si. Grab the Days."

WOW! I'm glad I found this today...

(*Spider Lake Sunrise, August 2004 - while unplugged in Michigan!)

The Up-to-Date Techie Librarian: Six Resources Every Techie Librarian Should Use (Updated)

Last week I wrote about 12 Techie Things for library folk to be aware of -- to be in the know about in planning meetings and staff meeetings. Nothing pains me more but a bunch of blank looks in a meeting room when someone says they learned about some new technology at a recent conference.

Here's an addendum:

Six Resources Every Techie Librarian Should Use:

1. LIS and technology blogs. Oh yeah! Use these directories of LIS Weblogs to locate useful library and librarian’s weblogs that speak to you or focus on interests.

Library Weblogs - Peter Scott’s directory of LIS Weblogs

blogwithoutalibrary.net -LIS Weblog author Amanda Etches-Johnson’s list of LIS Weblogs

The Internet Courses: Weblogs - Dr. Laurel Clyde’s directory related to her work with LIS Weblogs

2. Use an RSS Reader to gather the above and MORE! I get loads of feeds from libraries, higher education sites, Wired amgazine, all the big newsfeeds, some info literacy resources and some fun stuff from Apple, etc. Choose the ones you like and monitor. Check in once or twice a day.

3. Download and read the Pew Reports! The Search Engine report was just released -- it'll be HOT for the next few days. But take a look at all of the reports. I'd even suggest printing a copy and sending it around the circuit at your library or ask each of your librarians to choose one and report on it at staff meeting. Pew is tapping into OUR USERS folks.

Search Engines
The State of Blogging
Instant Messaging
The Internet in Daily Life
The Future of the Internet

Wouldn't you want your staff to be up on these topics?

4. Participate in Community

This might be online -- WebJunction -- or physical, such as various consortia and organizations that might offer learning opportunities for librarians.

5.Professional publications and Databases

At IL 2004, Darlene Fichter and Frank Cervone chatted with me over dinner about "evidence-based decision making" for librarians. That's basing plans, initiatives and new procedures on data -- not "everyone does it this way" or "all of our patyrons expect this..." I like this concept and I think reading the big names in library magazines -- you know what they are -- and searching for cool articles in the literature via online databases is a positive thing to do when planning or making decisions.

Hmmm... searching for articles..it's not just for students anymore!

6. Your Brain: Never stop learning. :-)

KCResearch & Projects Librarians

David blogs about a project at KCPL. Take a look:

http://daweed.blogspot.com/2005/01/kcresearch-cool-project-my-library-is.html

Read the article and check out the talk at CIL 2005... this intrigues me that public libraries are collecting this type of data.

AND: I note that David's library has a couple of project librarians... hey! that's what I am too!

Techie Circulation Job at SJCPL

I've been at SJCPL almost 14 years and I've seen a lot of changes. We just posted the Head of Circulation job and it really strikes me how much this particular job has "shifted."

The Job description is here.

Lok at these excerpted techie duties:

4. Develop and maintain circulation training materials for system-wide use and oversee training procedures of all new Circulation staff.

10. Evaluate technology and electronic resources in the department, making recommendations as needed such as RFID technology to the SJCPL system.

In 1994, stuff like training staff on circulation modules wasn't really included in descriptions -- I'm sure it was done but training was more catch as catch can and "Hey, Trudy, can you spend 20 minutes training the new person before lunch on the catalog?"

Now we write jobs to reflect training duties, "keeping current" duties and define positions as playing a key role in technology planning. How many job descriptions have you all written that seem so DIFFERENT than just a few years ago!

How to Manage Smart People

http://www.uiweb.com/issues/issue28.htm

Having Fun (VIA Weblogg-ed)

This resonates with me this morning while I pack to go to Texas and await a snowstorm:

http://www.weblogg-ed.com/2005/01/05#a3004

Will Richardson writes:

Sometimes I really marvel at how fun this all is. It's fun to:
be almost constantly learning, not only by pushing my limited envelope with the tools but reading and thinking about intruiging ideas from really smart people.
watch the tools evolve in ways that teachers and students can put them to good use without spending hours and hours to master them.
be a part of a really amazing community of educators who are constantly challenging me.
have an audience.
see the ways in which other teachers and students are kicking their own tires with these concepts.
fail, try again, fail, try again, and finally get it right. (Add more failures as necessary.)
blogvangelize.
watch society and the world change from technology in important ways.
have big ideas.
have relevant information come to me.
know some things a whole bunch of people don't know, at least for now.
think about what the future might hold.

Every now and then I feel the need to bow down and thank whatever is out there for my good fortune, especially when world events rightly remind me just how lucky I am.

Change the "teachers" and "educators" to librarians and this little post fits me to a "T". I am so lucky to work in a progressive public library, to study with a neat group of folks at UNT and to get to present and write about libraries. WOW.

Happy Holidays from Tame the Web

I have a list of posts to get out but I'm taking some time! I have finished another semester at UNT and am ready to unplug!

HAPPY HOLIDAYS! to all of my friends and colleagues in library land -- from folks nearby to good friends across tha Atlantic I was glad to meet this year!

How many Directors dress up like Santa and visit every department, huh?

Mine did today!

Karen Sums It Up: Meetings

In an IM, Karen just summed so much up in so few words:

"People fall over and die in meetings and no one notices because they're looking at commas."

Rock On!

Proofreading and Correcting: Librarian Style

Oh Lipstick librarian - your insight slays me this am concerning librarians and their need

http://www.lipsticklibrarian.com/blog/archives/000103.html

Okay; it's one thing to be corrected when giving a paper or a speech, or even in a blog entry, but in a casual e-mail?? That little incident crystallized what exactly irks me about socializing with librarians: our incessant--nay, obsessive need to correct others. No matter what the situation or who's involved, we can never let pass the opportunity to be right, no matter how picayune the mistake or perceived mistake (in this instance it was a grammatical controversy of the actor/actress ilk). No wonder we have an image problem.

I hope in the world of our work a typo or grammatical error would be overlooked. For the over-worked, stressed librarian there may be a typo or sentence that's not perfect. The world will not end because of this. My dear mentor of years gone by used to say "It's the library, we are not doing brain surgery here."

I would classify a lot of this "correcting" behaviour as missing the forest for the trees. One of the most frustrating things I hear from librarians I've worked with is too much time is spent perfecting a few sentences that may be read once and then filed. UGH!

With writing for school - every detail counts..every cite ..every reference. But dashing off an e-mail or a brief paragraph about some work-related something to be consumed internally does not have to be picked over. Materials for the public - yes! Intranet posts - oh yeah. Blog posts on the SJCPL Weblog - Yes indeed. A two paragraph summary of a meeting? Spell check and send it on folks...life is too short!

edited :12/16/04

Presenting with Confidence

Via Library Stuff:

http://www.librarystuff.net/2004/11/presenting-with-confidence-10-tips-for.html

Here's my Ten Things I've Learned Presenting at Library Conferences.

Library Toolbars

Rob turned me on to this:

http://wesley.stanford.edu/library/toolbar/

Cool stuff! Maybe every library will start programming their own toolbar to assist users with searches and locating books!

Oh Skagirlie!

You Rock!

http://www.skagirlie.net/wpblog/

Library Blog in the Netherlands

http://bibliotheek.pivot.cc/index.php

Courtesy of my friend Rob Coers.

Ik kom nog even op de ILI 2004 terug, omdat Michael Stephens, helemaal doet wat wij wij ook zo graag doen en willen doen :-) As usual geeft hij na afloop van een conferentie een "ten things i've learned".

Planning and Lusting

My article on technology planning is in the new Library Journal! Thanks to all who contributed and offered quotes/insight!

http://www.libraryjournal.com/article/CA474999

Library Managers...

Rachel Singer Gordon has put up an exerpt of her new book The Accidental Library Manager at LISJobs and it is GREAT reading! Rachel's take on all things library always impresses me. I was lucky enough to chat with her over dinner at ALA and we got to cover loads of stuff... including managing and staff morale.

http://www.lisjobs.com/newsletter/archives/nov04rsgordon.htm

Run..don't walk to this one.

Getting Started with Blogs

Mary Jo, one of the members of our PhD cohort, asked me for some LIS news sites and blogs that she might look at to get started as an offshoot of my presentation in class this weekend. What I thought I would do is post it here...because it might be helpful to other folks as well.

First up: don't miss LISNews as the perfect starter news clearinghouse.

Then, take a look at:

http://www.libdex.com/weblogs.html

http://www.hi.is/~anne/weblogs.html (This one is rocking my world right now...)

http://dmoz.org/Reference/Libraries/Library_and_Information_Science/Weblogs/

There's an LIS blog for every interest!

These, from my link list, are faves:

Library Blogs
Karen Schneider's Free Range Librarian
The Creative Librarian
Daniel Bazac's Blog
Days and Nights of the Lipstick Librarian
InfoMan
The Librarian in Black
LibraryMan
Library Stuff Blog
Open Stacks
The Shifted Librarian
TechnoBiblio
Walking Paper

Take a look! Dive in!

Ten Guidelines for Developing Your Internal Blog

Steven posts about internal blogs and I totally am in on this one.

We have been using a blog like structure internally at SJCPL for a while now.

It includes nine major categories programmed by the NRDT Web Developer and Computer Specialist based on the Lasso program from Blue World software (http://www.blueworld.com/). All entries for those categories – Admin News, Personnel News, Staff news, etc – build on each other, posting in reverse chronological order just as most blogs do. Each category is assigned to certain staff via IP addresses recognized by the database system.

Secondary “blogs” are in place for each library agency to communicate internally as well as static pages devoted to content every library staff intranet should include: Personnel info, Policies and Manuals, Statistics, and a section devoted to “Working @ SJCPL.”

Usability is also a concern. The interface was developed to echo sites that were favored amongst the team (such as various blogs and news sites) and then tested with small focus groups of staff. Some groups simply were brought into the library training room and shown the site and asked to comment. Others were shown the site and asked a series of questions, such as “Locate the Request for Meeting Attendance” form, and timed while they located the information.

From the experience, here are Ten Guidelines for Developing Your Internal Blog for any type of library that wishes to create an internal communication tool.

Involve Appropriate Staff: Make sure your development team at least consults with your library PR person, the administration and various stakeholders.

Utilize Software that’s Free and Easy: Beyond programming a site internally with database apps, ponder using a program such as Movable Type that can be loaded on an internal server and used to create multiple blogs. Check out Aaron Schmidt’s work using blog software on the incredible Thomas Ford Public Library Web site at http://www.fordlibrary.org/.

Test for Usability and Staff Buy In: Try small focus groups of librarians, support staff, shelvers – anyone who uses your Intranet. They will tell you how you are doing with simple usability tests and they will be the ones to promote buy in. If staff feel involved, they’ll be more excited about the tool. Staff in an online poll conducted over two weeks chose the name of the SJCPL Intranet. The winner was the SJCPL Leaf-let, a meditation on our Web site logo.

Technical Enhancements Count: The SJCPL Leaflet – features a date and time java script on the top right corner and a small icon representing the current weather. A section called Xtras takes staff to a series of useful and fun links such as current South bend weather, a daily recipe and gas prices for Northern Indiana!

Utilize categories and Archives Effectively: Go beyond just using “Library News” and break categories out as mentioned above. Use the archiving feature of your software as well to generate archives of categories. One click might take staff to every post to the “Library Board News” category.

Breadcrumb your Navigation: make it easy for staff to find their way back out of whatever pages they surf to. Utilize the user-friendly text/link syntax found on many sites: Home ? Personnel ? Dress Code Guidelines.

PDFs and Word Documents Rule: Many times, you’ll want to share documents or downloadable forms. PDFs are great for official memos. Plain Word docs are great for forms that might be changed/edited or for meeting minutes. Make them downloadable from your pages and be sure to mark them as such.

Collaborate! One of the most dynamic parts of our Intranet is a “Selection Forum” where staff can request and recommend all materials to our head of selection and he can reply back. Using a commenting feature available in many blogs, it’s truly an online collaboration tool!

Train Staff: Do not forget this important factor. Offer classes that introduce your new Intranet site. Give staff a scavenger hunt and see how they do. Give them reasons to come back and check the news!

Promote and Celebrate:The other side of training. Staff won’t visit if they don’t know it’s there. Make it part of your library’s culture. Ponder a weekly “State of the Library Address” from administration. Highlight staff achievements. Share photos in galleries of library events!

WebJunction Article about Techie Library Blogs

Thanks WebJunction and Bertha Gutsche

http://webjunction.org/do/DisplayContent?id=7598

here's the Ten Things... post mentioned....

PS: I noticed too that this little piece was no way all inclusive... Take a look at my links for more library techblogs! Jenny for sure! And my buddy Aaron!

Is your library emotionally healthy?

Read this excellent article...and look deep within yourself and your library's culture...

http://liscareer.com/cunningham_eiq.htm

This isn't really a tech article but many of the points could be applied to how your library handles technology -- or doesn't handle it!

Excerpt: These are some great questions to ask in an interview:

Describe the morale in the library.  How does the staff socialize together?

What are some of the frustrations of the professional and paraprofessional staff?      

How is information communicated in the library?

How are executive decisions made and communicated?

How do departments communicate in the library?  Are there mechanisms set up for communication across divisions and departments?

Marketing the Librarian

Steven Cohen writes at LISCareer.com:

http://www.liscareer.com/cohen_marketing.htm

TTW gets a mention as do some great tips for marketing ourselves and the profession. Never miss a chance to tell someone what you do as a librarian!

Online Social Networks

Aaron and I will also be participating in the Online Social Networks Conference -- discussing blogs in libraries. Note that Howard Rheingold will be there. I've been reading his book on virtual communities for my big UNT class this semester!

From the site:

SN2004 will be a summit meeting where you will have a chance to hear from and interact with many of the pioneers in the field of online social networks as well as some of the current trendsetters now exploring the latest technologies and applications.

In 2001, the first Online Social Networks conference explored the emerging field of online social networks. Since then, there has been an explosion into the mainstream of online social networks. OSN2004 will explore three main areas:
Organizational OSNs
Personal OSNs
and Political OSNs.

Join Howard Rheingold, Lisa Kimball, Joi Ito, and a host of online social network experts to:

Exchange ideas with experienced pioneers and leading thinkers in OSN development
Gain insights in making better use of social capital, successful collaboration online, and efficient creation and management of knowledge capital
See where social software stands today and where it's going in the future
Make contact with leading solution providers

Writing with Aaron / Dinner

Yesterday, Aaron of walkingpaper fame and his wife Kate drove over from Illinois. During the day, we worked on our blog article. We write well together and I'm pleased with our results.

We had dinner as well last night: Aaron, Kate, Steve, and I ...outside, with my two dogs and their sweet little Pug Mao cavorting about the yard.

http://www.tametheweb.com/galleries/AaronKateMao/

Nice.

All the Cool Kids Have One!

That's what I said to the T-Mobile rep on the phone yesterday... I'm taking the plunge... I've read there should be no problem with the treo and my Mac...we shall see...

Information Cascade

Steven mentions the information cacscade. I wrote about it here... I do believe there are cascades in the world of LIS!

I've been thinking a lot these days about technology planning -- for last week's retreat at SJCPL, for articles, etc. I do see how an info cacscade might affect a library as it plans new technology. Cool stuff to ponder...

An Open Letter to ALA

Dear ALA:

The time has come. I'm tired of waiting. I'm tired of complaining to the dear PLA employee on the trolley on I-Drive in Orlando. (while sweating profusely from the heat) This was my tipping point:

My friend CJ over at technobiblio just wrote this in his blog about not finding the PLA Program submission info very easily: "This is a perfect example of why PLA (and all other ALA's divisions - doesn't anyone want to be first?) need a blog..."

We're talking communication..spreading the word. Please take a look at how blog software can disseminate information quickly and easily at the following libraries:

The SJCPL Lifeline: My own library's blog, complete with RSS. People read it...this is how they get their library news. I've heard from them!

Thomas Ford Memorial Library: A site made of blogs!

AND Northwestern Library too!

I could never forget LISNews -- where I get my pertinent daily fix of library and info science news...not at the ALA site..not at the PLA site... but at a grassroots, homegrown blog created by a bunch of dedicated library folk.

Finally, look at all of the blog sites collected at http://www.blogwithoutalibrary.net/links.html and tell me what you think... Fad? Flash in the Cyber Pan? I don't think so.

Tell me, ALA, will you ever join the blogging masses of library folk?

Michael

Roy Tenant's Thoughts Via Library Web Chic and the Librarian in Black

Read this now:

http://librarianinblack.typepad.com/librarianinblack/2004/08/roy_tennants_bo.html

This too: http://www.librarywebchic.net/2004/08/21.html#a81

Great posts and I agree wholeheartedly!!!