It's like spelling... bad spellers just don't know how to fix the problem.
useful
| useless less useful
|
- comparison shop incl. online vendors
- implementation w/ short term technology plan
- "I'll look it up" [useful in so many ways]
- "Let's try it"
- tech lion tamer
|
- buy what's at the local retailer
- reactive technology. change happens when things break. five year plans
- "I don't know" [dead end]
- "let's form a committee"
- tech victim
|
There will be new things to understand and new ways to understand them. The more you know, the better you help others.
Everyone in the library can help.
First, there is
Web 2.0. The public is getting used to having greater degrees of interaction with their institutions via technology. The technology allows libraries to do more outreach to more people without much more in the way of resources.
One library director explains
"L2 is, to me, a service philosophy built upon three things; a willingness to change and try new things; a willingness to constantly re-evaluate our service offerings; and finally, a willingness to look outside our own world for solutions, be they technology-driven or not " [example from my trip... rental car, plane tickets, "ask a question" this is NOT the cheeseburger in the library problem but more the "why don't we use what we have?" question]
- patron notification via email: overdues, holds, events
- interactive web content: blogs, wikis, book reviews
- right tool for the right job [use the brick and mortar building for the brick and mortar programs and services, know when to say goodbye]
- using the technology to do the same jobs better, faster and with more familiarity.
Bad News: "new" can mean buzzy, hypey, flakey and hazy, among other things
[there will be more trial and error, it's sounds trendy and buzzword-y, old dogs, new tricks, right now it's still a bunch of white guy pundits talking about it]
- consider a class for patrons?
- for staff and patrons, consider a domain for email addresses?
- aliases for staff/friends/board/others
- for reference, low cost "ask a librarian"
- note: there are many web-based alternatives to Yahoo/Hotmail that are free and better
Bad News: Everyone's email is different. Filtering sometimes blocks what you're trying to explain. You're teaching culture in addition to teaching technique, you risk opening information-pooor patrons up to a world of hurt
gmail - google's mail solution in beta, lots of storage, privacy issues?
ftml - no ads for people who have one account
guide for more options |
email basics |
what my email class looked like
We use the phone for everything interoffice. The immediacy of the phone is tough at the reference desk and encourages the chained-to-desk approach. Instant Messaging allows quick targeted chat without disrupting other communication lines. Popular with teens.
![[transcript of an im conversation]](im.jpg)
- use it as a reference channel for patrons
- make a quick query of the circ staff while you're helping a patron anecdote from senate
- stay in touch with colleagues at other libraries, ask them questions
- maintain a "buddy list" of people you contact frequently, know immediately if they're online
Bad news: filters! bad associations with "chat rooms," slow typists are even further behind
"remember, we also debated telephone reference" article in LJ
Walking Paper & Tame the Web blogs about IM in libraries
clients: AOL, MSN, Yahoo, Jabber*, iChat, Gaim*, Trillian, Fire, more... [* open source]
IM 101 - the basics
Blogs
- These regular doses of links, commentary and discussion are becoming a popular and easy way of sharing information.
- tools are often free or cheap
- templating makes design consistency easy
- very little tech savviness needed for basic set-up
- easy solution to the "how do you get them coming back?" problem
Wikis - Online tools for collaborative whatever, editable by anyone
- simple to install and modify
- easy learning curve, also becoming popular
Bad news: blog & wiki backlash and controversy, lack of maintenance can really show
[it's like how for people like me, comptuers are video games and thus not 'real work']
a few blog search engines: daypop, technorati, feedster
wikipedia, sacred texts wiki, Koha wiki
definitions of "blog" - from Google
Libraries with blogs, law libraries with blogs & LISNews
Weblogs and Public Libraries article
Books take many forms. We're comfy with books on tape/CD. What about books in
- MP3 format?
- Streaming audio?
- Ebooks in various formats?
Bad News: Using books in these formats involves not just knowing about technology but also knowing about
licensing. Learn the term
DRM, vendor entrenchment, librarian as tech support
project gutenberg has free ebooks &
the wikibooks project is making more
teleread tracks ebook developments
listen ohio & listen illinois are offering plug and play audio book system
trendy: ipods with ebooks. read about it in Wired, macobserver
The good news and the bad news about technology: it is what you make out of it. Some things
you can do even with very low-end tech skills...
- CD listening station with one of your offline computers
- Use your voice mail system to have a pre-recorded list of new books
- Have a staff intranet as part of your web site with links to frequently-used staff pages.
- Accessibility in web design and use of technology generally.
- Create a nurturing environment where everyone can learn together
For what it's worth, I'm not totally sold on
Jessamyn West is a librarian, community technology mentor, and the editor of the weblog
librarian.net. She's an elected representative to ALA Council where she tries hard to advocate for sensible technology use at all types of libraries.
IM her at
iamthebestartist.
Thanks to squidfingers for the background patterns. All other images were grabbed hither and yon, if one belongs to you and you object to its use, let me know.
This presentation was created in HTML using CSS. There was no PowerPoint involved in this presentation except as a nagging bad example. The layout and stylesheet are available to borrow via a share and share alike creative commons license. See source code for details.
slides | printable
![[rss and xml icons]](rssxml.png)
The reference desk is one of the few places at the library that isn't near the books. PDAs + wireless = reference from anywhere in the library.
An updated way to network. Where we once just had email discussion lists, now we can have "tribes", groups, forums and interest groups. Trusted friends-of-friends and colleagues-of-colleagues can share information in an easier fashion than by waiting to meet up at conferences.