Queequeg's Content Saloon

Moving day: "I try all things, I achieve what I can"

2006-10-21T10:26:00.000-07:00

I’ve used that M-D quote so many times (grad school applications, internal rationalizations, etc…), and it’s perfect for every occation.

And today, the occation is that I’ve moved my blog to my own domain at http://www.queequegs.net via HostMonster and WordPress.

I’ll have to play with the look and feel later, because now I have to pack for Monterey and Internet Librarian ‘06.

Grantwriting 101 handouts and examples

2006-10-19T06:22:00.000-07:00

Join us in the OPAL auditorium tomorrow, Friday, Oct. 20 at 10 a.m. (CST) for Grantwriting 101: Developing Winning Proposals.

Associated handouts and examples: Handout (pdf)

Example of an RFP (request for proposals) (pdf) and a full proposal in response (pdf-includes letters of support, and more)
Example of IMLS National Award 2005 proposal (pdf) (in response to IMLS Award nomination guidelines)
Example of a detailed budget (pdf)
Example of a budget summary (pdf)
Example of a budget justification (pdf)
Example of a proposal datasheet (doc)
Example of a project schedule 1 (xls)
Example of a project schedule 2 (xls)

Happy Mid-October!

2006-10-15T16:34:00.000-07:00

I love October...it's always exhilarating, and so far it has been an exciting month.

We have started work on KC Science, INC a new grant-funded science appreciation project, the contract has been signed on our new, took-almost-three-years-for-the-stars-to-align CMS, we had our library foundation's Rare Conversations--a gala fundraising event featuring local author salons, and I got to meet a few authors new to me as well as those I've admired for some time, I got a head start on my holiday shopping, I've been invited to be at a CNN town hall meeting with Lou Dobbs, we're launching our new local history Web site with a big shindig with local dignitaries on Oct. 19, I'm hosting/presenting our final librarian's continuing ed OPAL series this Friday with a program on Grantwriting (my own monomania), I'll be at Monterey for Internet Librarian on the 22nd, and on top of it all I turn 35. Go Libras!

But you know, I'm not the only one turning 35 in 2006. Below is a list of organizations, institutions, and creations also celebrating their 35th revolution around the sun (I'm stealing this line from my parents...Hi Mom & Dad! Love you!)

Greenpeace
Doctors Without Borders
The Eagles
Project Gutenberg
Starbucks
IBM's 8-inch floppy disk, which it called a memory disk
Border's Books & Music (Ann Arbor, MI)
Erykah Badu, Mary J. Blige, and Missy Elliott (hey, kids born in '71 have it goin' on, baby)
Southwest Airlines
United Arab Emirates
NASDAQ the world's first electronic stock market
UNO (the card game)
The baby jayhawk, who is also female, was hatched (just like me) in Oct. '71

Rock Chalk, Baby 'Hawks!

This Friday: Grantwriting 101...or...shameless self promotion

2006-10-14T10:22:00.000-07:00

Friday, Oct. 20 is the final program in our librarian's continuing ed series held in OPAL...oh, and I'm the presenter.

Last January, Lori Bell asked if I would share my library's experience applying for the National IMLS Award, and I told her I was happy to share our full application; we got to talking, and she suggested that we do an OPAL program on grantwriting. I used to present on grantwriting all the time, so doing an OPAL program was a natural fit, but that got me thinking about all the terrific presentations my colleagues have given at conferences, and how these could all be repurposed into OPAL programs to get more libraries using OPAL and taking advantage of free online programs. Before I knew it, we had a whole series of monthly programs lined up throughout 2006.

Before I took my current job as Web content manager and returned to the world of libraries, I was a program director in university research administration. Part of my job was writing and reviewing grant proposals, and teaching faculty members to write successful proposals. Since my work now is mostly project based, we usually need grants to get our more ambitious projects off the ground. In the last three years, we've been awarded multiple grants and awards from federal, regional, and local funding agencies. I love grant writing. Now, actually running the projects after the fact is another story, but you know, we all have our strengths. ;)

Hope to see you all online on Friday...

Grant Writing 101: Developing Winning Proposals
Friday, Oct. 20 at 10 a.m. CST

Have a terrific project, but need money to implement it? Learn how to find funding opportunities, review proposal guidelines, develop budgets, avoid common pitfalls, and develop successful proposals.

This OPAL event will be held in the Auditorium.

Mindless posting in the meantime...

2006-10-04T20:29:00.000-07:00

Ok, I got over not being nearly as evil as everyone else (damnit), and I've accepted it. I've moved on. Breathe.

But now I'm reminded that I'm just a weird romantic. How the hell did I ever get into management? Stupid surveys. I'm afraid this is probably oddly accurate...but I'll totally deny it in the morning.

Take the quiz at dicepool.com

Step up or stand down

2006-10-04T18:38:00.000-07:00

This month is my birthday. I turn 35*...and if I actually felt as if I was any older than 26, I would probably be bothered by that--so, so much left to do--anyway, I'm lucky to have a terrific case of arrested development.

Plus, I'm about to go to my third Internet Librarian conference, and this seems a good time to wonder about the lifeline of this now-almost-2-year-old-often-neglected-blog. Do I give it up for good, or do I commit, get my own domain, and install the software like a good self-respecting webbie librarian would?

Stay tuned...

*a post of all the other oh-so well-respected institutions, organizations, and entities that also turn 35 this year is coming your way ;)

Want to change or lead it? Focus, energy and insight

2006-09-07T05:56:00.000-07:00

At MPOW, our director is retiring, and in a few months we'll be interviewing candidates; we've hired lots of new whip-smart, motivated managers in the last few months; we're embarking on a new leadership initiative to encourage all staff to have more input into decisions and to make us a more nimble organization; oh, and we're rebuilding our entire suite of Web sites to create an online enviroment where our community can learn, explore, enjoy, create, and connect.

So, lots of change is afoot, and I thought this was an interesting article, The Neuroscience of Leadership.

Quick conclusions:

"Change is pain. Organizational change is unexpectedly difficult because it provokes sensations of physiological discomfort.

Behaviorism doesn’t work. Change efforts based on incentive and threat (the carrot and the stick) rarely succeed in the long run.

Humanism is overrated. In practice, the conventional empathic approach of connection and persuasion doesn’t sufficiently engage people.

Focus is power. The act of paying attention creates chemical and physical changes in the brain.

Expectation shapes reality. People’s preconceptions have a significant impact on what they perceive.

Attention density shapes identity. Repeated, purposeful, and focused attention can lead to long-lasting personal evolution."

Going to Monterey in October? Or...webbies can read, too

2006-08-19T13:07:00.000-07:00

IL2006 is but a short two-months away. To get in the mood, we're reading Cannery Row and having an online discussion at our leisure at: http://cannery-row.blogspot.com.

Drop me an e-mail if you want to join the Monterey-inspired reading and blogging frenzy.

Moby-Dick on NPR's Studio 360

2006-08-17T18:09:00.000-07:00

Listen now! They are re-broadcasting NPR's Studio 360 program on Moby-Dick. It's fantastic...I have goosebumps now.

It's about how M-D inspires artists of all kinds...jazz musicians, sculptures, painters, playwrites, and more...check out the Web site. It's chalked-full of complexity, yumminess, and content.

Top-Notch Tech Training: This Friday in OPAL

2006-08-15T14:27:00.000-07:00

Join Brenda Hough, Technology Coordinator at the Northeast Kansas Library System and Michael Porter (aka Library Man), Training and Support Coordinator at OCLC Western, this Friday, Aug. 18 @ 10 a.m. CST for an online workshop, Delivering Top-Notch Technology Training for Your Patrons.

More libraries are offering technology training for staff and patrons. Learn how to use interactive techniques to address varying skill levels, adapt to multiple learning styles, and deliver technology with greater impact.

Brenda & Michael's program will be held in the OPAL Auditorium. (Click on the title or the room name to enter the OPAL room.)

**insert promo blurb here**
The Librarian's Continuing Education Seminar Series programs are held the 3rd Friday of the month at 10 a.m. A full listing of programs and speakers is available at: http://www.opal-online.org/progslis.htm. National OPAL Programs are free and open to all. Visit the Web site at www.opal-online.org to learn how to join OPAL and start presenting your own programs for patrons or staff online.
**/promo blurb**

A comment about “The Culture of No”

2006-08-11T15:18:00.000-07:00

Many of my colleagues were at NEKLS Tech Day, and they were probably all snickering each time Michael Stephens talked about how important it is to battle the so-called culture of no, because lately, I’ve totally been on the “no” train at work. I've had "no" plastered on my laptop, my office door, etc...Because I've had to launch a campaign to limit our new projects until we entirely rebuild out Web world from the ground up. There is a time to have priorities, and this is it.

So when we talk about the culture of “no”—people who are always saying no to service and ideas that would be great for patrons—we’re not talking about people like you. Yes, you.

If you’re reading this right now, let me tell you: you’re probably not a member of the culture of “no”—you probably have so many good ideas your head’s about to explode. You read all the blogs, your finger’s on the pulse of what’s happening in the library world as well as the Web 2.0 world as a whole. Your problem probably isn’t saying “no,” it’s saying “yes” too often.

And as we all know, when you say yes to everything, you can’t implement everything you want to do. And then, how well are you really serving your patrons? So, make priorities. It’s not about saying no to new projects. It’s saying yes to the projects you’ve committed to and know will best benefit your patrons. So, make decisions and set priorities about what is most important to your patrons. And say, “no” to other projects until you’re ready to move on.

And don’t you dare feel guilty about it.

NEKLS Tech Day Redux

2006-08-11T14:58:00.000-07:00

Once again, NEKLS Tech Day was a great success thanks to Brenda, Liz, and the whole NEKLS crew.

Keynote: Michael Stephens
Library 2.0: People, Planning & Participation
Moving to a Library 2.0 World
http://www.tametheweb.com/

Great points from Michael’s presentation:
Involve your staff in enhancing tech and engaging patrons--social tech isn't just for the techies

Two of the most important Web 2.0 elements:
**Harnessing collective intelligence ** Librarians are smart, patrons are smart: pull all that together
**Rich user experiences** It’s about bringing all that collective intelligence together and creating content together—remember that Web 2.0 is participatory, and it’s fun…you create fun worlds to play and customize and connect

Library 2.0 isn’t just about tech
It’s also about policies and ensuring that library policies don’t create barriers to access, tech, and interaction.
It’s also about places and ensuring that they are places of pleasure not zones of mediocrity.

Make it ok to fail (think like a Gamer—it’s a trial and error world…accept risks; learn more…this is one of the hardest things for me to do…I want to tell others it’s ok to fail, but I can feel my back clinching up just typing this.)

Engage in radical trust.

My post-tech day to-do list
Usually, when I’m sitting in presentations, all the ideas or concepts—particularly those I’ve heard about in the past---just remind me of everything I want to get done…and projects that have moved to the back burner that I need to stir up a bit. Here’s my list that bubbled up as I was listening to Michael and talking to colleagues at tech day:

a. Tag my photos up on flickr as “librarian”

b. We have a myspace page, but we need to start using it better. Who in YA could help with this?

c. Read: The Wisdom of Crowds: the group is smarter than any one

d. Buy-in is important, and one of the best ways to get buy-in is to get your administrators involved with training, with creating a culture of innovation that recognizes failure is just part of the learning process. How do we do this?

e. Talk to Tom Peters about collaborating on more promo and how-to aids for OPAL.

f. Write up a plan with Whitney and Tricia on how to bring JoCoLibrary to the next generation and give staff who want to engage options for engaging online.

g. Put JoCoLibrary up on 43 places (are we there already?) This might be a good way to encourage branch staff to jump in and play.

h. Institute ROI studies before and after a pilot (product costs, staff costs, training costs, implementation, maintenance, etc.)

i. Add to the potential leadership projects: Have a happy, friendly, experience-based sign task force—all signs—the Web page errors, the “blocked” links on filter page—look at every instance in which we’re communicating with patrons, and ensure our messages are friendly, open, and encourage access.

j. Find out what happened to our SMS/text messaging project. We were working with a student from MIT who had developed a nifty program. Where’s that at?

k. Send a note to staff who attended tech day and ask how the Web Content Team can help to implement some of the omg-we-totally-have-to-do-that ideas that bubbled up for them at tech day.

For more on NEKLS Tech Day check out..
Post from David King (who also sat on the Tech Day Panel)
NEKLS Tech Weblog post from Liz

All is ephemeral...Everything exists in context...ontology is overrated...but, you know, we must do something

2006-08-06T06:11:00.000-07:00

Ob 1. We're rebuilding our Web world at MPOW, which includes not just the library's Web site, but a collection of community-based, topic-specific sites as well, oh, and we're completely cleaning house and installing an entirely new content management system, new calendaring system, new search appliance, etc...so everything is on the table, and this means we've been thinking about the nature of search and meaning. (Have I mentioned that I have the coolest job in the world?)

Ob. 2. This morning as I've been upgrading my OS and running clean-up utilities on my rather neglected home computer, I've been catching up on my reading. On 5/18/2005 I printed off Clay Shirky's article, Ontology is Overrated: Categories, Links, and Tags. Since then, it's been sitting in my to-read pile, and yes, I have cleaned my desk since 2005, but this article has survived all attempts at de-cluttering, because I knew I wanted to read it, and I didn't want to read it on the screen. And now, I think that the grand forces of the universe have been wise to distract me from it, saving it for the perfect moment when I would need it and be in the right frame of mind to internalize it and act on the implications.

Ob. 3. In our house, gender roles aren't defined by x works inside the home/y works outside, or by other traditional designtations, but rather by Erica works with the computer, Larry works with the home entertainment system. And this morning, as I've been running OS utilities and squealing with delight at sentences like, "One of the biggest problems with categorizing things in advance is that it forces the categorizers to take on two jobs that have historically been quite hard: mind reading, and fortune telling," Larry has been playing with our digital surround sound system. After testing it, he played various DVDs to appreciate the difference in audio experiences, and he just played Magnificent Seven. And he played this scene just for me:

Townspeople milling about and trying to figure out how to solve a particularly difficult issue: in this case, how to stop Calvera (the bad guy) from taking all their food. They propose various options. A, B, C...X, Y, Z...Finally, exasperated by the options...
Townsperson 1: "We must do something."
Townsperson 2: "But what?"
Townsperson 1: "I don't know."
Townsperson 3: "We'll ask the old man. He'll know."

Old man: "Fight."

All is related. The fight for me is more of an internal struggle. Admit that there is no perfect system of classification. The nature of the search isn't dependent on a perfect system of pre-defined metadata. Now, how to create something that is "of value in aggregate" but "without an ontological goal" of a "perfect view of the world."

Everything is ephemeral.
Everything is contextual.
Beta 4-ever.

"There is no quality in this world that is not what it is merely by contrast. Nothing exists in itself." ~ Melville

Happy Birthday, Herman!

2006-08-01T18:11:00.000-07:00

In honor of Herman Melville's birthday today, August 1, I'm posting one of my favorite descriptions of Queequeg and his tattoos... Just another reason why my blog is so named...

Queequeg's "tattooing had been the work of a departed prophet and seer of his island, who, by those hieroglyphic marks, had written out on his body a complete theory of the heavens and the earth, and a mystical treatise on the art of attaining truth; so that Queequeg in his own proper person was a riddle to unfold; a wondrous work in one volume; but whose mysteries not even himself could read, though his own live heart beat against them; and these mysteries were therefore destined in the end to moulder away with the living parchment whereon they were inscribed, and so be unsolved to the last."

Here's to all the sweet mysteries of the world which will forever remain unpainted and unsolved to the last...

Happy Birthday, HM.

The Elements of (Online) Style and Passion

2006-07-23T07:24:00.000-07:00

Christina Wodtke had a nice article earlier this month on Boxes and Arrows, "Putting the White Back in Strunk and White."

Find anyone who has taught Composition over the last 40+ years, and I guarantee 99% can recite direct quotes from S&W. And it's not because Comp teachers are at their core pedantic rule-junkies. Ok, some are, but regardless of writing and teaching philosophies, we all find "rich deposits of gold" in Strunk's original and White's augmented Elements of Style. Who among us doesn't have "Omit needless words" or "Write with nouns and verbs" burned into her brain? Who doesn't feel an odd mix of comfort, determination, and joy when reading statements such as these:

"Vigorous writing is concise. A sentence should contain no unnecessary words, a paragraph no unnecessary sentences, for the same reason that a drawing should have no unnecessary lines and a machine no unnecessary parts."

"The adjective hasn't been built that can pull a weak or inaccurate noun out of a tight place."

"Rather, very, little, pretty--these are the leeches that infest the pond of the prose, sucking the blood of words."

I don't agree with everything Strunk and White declare, and I always pointed out inconsistencies to my students to remind them that even those who write rulebooks sometimes play fast and loose with the so-called rules. But it is one of only two books I keep more than 3 copies of, and which I keep at hand at all times. (The other is a certain novel about a whale.)

What I like about Wodtke's article isn't just the reminder to use Elements of Style to help guide Web design, I.A., and content (a given), but to view it as a guide to balancing, considering, and sometimes incorporating and sometimes discounting the passionate declarations of our peers regarding what is "right" and, more often, "wrong."

Wodtke writes, "As we read vigorous statements such as 'Flash is bad' or 'Don’t do testing; just ship and watch,' it’s easy to have a knee-jerk reaction. But stepping back from the initial emotional slap, we can see more than a petite dictator laying down the law. We can see an impassioned craftsman trying to share both his love of the trade and impart some of his hard earned learnings. Like White, can we begin to love and listen to all the Strunks out there, without becoming angry but instead synthesizing their knowledge with own perspective?...The real secret of E.B. White is listening, incorporating, translating, and finally accepting pundits into our practice. We aren't at war at all. We all want the same thing. We all want more great work in the world."

Findability discussion with Peter Morville

2006-07-22T17:33:00.000-07:00

Ah! I'm sorry I missed Peter Morville's online discussion this last Wednesday, but the transcript is up. He provides some great advice and good suggestions for keeping up in the IA world.

Developing Community Programming

2006-07-21T07:43:00.000-07:00

Here are the slide handouts for Jennifer's presentation (it's a pdf).

Ready to turn the tide?

2006-07-05T19:58:00.000-07:00

Oooh...this gave me goosebumps--Yesterday (July 4) I posted thoughts about my recent vacation and wondered when the Web or Internet would turn the tide of politics the same way television did for Kennedy... that same day (yesterday) Jimmy (Jimbo) Wales (aka founder of Wikipedia) was posting this...

"For more than 50 years now, we have been living in the era of television politics. In the 1950s television first began to have a major impact on politics, and the results were overwhelming.
Broadcast media brought us broadcast politics. And let's be simple and bluntly honest about it, left or right, conservative or liberal, broadcast politics are dumb, dumb, dumb....

Blog and wiki authors are now inventing a new era of media, and it is my belief that this new media is going to invent a new era of politics. If broadcast media brought us broadcast politics, then participatory media will bring us participatory politics....

I am launching today a new Wikia website aimed at being a central meeting ground for people on all sides of the political spectrum who think that it is time for politics to become more participatory, and more intelligent."

Wanna play?
http://campaigns.wikia.com/wiki/Mission_Statement

Vacation inspirations from the content saloon

2006-07-04T07:45:00.000-07:00

The best thing about vacation is the pleasure of thinking and getting beyond my normal activities of un-ending meetings, hashing out details to make something happen, and the petty politics of organizations. It's all about perspective. And getting some.

As I traveled to the Adams birthplaces/homes, to New Bedford, to the JFK library, to the North End of Boston, and all along the coast, I was constantly reminded of good things and all the reasons why we do what we do .

Public service is a good thing, and public service in pursuit of public knowledge is necessary for our democracy
"If we do not lay out ourselves in the service of mankind whom should we serve?"
~John Adams

"Liberty cannot be preserved without a general knowledge among the people." ~John Adams

Calm discussions of philosophies don't win revolutions. Act.
"We have too many high-sounding words, and too few actions that correspond with them." ~Abigail Adams

"I begin to think, that a calm is not desirable in any situation in life....Man was made for action and for bustle too, I believe." ~Abigail Adams

Literature and people who love literature changes lives
A number of people have been a bit amazed that I went all the way to New Bedford and planned an entire vacation around my love of Moby-Dick. (And even more are amazed that my husband thought all this was a good idea--there are reasons, of course, why we are married ;)

It seemed completely normal to me that I would go to New Bedford. Stroll the streets Melville and his fictional characters strolled. Sit in the same pew, and think about our relationship with the natural and supernatural worlds, about the ephemeral nature of everything, about context, the terrible sacrifices we have made for American industry, and the importance of not taking anything (particularly yourself) too seriously. I'm enthralled and appalled by the beauty, goriness, greed, and glory of it all. And all of this is because of a book--and a person who loved the book enough to inspire others to love it too. Oh, and the same person told me to go to library school. So, of course, I did. Literature, and people who love it can change and shape someone's life forever.

Each new media is a new opportunity to change the political landscape
At the JFK museum, much attention was paid to the Nixon/Kennedy debates and the roll television played in the campaign. Kennedy himself said, "It was television more than anything else that turned the tide."

Even after the election, Kennedy stunned the press by having live, un-delayed press conferences. Open, intelligent conversations and public engagement were paramount. How can public libraries utilize the media of the day (the Web and other Internet tech) to encourage more public engagement and political interest? How (and when) will we turn the tide?

Leadership
When you look at everything JFK accomplished or at least got off the ground in such a short time (civil rights, the peace corps, the space program, etc), you know that he wasn't acting alone. He had a lot of incredible people working with him. Great leaders don't accomplish everything themselves. They find smart people (or more likely they already know them), they inspire them to work toward common goals, and they let them fly.

Great revolutions were born and nourished in bars and taverns
This is a photo of a memorial in the Paul Revere mall, commemorating the Salutation Tavern and the Green Dragon Tavern--places where a lot of cool people with energy and brains hung out, drank beer, plotted revolution, and planned a country.

Isn't it true that many of our most rewarding experiences at conferences weren't in the keynotes or the formal sessions but in the bars with colleagues in the evening?

Want to start a revolution? Get out of your library, grab some colleagues, go to a pub, and get to work.

If you need to think, get yourself to the sea
From the first chapter of Moby-Dick, "Whenever I find myself growing grim about the mouth; whenever it is a damp, drizzly November in my soul; whenever I find myself involuntarily pausing before coffin warehouses, and bringing up the rear of every funeral I meet; and especially whenever my hypos get such an upper hand of me, that it requires a strong moral principle to prevent me from deliberately stepping into the street, and methodically knocking people's hats off--then, I account it high time to get to sea as soon as I can."

"I really don't know why it is that all of us are so committed to the sea, except I think it's because in addition to the fact that the sea changes, and the light changes, and ships change, it's because we all came from the sea. And it is an interesting biological fact that all of us have in our veins the exact same percentage of salt in our blood that exists in the ocean, and, therefore, we have salt in our blood, our sweat, and in our tears. We are tied to the ocean. And when we go back to the sea, whether it is to sail or to watch it, we are going back from whence we came." ~ John F. Kenendy

"...and the great shroud of the sea rolled on as it rolled five thousand years ago." ~Herman Melville (last line of Moby-Dick, save the Epilogue ;)

Our vacation to Mass

2006-06-29T12:30:00.000-07:00

Humpback whale flukes
Originally uploaded by EricaR.

We're back from vacation on the Massachusetts Coast...Photos of whales, ships, Moby-Dick/whaling-inspired tourist spots, history, and Mr. Sprinkles are all up on Flickr.

Conference Blogging with Andrea Mercado: This Friday in OPAL

2006-06-08T12:38:00.000-07:00

Want to encourage your colleagues to read and/or write conference blogs? Want to start your own conference blog? Thinking about volunteering to blog for PLA?

Join Andrea Mercado this Friday, June 9, 2006 10:00 a.m. CST in the OPAL Auditorium as she discusses the tao of conference blogging at the PLAblog.org, and take questions on how you can use conference blogging (and other conference blogs) within your library or organization.

Presented by Andrea Mercado, Reference & Techie Librarian, Reading (MA) Public Library and Co-Manager of PLAblog.org, the official blog of the Public Library Association.

Date: Friday, June 9, 2006
Time: 10:00 a.m. CST
Location: OPAL Auditorium

More from the other ALA...text IS interface

2006-05-22T17:10:00.000-07:00

Every once in a while, I come across something so good, it becomes required reading for all members of the Web Content Team at my beloved place of work. I try not to over do this (I'm an English teacher at heart, and I so heart assigning reading...), so I keep it to the basics...Don't Make Me Think, for example.

But this article goes on the list (hi all!):

Calling All Designers: Learn to Write! (once again, from the other ALA). Now, of course all members of the team know how to write or they wouldn't be on the said Web Content Team, but it takes stamina, constant creativity, and a little courage to continually push yourself to write what is good rather than what is easy.

A few of my favorite quotes...

"It’s time we designers stop thinking of ourselves as merely pixel people, and start thinking of ourselves as the creators of experiences. And when it comes to experience on the web, there’s no better way to create it than to write, and write well."

"Design is about communication, and it takes more than pixels to communicate. Design is about communication, and it takes more than pixels to communicate."

And this is particularly important to libraries and those who develop library Web content. It's oh-so easy to fall into the quick sand of library/institutional speak. This is why it's important to read blogs, 'zines, and other fine specimens of whip-smart, don't-call-me-witty, and don't-take-yourself-too-seriously prose. Check out Daily Candy for a daily dose, and dust off those English degrees.

Savvy Travelers in a Techie World

2006-05-22T06:53:00.000-07:00

I finally had the chance to read Brenda Hough's article in this month's CiL, and I can't stop recommending it to folks. She addresses so many of the issues that frustrate both tech trainers and tech trainees.

If you have access to Ebsco, here’s the link to the full article:
http://search.epnet.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=f5h&an=20666006

Link to the preview (free):
http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/infotoday/docsearch?abb91036313131

A few snippets…

“Too many technology classes are about reaching goals that trainers have set rather than teaching skills that students actually need. I've chosen the road less traveled teaching concepts that people can build on for years rather than steps that they can use for months.
The differences between being technology-challenged and being technology-literate are similar to the differences between being an inexperienced traveler and being a savvy traveler. So it follows that a good technology trainer is like a good tour guide, handling logistical details and creating experiences that are customized to meet individual interests and that will empower travelers to take future trips on their own.”

"These are some of the characteristics of a savvy traveler:
• Confidence
• An acceptance that things will probably not all go according to plan, which leads to flexibility and adaptability
• A willingness to ask questions
Flights get delayed and overbooked, maps become outdated, luggage gets lost, etc. The savvy traveler is aware of these possibilities and plans and prepares as well as he or she can, and then adapts as needed when things change. These are the characteristics we need to be helping technology students develop too.

So, what types of training can facilitate savvy users? I have eight tips for tour guides who want to train people for long-term technological literacy:
Stop trying to provide step-by-step directions.
Encourage independence.
Expect success,
Encourage exploration.
Provide context.
Treat training as a collaborative project.
Use storytelling.
Be real-world."

Check out the article to learn more!

4-day work week challenge from the other ALA...

2006-05-20T10:16:00.000-07:00

Hmmm...I think it would be a challenge to simply work just 5 days a week (do people really stop working at 5 p.m. on Friday and not work or think about work until Monday morning?). I'll admit I have issues with being a balanced person. I've been extremely lucky to only take jobs that I love (or, you know, I leave). And since I've always jumped at the chance for new challenges, I've never been in a job for more than a few years, and I've always been in prove-myself mode.

Now, does that mean I'm super-efficient, and get tons done? Nope...I go through an ebb and flow of work-like-crazy, crash, work-like-crazy, crash...etc...and really every time I go on vacation, within a day or two I remember again what it's like to have my brain back, and I swear to myself that I'll make more thinking/ideas/creative/non-worky time.

Check out The Four-Day Week Challenge at A List Apart.

I don't agree with all of it (or, maybe it's just that I had a squeamish-shivering physical reaction to some of the suggestions...what?!? no IM?!? ) but I get the principle, and certainly I think I would be happier and do everything better if I found more time for people I love, art, ideas, plants, pets, and my house.

Maybe on the fifth day, I'll still work, but it will be a mind-spa day where I don't read e-mail, I don't go to meetings, and it's all about reading, experiencing, and thinking. Ok, maybe I can make that happen once a month. Baby steps, right?

For example, the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art's workshops and lectures are a great idea-rich experience. My friend and I went to a Kentridge lecture last night, and then we retired to Harry's patio in Westport to people-watch and enjoy weather and white wine. Plus, I thought a lot about Web work, and it's ephemeral nature... It was perfectly civilized.

Join us in OPAL on Friday morning: Project Planning with Love and Logic (Models)

2006-05-18T19:10:00.000-07:00

Join us this Friday, May 19 at 10:00 a.m. CST for the second in a series of national continuing education programs via OPAL.

Project Planning with Love and Logic (Models)
Speaker: Whitney Davison-Turley, Digital Projects Specialist, University of Kansas Medical Center Libraries*

From the largest grant proposals to the smallest project plan, using logic models can help you develop stronger and more successful projects with assessment and evaluation built in at every step. You will love the way that logic models allow you "plan backwards and implement forwards," keeping the focus on the real impact of your program and causing all activities to feed directly into that impact. This program will discuss what a logic model is, show examples of using a logic model for writing a project plan or grant proposal, and provide resources for additional information.

This OPAL event will be held in the Auditorium (Click on the title or the room name to enter the OPAL room.)

The Librarian's Continuing Education Seminar Series programs are held the 3rd Friday of the month at 10 a.m. A full listing of programs and speakers is available at: http://www.opal-online.org/progslis.htm.

Questions about OPAL? About the upcoming program? Just let me know. I’ll be in the auditorium 30 minutes ahead of time if you want to test your equipment. I look forward to seeing you all online.

*And I'm oh-so-thrilled to report that while Whitney is with KUMed right now, she will soon be joining my beloved place of work as the new Information Services Manager. I'm simply giddy.

The lazy post revenge

2006-05-09T19:50:00.000-07:00

Why are these lazy posts so addictive? I love the comparative nature...I can't help but think this is hopelessly self indulgent, but since Veggie, EDH, Capt. Redbeard, & Blue indulged, I can't help but play...sometimes I'm a joiner.

1. FIRST NAME? Erica

2. WERE YOU NAMED AFTER ANYONE? No...but if I had been born a little later, I might have been named Sunshine...after the character in Little Big Man.

3. WHEN DID YOU LAST CRY? I plead the 5th. I will be overwhelmed one second, and then in a blink, I'm on top of the world. I'm totally manic.

4. DO YOU LIKE YOUR HANDWRITING? when I take the time to write...like Blue, my fingers think faster on keyboards

5. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE LUNCH MEAT? Ick "lunch meat" sounds awful...ok...turkey can be good...if it's prepared right

6. KIDS? nope

7. IF YOU WERE ANOTHER PERSON WOULD YOU BE FRIENDS WITH YOU? of course--I'm freakin' charming. ;)

8. DO YOU HAVE A JOURNAL? I kept one religiously until I got married. I have a husband--why do I need a journal?

9. DO YOU USE SARCASM A LOT? Uh..never. Promise.

10.WOULD YOU BUNGEE JUMP? I'd like to think so...

11. DO YOU STILL HAVE YOUR TONSILS? yes

12. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE CEREAL? Kashi

13. DO YOU UNTIE YOUR SHOES WHEN YOU TAKE THEM OFF? nope--kick off wherever I sit down...I suck to live with...

14. DO YOU THINK YOU ARE STRONG, PHYSICALLY OR MENTALLY? It depends on the day.

15. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE ICE CREAM FLAVOR? strawberry or anything with real fruit (it's one of the few things I can really taste...you'd be surprised how much the "taste" of ice cream is tied to your ability to smell it)

16. SHOE SIZE? 9

17. RED OR PINK? yes

18. WHAT IS THE LEAST FAVORITE THING ABOUT YOURSELF? I'm obsessive and unbalanced.

9. WHO DO YOU MISS THE MOST? My Gram...but she died when I was 14... you'd think I'd get used to it.

20. DO YOU WANT EVERYONE TO SEND THIS BACK TO YOU? Of course

21. WHAT COLOR PANTS AND SHOES YOU ARE WEARING? Blue soccer shorts and no shoes

22. LAST THING YOU ATE? biscotti

23. WHAT ARE YOU LISTENING TO RIGHT NOW? Music from Love Actually

24. IF YOU WERE A CRAYON, WHAT COLOR WOULD YOU BE? Greenish-blue (if i remember correctly)

25. FAVORITE SMELL? fresh herbs in my garden...I love the sage...when you can't smell much, but you can smell something, it's amazing...

26. WHO WAS THE LAST PERSON YOU TALKED TO ON THE PHONE? my little brother in ny

27. THE FIRST THING YOU NOTICE ABOUT PEOPLE YOU ARE ATTRACTED TO? Confidence

28. DO YOU LIKE THE PERSON WHO SENT THIS TO YOU? Like Erin, I love my co-workers

29. FAVORITE DRINK? It depends on my mood...

30. FAVORITE SPORT? Basketball--it is the closest thing I have to religion

31. HAIR COLOR? Blondish (it depends how much i've paid for highlights)

32. EYE COLOR? Greenish-blue (if I remember correctly)

33. DO YOU WEAR CONTACTS? yep...since I was in 8th grade

34. FAVORITE FOOD? pizza...anytime, anywhere

35. SCARY MOVIES OR HAPPY ENDING? happy endings with a twist...can't stand scary movies

36. LAST MOVIE YOU WATCHED? Love Actually (on right now)

37. WHAT COLOR SHIRT ARE YOU WEARING? black

38. SUMMER OR WINTER? yes

39. HUGS OR KISSES? yes...but only from a handful of people

40. FAVORITE DESSERT? can you really have just one? I like most anything with fruit and flakey crusts

41. WHO IS MOST LIKELY TO RESPOND? Camera-Gal

42. LEAST LIKELY TO RESPOND? Camera-Gal

43. WHAT BOOKS ARE YOU READING? To Kill A Mockingbird

44. WHAT'S ON YOUR MOUSE PAD? At home: Navajo sun; At work: jayhawk

45. WHAT DID YOU WATCH LAST NIGHT ON TV? I don't think I watched anything on tv

46. FAVORITE SOUNDS? the tide, rain, sea lions at Monterey, Emma & Claire laughing, coffee pouring, pretty much anything that comes out of my iPod...

47. ROLLING STONE OR BEATLES? are you kidding? Beatles--no contest

48. THE FURTHEST YOU HAVE BEEN FROM HOME? U.S.V.I.

49. DO YOU HAVE A SPECIAL TALENT? I have lots of bar tricks that I cultivated after many years of practice...my art teacher once said there's no such thing as talent; only practice...I don't agree with the idea of no talent, but I agree that you won't be great at anything unless you practice...oh, and I can touch my tongue to my nose...that's all talent (or you know...weird mutant genes)

50. WHEN AND WHERE WERE YOU BORN? Oct 20, Lawrence, KS

'nother readin' blog: To Kill a Mockingbird

2006-05-01T20:14:00.000-07:00

My colleagues who read M-D with me and more (more colleagues...not more M-D...that's not possible) have decided to read To Kill a Mockingbird as a blog/reading group. And I'm thrilled....so most of my posts will be over on the Fly, Famous Bird site.

I'm an English major n' all (B.A. & M.A.), but I never read this book. Everyone just assumes you read it in high school. Although I read pretty much all that was assigned, I'm sorry to say it never came up. Here's the deal: 'Til my senior yr, I went to a really, really small school (33 in my class in high school, 800-something in the whole town). It was all about social relationships. Therefore, I left my beloved Remington High School with very little knowledge of calc & trig (although I took the classes, and received good grades), and a really advanced knowledge of gym/locker-room decoration. If you needed someone to whip up a prom theme, I was your girl.

But then I went to college, blah, blah, blah, and I'm afraid I thought that, as an English major, I read so much during my B.A., and then I finished my M.A., and you know, in between I had finished an M.L.S. with lots o' fiction mixed in, that I started thinking that, for god's sake, I must have read most everything good--at least everything really, really good written in Enligsh in the last 100 yrs. (Because not everything we read was very good...so I think my logic was that we must have been scrapin' the barrel at some point.) But that's obviously stupid, and I can't tell you how happy I am to read this book right now. I love fiction. But rarely do I read really good fiction. I wish I would have read this when I was younger, but I'm thrilled to be reading it now. Thanks all.

So, so cool: Online Kansas City Literary Map...

2006-04-25T19:48:00.000-07:00

A few months back Susan Bogart, one of the reference librarians at JoCoLibrary, dreamed up the idea to put together a physical display of a literary map of Kansas City--like the virtual one the NYTimes did a few months before that...so she sent out an e-mail to library staff to ask that they send in their favorite literary references to KC. Susan compiled all the suggestions, and handed the info design over to Brian Oertel, an information specialists in our beloved library,--who in turn did a fantastic job designing the graphics and display. Since then, it's been traveling around our library (Johnson County Library sits on the Kansas side of the KC Metro), and we even picked up some press from LJ. Well, once Amy Ostrom, our new Web Interface Designer, arrived she hit the ground running and whipped up this oh-so-nifty online version of the KC literary map... You can browse it and each title links to our catalog so that patrons can place holds and read books that reference the city/metro area that we all love.

I love this. And I love working with such awesome colleagues.

The KC Literary map is available at: www.jocolibrary.org/literarymap

And speaking of David King...

2006-04-19T12:38:00.000-07:00

He has a good post on an article about why blogging is "essential" to a good career...I thought it was particularly appropriate since we've been having a discussion about careers and blogging...

http://www.davidleeking.com/2006/04/19/article-blogging-essential-to-a-good-career/

Join us in OPAL this Friday to improve communication between techies and non-techie staff

2006-04-19T12:30:00.000-07:00

Join us this Friday, April 21 at 10:00 a.m. (CST) for the first in a series of national continuing education programs via OPAL! Thanks to David for sharing his time and expertise!

Getting Along with IT Staff
Presenter: David King, Acting ITS Director, Kansas City Public Library
Ever noticed that your co-workers' eyes start glazing over when you describe that custom XML app? Or, ever notice your network administrator's face start to turn red as you ask yet again for a "simple" explanation of why the Internet stopped working? This session covers the basics of how to jump communication hurdles between techies and non-technical staff. The problem is defined along with the steps to take, including what to do with jargon, how to handle training sessions, how to simplify describing a solution to non-technical staff, and how to describe technical problems and projects clearly. Gain some understanding of how techies and non-techies think and some strategies to improve communication in your work environment. This program is part of the Librarian's Continuing Education Seminar Series, sponsored by the Johnson County Library.

This OPAL event will be held in the Auditorium (Click on the title or the room name to enter the OPAL room.)

The Librarian's Continuing Education Seminar Series programs are held the 3rd Friday of the month at 10 a.m. A full listing of programs and speakers is available at: http://www.opal-online.org/progslis.htm.

Questions about OPAL? About the upcoming program? Just let me know. I’ll be in the auditorium 30 minutes ahead of time if you want to test your equipment. I look forward to seeing you all online.

Books we wish we owned...

2006-04-12T10:38:00.000-07:00

I love this...Check out Joshua Neff's new book for patrons... happily we share a catalog with Joshua's library, so my patrons will have access to this important resource as well.

You can create your own book covers at: http://www.signgenerator.org/books/dummies/.

It's not to blog or not to blog...but what/how to blog that's the question

2006-04-11T19:36:00.000-07:00

Yeah, yeah, this goes around every once in a while, but it matters, so we should talk about it. Particularly for blogging info professionals....

Check out Kelly's Like You Care post on blogging.

"I bring this up because I had a passionate discussion with some people last night about blogging. One person from the group thought that blogging was not safe--people might know too much about you or misinterpret what you say. Her point was that without body language, inflection, etc., the ideas recorded would not be perceived correctly. Another person thought you shouldn't include any personal information on your blog because everyone has access to it. The gist of her argument was that generic information is"safe". It's not easily misconstrued."

Now, I'm pretty sure that I'm one of these people referred to here, but I'm not sure which one, because I wouldn't say that either of these threads were argued by me passionately at 1 a.m. when we were talking in the bar (Hi Dad!)....to me, it has more to do with judgement. Do I care that prospective/current employers know I drink beer and argue? Nope. But I do think about prospective/current employers reading the content of my blog posts, and I think others should think about that, too. So, to quote myself (which is freakin' weird...),

"if you're ready to stand behind the idea that whatever you say on your blog, you'd say to a prospective employer: then, absolutely...post on. My only concerns is that I shouldn't post something I don't want a prospective (or a current) employer to read. Because they might. And actually, we should be happy about that."

Puppets for Erica

2006-04-07T13:07:00.000-07:00

Puppets for Erica
Originally uploaded by veggienerd.

I heart my teammates...I'm a lucky girl to work with such smart and oh-so-fun folks...

Photos from triconference

2006-04-07T13:01:00.000-07:00

Things I learned while flickr-izing the Kansas Library Association Triconference...

1. Erin & Sarah tie for the most photogenic.
2. Some people really freak out when you try to take their photo. (Not trying to name names ; )
3. I love tags....
4. It takes a lot of photos to get into the top tags at flickr...many thanks to Sarah for playing, though!

Photos from Triconference are at: http://www.flickr.com/photos/tags/triconf06/

OPAL: Online Programming for All Libraries

2006-04-05T14:03:00.000-07:00

OPAL: Online Programming for All Libraries
Participant Guide

OPAL is a collaborative effort by libraries of all types to provide cooperative web-based programming and training for library users and library staff members. These live, online events are held in an online auditorium where participants can interact via voice-over-IP, text chatting, and synchronized browsing. (Synchronized browsing allows you to see the same screen the presenter sees.)

Public OPAL programs
Examples of public OPAL programs include book discussions, interviews, art presentations, library training, memoir writing workshops, and virtual tours of special digital library collections. Programs are hosted by member libraries, such as the Library of Congress, state libraries, and individual public and special libraries. Everyone is welcome to participate in OPAL programs. Public OPAL programs might be held in any of the OPAL “rooms” such as the auditorium, the atrium, or a member library’s individual room.

Public OPAL programs: http://www.opal-online.org/programs.htm. Click on the title of the program to enter the online room when the program is scheduled to begin.

OPAL-based meetings
OPAL member libraries have their own “private” meeting rooms which can be used for public or private programs and online meetings to save travel and teleconference costs. If you’ve been invited to a meeting, the presenter will send you a link or instructions for accessing the room. All OPAL meeting rooms are listed at: http://www.opal-online.org/meeting.htm.

Live programs, archives, and podcasts
Don’t have time to sit by your computer? Are programs scheduled when you’re not available? You can check out the archive of past programs, and listen and/or view the past events at your leisure. The only difference between the archived versions and the live programs is that you won’t be able to interact directly with the presenter and other participants with the archive. You can also subscribe to the podcasts of past programs at: http://feeds.feedburner.com/OpalPodcast.

Etiquette & tips for participants
Log into the online room a few minutes before the presentation starts so that you can test your microphone and speakers/headphones and adjust your volume as needed.

You can ask questions and interact with the group by text-chat or voice. (Hold down the “control” key to speak—the little aqua bubble will appear when you have the floor.)

When ready to speak, hold down the “control” key, and give it a second before you start speaking. When you’re finished, hold down the key a second longer after you’re done talking.

If you’re speaking, be aware of other participants wanting to ask questions or interact. When someone else clicks the control key to speak, the little aqua bubble will appear and indicate the order in which they requested access to speak. When you’re finished with your point or question, lift up on the “control” key to give someone else the chance to speak.

If you’re speaking, be aware of other participants asking questions via the text-chat, and repeat their questions or comments aloud before addressing them. (Visually impaired participants might not be aware of the text-chat comments or questions unless you repeat them aloud.)

If you have a question for the group, ask the group. However, if you have a question for an individual, you can hold side conversations by text-chatting with others in the room privately.

If it seems as though the presenter is referring to a screen, Web page, or image you don’t see on your screen, speak up. Often presenters are unaware of these issues unless participants alert them something is amiss.

Have fun! OPAL programs and meetings are usually informal and presenters encourage interaction.

Great upcoming OPAL programs for librarians
Michael Stephen's Ten Top Technologies for Libraries in 2006
Thursday, April 6, 2006, 2:00 p.m.
We'll be broadcasting this from the Wichita Public Library, 3rd floor
(Right across the street from Century II)

ICED Coffee Monthly programs: http://ice.emporia.edu/iced_coffee.html

Monthly OPAL continuing ed series, starting in April...http://queequegs.blogspot.com/2006/04/upcoming-opal-programs-for-librarians.html

triconf06

Upcoming OPAL programs for librarians

2006-04-05T11:56:00.000-07:00

Librarian’s Continuing Education Seminar Series
Delivered directly to your desktop via OPAL (Online Programming for All Libraries)

The third Friday of the month at 10 a.m., CST (or whenver we feel like putting on a show). I'm not sure if we'll hold these programs in the State of KS OPAL room or in another OPAL room, but I'll post that info shortly...

April 21: 10 a.m.
Getting Along with IT staff
David King, Acting ITS Director, Kansas City Public Library
Ever noticed that your co-workers' eyes start glazing over when you describe that custom XML app? Or, ever notice your network administrator's face start to turn red as you ask yet again for a "simple" explanation of why the Internet stopped working? This session covers the basics of how to jump communication hurdles between techies and non-technical staff. The problem is defined along with the steps to take, including what to do with jargon, how to handle training sessions, how to simplify describing a solution to non-technical staff, and how to describe technical problems and projects clearly. Gain some understanding of how techies and non-techies think and some strategies to improve communication in your work environment.

May 19: 10 a.m.
Project Planning with Love and Logic (Models)
Whitney Davison-Turley, Digital Projects Specialist, University of Kansas Medical Center
From the largest grant proposals to the smallest project plan, using logic models can help you develop stronger and more successful projects with assessment and evaluation built in at every step. You will love the way that logic models allow you "plan backwards and implement forwards," keeping the focus on the real impact of your program and causing all activities to feed directly into that impact. This program will discuss what a logic model is, show examples of using a logic model for writing a project plan or grant proposal, and provide resources for additional information.

June 16: 10 a.m.
Teen Services: Ten Ways to Give up Control and Encourage Engagement
Tricia Suellentrop, Youth Services Manager, Johnson County Library
“For teens, by teens, with teens.” Teen librarians say it all the time, but what does it mean for the everyday service delivered, on the floor, and at the desk? Encouraging teen-managed services isn’t always easy; it can be time consuming, stressful and thrilling for you and the teens. But the benefits are amazing. Learn how to give up control and encourage teen-managed library services.

July 21: 10 a.m.
Programs for Adults at the Library
Jennifer Mahnken, Adult Programming Manager, Johnson County Library
Planning adult programs for your library? This program will give you some ideas for programs, things to consider when planning and ideas for promotion.

Aug. 18: 10 a.m.
Delivering top-notch technology training for your patrons
Brenda Hough, Technology Coordinator, Northeast Kansas Library System
More on this later..

Sept 15: 10 a.m.
Community Issues Forums
Donna Lauffer, Associate Director for Branches
Libraries can be key partners in helping to build their communities and/or to help engage citizens in decision-making. This session will introduce you to public forums using the model of deliberative dialogue. Find out how your library can be a community resource for citizens input on issues that affect everyone.

Oct 20: 10 a.m.
Grant writing 101: Developing winning proposals
Erica Reynolds, Web Content Manager, Johnson County Library
Have a terrific project, but need money to implement it? Learn how to find funding opportunities, review proposal guidelines, develop budgets, avoid common pitfalls, and develop successful proposals.

triconf06

PLA...a blur...onto Triconference

2006-03-30T08:38:00.000-08:00

Wow...I can't believe I still haven't posted any of my notes from PLA. (More on that later...) But now I need to get ready for our state conference where I'll actually have to do a fair amount of work ; )

The blog is up. http://triconf06.blogspot.com/

Here's the technorati tag for all you crazy KS librarian bloggers....
triconf06

Oh, and I'm not saying that Wichita is in the running to be the new Boston, but I'm excited to see amusing, interesting photos up on Flickr, too.

"I just didn’t expect the library would do this. I think it’s cool.”

2006-03-18T11:19:00.001-08:00

Our Spring-break Gaming Tournament made the KC Star--there's a nice photo in the paper as well, but the article, "Video Warriors: Spring-break gamers do battle at library" is online.

Here's my favorite quote, "'My mom thinks it’s good to play (video games), she just wants to make sure that I get some sunlight once in a while,'" said Nik Djikl, 13, Leawood. "'I just didn’t expect the library would do this. I think it’s cool.'”

Photos of the winners and info on the event are at: http://www.jocolibrary.org/gaming

Technorati Tag: GaminginLibraries

"I just didn’t expect the library would do this. I think it’s cool.”

2006-03-18T11:19:00.000-08:00

Does your library have a commitment to building community (online or otherwise)? Read this.

2006-03-18T05:10:00.000-08:00

Thanks to Creating Passionate Users (a fantastic blog that should be on all Webbie librarians' lists), I was tipped off to danah boyd's presentation "G/localization: When Global Information and Local Interaction Collide" from this month's O'Reilly Emerging Technology Conference.

The whole thing is fantastic as she looks at successful online community-building entities like Flickr, MySpace, and Craigslist. And there is much for libraries to learn from here. Here's a snippet talking about what successful online community sites have in common:

"These three sites have many attributes in common. They all grew organically. They each have public personalities that early adopters feel connected to. The early adopters really felt as though they were participating in and creating an intimate community, even as the community grew to millions. Users are passionate. Designers are passionate. They feel a responsibility to it and are deeply invested in making users happy. Character was not boiled out of the site; the text on the system is natural and goofy, reflecting the personality quirks of the developers rather than the formal speech of a corporation. Each site has a unique culture that was born early on and evolved through years of use and growth. The culture evolves with the designers and users working in tandem.

Customer service is not a segregated group who simply answers questions of a finalized product. They are completely integrated into the design system and the senior people are the most deeply embedded in user culture. There is a strong commitment to the needs and desires of the users.

While the creators have visions of what they think would be cool, they do not construct unmovable roadmaps well into the future. They are constantly reacting to what's going on, adding new features as needed. The code on these sites changes constantly, not just once a quarter. The designers try out features and watch how they get used. If no one is interested, that's fine - they'll just make something new. They are all deeply in touch with what people are actually doing, why and how it manifests itself on the site.....

The designers of these systems are engaged in embedded observation. They are living in the culture that they are helping to frame. They are aware of the others living in that culture and constantly engaging with them to really understand the emergent behaviors. They recognize their power as designers and try to use it to benefit the collective rather than their own personal goals. Their design process is stemming from this embedded observation, producing a state of "flow" to use Cziksentmihalyi's term. The designers love what they are doing and infuse their passion into the systems. This is a very powerful way of doing design. "

Ok...it took all the discipline I have (and those who know me know that's not much)...to not just paste the whole text of the presentation here...check it out. And then find a way to ensure everyone in your Web & IT departments is infused with it as well.

Because, as boyd explains, to be successful, we "must live the culture that (we) are creating."

Gaming @ the library... Integrating gaming into what we do

2006-03-17T12:10:00.000-08:00

I just sent an e-mail to Sarah Handgraaf, one of the Web Content Team members, because another library is getting ready to launch a readers' blog, and they contacted me to know who they could talk to about our Readers' Corner blog. Well, that's Ms. H.

And in reply, I received this out-of-office reply from Sarah...

"I am assisting with the Spring Break Gaming Tournament all day on Friday, March 17 and will be away from my computer. Please e-mail the JCL-Web Content Team at JCL-webteam@jocolibrary.org if you have web-related requests. Happy Saint Patrick's Day! Visit http://www.jocolibrary.org/gaming for more info on the tourney!"

Ok...I know the tournament's going on, but something about this out-of-office reply warmed my heart..First of all, I love that now it feels like gaming is just what we do. Maybe not all the time, but occasionally--particularly during school breaks. I also thought it was really cool that Sarah put this info in her out-of-office assistant. 1. It's just good customer service. And I appreciate that she wanted her colleagues to know that she won't turn things around /reply as lickity-split as normal since she's at the tourney rather than burning up her keyboard. 2. I loved that she provided a link to information about the tournament and gaming in general. It helps to promote what we're doing to staff, patrons, community members, colleagues, Sarah's friends and family, everyone who happens to e-mail her today. I really like the idea of looking for every nook and cranny that we can use to help promote what we're doing and why, and use all those spaces to our advantage.

Finally, it reminded me of the very quickly traveled, but sometimes bumpy road we took to get gaming into our library...

Step 1. Less than four months ago we were trying to get the right people around the table to figure out how we could best incorporate gaming into our library through some sort of pilot project.

Step 2. We send three cool staff members (Atabong, Sarah, and Chris) to the Gaming in Libraries Symposium in Chicago.

Step 3. The JoCoLibrary Gaming Group of youth services, administrators, IT, and Web folks gels, and they pull of a really cool Gaming Tournament over winter break that gets terrific press on television and in the KC Star. Most importantly, we had rave reviews from the youth participants.

Step 4. Gaming starts to be more integrated into what we do...I'm not saying there weren't a lot of bumps between step 3 and 4, or that gaming is now totally integrated, or that all staff "get it," or even that the staff that do "get it" are sure that gaming is a better ROI than other programs. But today I realized that all of a sudden Xbox tournaments with really nifty big-screen plasma TVs, monster-sized projection screens, lots o' noise coming out of the meeting room, and tons of teenage boys in the library all seem like just another day in the life.... it's divine.

Technorati Tag: GaminginLibraries

Congrats to John Blyberg: 2006 Mover & Shaker

2006-03-16T05:56:00.000-08:00

Congrats to John Blyberg--2006 Mover & Shaker!

The listing isn't up on the LJ site yet (it's a supplement to your March 15 issues), but you should have it available in your full-text databases this morning (I found it in Ebsco--the title of his article is, "User-Centered "Geek"--it's not in Gale as of 8:01 a.m. CST.)

A snippet from the article is below. You can also learn more about John's awesome work and cool ideas from his blog at: http://www.blyberg.net/.

"When he's not working toward his ultimate objective of taking over the world and making everyone drive hybrid vehicles, self-described "library geek" John Blyberg keeps plenty busy with his day job. The three years he spent rebuilding the Ann Arbor District Library's (AADL) network and server infrastructure "from the ground up" and moving to an open source content management system culminated in 2005's launch of "AADL 3.0." Collaborative and dynamic, AADL 3.0 takes a revolutionary approach to library web sites, making the library's online presence "an extension of the 'library experience'—a highly personalized space that the patron can feel ownership for."

Oh, and this is my favorite quote....
"His commitment to Library 2.0 principles parallels his commitment to open source. 'OS transcends politics, hate, war, prejudice, greed, and everything else that stifles creativity and innovation. In my heart, I know OS is a doctrine I want to embrace.'"

Woo hoo!

Technorati tags: Blyberg, Librarians, Web Design, library 2.0

The goal of the chase, illustrated (take 2)

2006-03-12T09:32:00.000-08:00

I just posted on this same Rockwell Kent illustration on our M-D blog, but it occurred to me that really, this is all pursuits illustrated. (It's also the print that is hanging on my wall in my office, but I never thought about it in this way.) Aren't all artistic-creative endeavors like this? Don't we always start out envisioning something that breaks all the boundaries...that leaps free of gravity and natural laws to something awe-inspiring?

Whenever I start to work on a grant proposal, I have the vague loomings of something amazing and incredible in mind. Air-tight arguments, charts of persuasive stats, and figures/charts that perfectly illustrate the need and solvency, all woven together in a clear, crisp, clever, even enjoyable narrative. Of course, I'm always terribly disappointed when the deadline comes, and I'm no where near my goal. And really, that goal was always a little soggy in my mind anyway.

And, when I think about completely rebuilding our JoCoWeb World, with a new content management system, a new look and feel, a new Web 2.0 philosophy, I think about something vaguely amazing and incredible. Of course, the actual world will fall far short of that goal, and be a bit disappointing, but somehow it matters that the actual goal is crazy and completely unattainable. To conclude, here's a little medley of M-D quotes....

Oh Time, Strength, Cash, and Patience!

Real strength never impairs beauty or harmony, but it often bestows it; and in everything imposingly beautiful, strength has much to do with the magic.

I try all things; I achieve what I can.

The Dread Pirate Bonney....

2006-03-10T18:50:00.000-08:00

Apparently I don't have time to post to sort through my M-D notes and post about my favorite book, but I have time for this...

My pirate name is:

Dread Pirate Bonney

Like the famous Dread Pirate Roberts, you have a keen head for how to make a profit. You can be a little bit unpredictable, but a pirate's life is far from full of certainties, so that fits in pretty well. Arr!

Get your own pirate name from fidius.org.

And the great shroud of the sea rolled on...or my brain is back

2006-03-09T06:36:00.000-08:00

Ah! After working endlessly on a community partnership grant in response to the IMLS/CPB funding op, I'm back to the land of the living...

I have to admit that grant writing is my own monomania. I love the pursuit, and I let it become all encompassing. Although that doesn't mean my proposals are perfect. Far from it. I've never finished a proposal--only abandoned them at deadline. Alas..."I try all things, I achieve what I can" ~ Melville (oh, speaking of, my Moby-Dick reading shipmates have been posting to our blog http://moby-dick06.blogspot.com and using tags to keep track of their loomings...we're almost all finished with this particular voyage...)

In addition to ignoring pretty much all other responsibilities, I haven't tracked my favorite blogs and feeds since, like, February or January...it's amazing what happens in the library Webbie world in a few months. Here's just a few of the posts from the last few months that totally thrilled me. Where did all these ideas go before blogs and feeds? How did people transfer, track, and collaborate on all these memes?

Virtual Card Catalogs: Did you need another reason to join the John Blyberg fan club?
http://www.blyberg.net/2006/01/19/creating-a-virtual-card-catalog/
http://www.blyberg.net/2006/02/14/if-you-build-it/

Library 2.0h yeah baby....
There are so many fantastic conversations this, I just have to link to the tags.. Library 2.0, Librarian 2.0. Sure, this conversation has been going on forever (like, I don't know, October?), but it's really interesting how the buzz has caught on and how everyone is chomping at the bit to make the library world (physical and virtual locations) way, way freakin' cool.

Ten Techie Things for Librarians 2006
Michael Stephens should win an award for writing and presenting information that both synthesizes the issues of the day as well as positively motivates colleagues to seize the opportunities. He has a great blog post on this, and if you want to hear Michael live and have a chance to ask him questions, join him online on Thursday, April 6, 2006 at 2:00 Central time for :Ten Top Technologies for Librarians in 2006.

This presentation is sponsored by the Alliance Library System and will be held in the OPAL online Auditorium. (Oh, and you should check out OPAL as well, but I'll write more about that later.)

OPML
Steven Cohen has lots posts on this, and here's the Wikipedia take. I need to read up. Quick.

Mashup
I remember hearing about this, but it's getting a lot more play. Brenda at the NEKLS tech blog has a nice overview post. Also on my figure it out, quick list.

It's nice to have my brain back...now all I need to do is clean up my office...oh, and implement a new content management system, and rebuild our entire JoCo Web world... I love my job.

ER A-to-Z (For Ms. H)

2006-02-21T18:42:00.000-08:00

Ok...I've been running myself down working on the Science, INC grant (due March 1), worrying about content management systems, fretting about finishing other grant-funded projects, and generally being too busy to think about anything, but of course, I've managed to find time for another mindless indulgence...hmmm....yum....mindless indulgences... Thanks Ms. H...

A - Age: 34

B - Band listening to right now: The KU Band (I’m watching the KU/Baylor game)

C - Career: Librarian, Webbie, Teacher, Writer, Info Mutant, these are all the same things….

D - Drink or smoke: Yes!/No!

E - Easiest person/s to talk to: Larry

F - Favorite song/s at the moment: I don’t like these favorite song questions…I’m changing this category to Favorite flower: orchid

G - Gummy Bears or Gummy Worms: Gummy anything is icky.

J - Junk foods you like: Pizza

L - Longest car ride ever: on the way home from a San Marcos debate tournament in the middle of a really severe blizzard

M - My favorite Sport/s: Basketball

N - Number of relationships you've had: Hmmm… is “relationships” some kind of euphemism here? I’m going to change this category to Nicknames: Eeka, Little Bear, Otter-daughter, B

O - One wish you have: be just and fear not (oh is that a quote?)

P - Phobias: I don’t think any of my concerns hit the level of phobia…I’m changing this category to Poem you can recite from memory: Lord Byron:
Talk to me not of a name sweet in story,
The days of our youth are the days of our glory,
And the myrtle and ivy of sweet two and twenty,
Are worth all your laurels though ever so plenty

(provided ample justification for my lack of interest in academics as an undergrad…)

Q - Favorite Quote: "Real strength never impairs beauty or harmony, but it often bestows it; and in everything imposingly beautiful, strength has much to do with the magic." ~ Herman Melville, Moby-Dick

R - Reason to smile: it’s almost spring! And I'm flying to NY to see my nieces as soon as the grant is done!

S - Song: Yes…songs are good. Music is good. Damn..why the need to pick one? ;)

T - Time you woke up: 5:15 a.m.

U - Unknown fact about you: In Larry’s words, I was a cheer-tator, spirit-stick lovin’ girl (I was a cheerleader in jr. high, and on dance team in h.s.) –I was also a state officer in FHA (Future Homemakers of America)—go figure…

V - Vegetable/fruit you hate: I don’t think I hate any veggies or fruit, but I don’t love brussel sprouts

W - Worst habit: B…Double E…Double R...U…N…Beer Run! Beer Run!

X - X-rays you've had: oh my…hmmm…well if we keep the definition of ‘x-ray’ loose: face (nose—a few times, mouth, lots o' times), brain (twice), arm, ankle a few times, feet a few times, guts a few times… I heart radiation….

Y - Yummy food/s: smoothies and walnuts…they’re good for your brain…

Z- Zodiac sign: Libra: it’s all about balance, baby, balance…

Stop it! Make it stop!

2006-01-21T20:21:00.000-08:00

Ok...more of the same...this is really self-indulgent...I'm getting back to my book, but apparently, I couldn't resist...

1. Name three things you can't live without:
Love, brains, energy

2. If you could hang out for a night with any fictional character, who would it be?
Students and teachers at Hogwarts.

3. As a kid, what did you want to be when you grow up?
A writer, an attorney, an artist, an interior designer (until my Dad said it wasn’t a socially redeemable profession).

4. Right now what do you want to be when you grow up?
A professor. I love what I do, now, but in the end, I want to help guide/select new librarians.

5. What song always makes you cry?
Songs don’t make me cry.

6. What's the best advice you've ever been given?
a. Have a beer and leave it to Jesus (this works best if you have a slight Texan accent).
b. Go to library school—at least you’ll be able to get a job.
c. If you get flipped out of your craft in the middle of the rapids, just go limp—don’t fight it…just let the current take you. If you fight it, you’ll die; if you go with it, you’ll just get spit out down-river.

7. Are you a good liar?
Used to be. It hurts too much.

8. What still surprises you about your life?
That apparently, I’m really sheltered. And people feel the need to shelter me. I think I’m super-tough. Everyone who loves me knows otherwise.

9. What quality can make you instantly connect to someone?
A mixture of intelligence, cockiness, and the ability to not take yourself too seriously.

10. What turns you off right away?
A skewed arrogance to excellence ratio.

11. What's really difficult for you?
Shooting a left-handed jump-shot.

12. What do you wish you'd done differently?
I’d like to say “cared which school I went to for undergraduate work,” but really, it’s nothing. Everything I did wrong pointed me in the direction I’m in now. How can I regret that?

13. Desert island picks?
Is there a limit to who I get to bring and how many times the ship from the mainland brings us supplies?

14. Favorite spot at home?
Our bed. It’s so yummy.

15. What emotion motivates too many of your actions?
Competitiveness. Is that an emotion?

16. Favorite kind of extreme weather?
Really strong thunderstorms.

17. Do you have any recurring dreams?
Many. One where I realize I never attended a class for which I was enrolled, and now it’s time for finals. Another where I realize I’m in my great-grandma’s house, and she’s telling me nursery rhymes in Czech. Many others that can’t be detailed here.

18. Psychic or shrink?
Neither can be trusted.

19. Vintage or modern?
Vintage purses; modern skincare.

20. Do you ever scream?
Absolutely.

21. What are you most afraid of?
Regret (didn’t I already answer this?)

A sampling of songs...

2006-01-21T05:24:00.000-08:00

Ok...continuing on this thread that seems too difficult to resist, after seeing the Cringing Goblin's post on songs that may or may not be your favorites, but just have a lot of meaning for you...

Here's a quick, berry-picking sampling of what's on my iPod...These are all songs I love or did love for some reason at one time...

Lucky ~ 311
Professor Booty ~ Beastie Boys
Something ~ Beatles
Good Day Sunshine ~ Beatles
Revolution ~ Beatles
In My Life ~ Beatles
Bitchin’ Camaro ~ Dead Milkmen
Israelites ~ Desmond Dekker
Romeo and Juliet ~ Dire Straits
Hard Headed Woman ~ Cat Stephens
Pink Toenails ~ Dixie Chicks
Sin Wagon ~ Dixie Chicks
Barabajagal ~ Donovan
Peace Frog ~ Doors
The Lady is a Tramp ~ Ella Fitzgerald
Almost Blue ~ Elvis Costello
Bossa Nova Baby ~ Elvis Presley
Whatta Man ~ En Vogue & Salt-N-Pepa
On & On ~ Erykah Badu
It Doesn’t Matter Anymore ~ Eva Cassidy
Slow Like Honey ~ Fiona Apple
Fire Island ~ Fountains of Wayne
Rodeo Clowns ~ G. Love & Special Sauce
Maybe I’m Amazed ~ Gem
Freedom 90 ~ George Michael
Feel Good Inc. ~ Gorillaz
Celebrity Skin ~ Hole
Ready for Love ~ India Arie
Summertime Rolls ~ Jane’s Addiction
Blue ~ The Jayhawks
Coast of Marseilles ~ Jimmy Buffett
I’m Wrong About Everything ~ John Wesley Harding
I Still Miss Someone ~ Johnny Cash
Mean Eyed Cat ~ Johnny Cash
Blue Hotel Room ~ Karrin Allyson
Evil Gal Blues ~ Karrin Allyson
Back to Me ~ Kathleen Edwards
Nothin’ in the World Can Stop Me Worrin’ About that Girl ~ The Kinks
Eight More Miles ~ Laurie Lewis, Claire Lynch, Lynn Morris, and Rhonda Vincent
Supernova ~ Liz Phair
Fist City ~ Loretta Lynn
Sex and Candy ~ Marcy Playground
These Days ~ Nico
Hearts and Bones ~ Paul Simon
You Don’t Know Me ~ Ray Charles
Hallelujah ~ Rufus Wainwright
It’s Tricky ~ Run-DMC
Please Send Me Someone To Love ~ Sade
Waiting for You ~ Seal
Fallen for You ~ Sheila Nichols
The Book ~ Sheryl Crow
Camel Walk ~ Southern Culture on the Skids
Don’t You Worry ‘Bout a Thing ~ Stevie Wonder
Call Me a Dog ~ Temple of the Dog
Twisting ~ They Might Be Giants
Creep ~ TLC
Roll & Roll ~ The Velvet Underground
Volcano Girls ~ Veruca Salt
Add It Up ~ Violent Femmes
In the Waiting Line ~ Zero 7

Now...back to reading M-D.

Another Lazy Post, or Moby-Dick is taking all my "free" time

2006-01-19T18:42:00.000-08:00

Ok, I'm having a great time re-reading M-D (more blog posts and the link to the technorati tag on our book-specific blog: http://moby-dick06.blogspot.com), but then I saw that Mr. Blue Pamphlet has an infectious so-called lazy post. Since I, too, am addicted to silly e-mail surveys, I'm following his lead...

1. What color are your kitchen plates?
White with navy trim. It’s Denby Baroque.

2. What book are you reading now?
Moby-Dick, of course….(again)

3. What's your favorite board game?
Cranium

4. Favorite magazine?
I’m a magazine slut. Not counting all the magazines/journals I read at work (Online, Computers in Libraries, Library Journal, ALA, LITA, PLA, etc...), I personally subscribe to FastCompany, Lucky, Marie Claire, Food and Wine, and Shape…

5. Favorite smell?
I lost all of my sense of smell after my concussion last year (long story)…and I gradually regained about a 1/4…now the fact I can smell anything at all thrills me. Green peppers smell terrific because they smell pretty much like they used to. I can’t smell things like chocolate or coconut…It sucked to not be able to smell anything…

6. Least favorite smell?
See number 5.

7. What's the first thing you're thinking in the morning?
I love my bed. I love my job. Choices suck.

8. When you come out of your house and you realize it's raining what's your first response?
Yum. I love the rain.

9. Favorite color?
Blue…black…and yellow…and purple….and pink…and white (even if it’s not a color)….oh, and green…ok…pretty much any color…

10. Least favorite color?
See number 9.

11. How many rings before you answer the phone?
If I want to talk: ½. Otherwise, I don’t pick up.

12. Future children's names?
Daisy, Eudora, Walker, Cady, Quentin, and Ishmael

13. Favorite alcoholic drink?
It’s a context thing. Wine with dinner. Rum on the beach. Martinis at clubs, and beer, beer everywhere.

14. What is your sign and birthday?
Libra, Oct. 20. Can’t you tell because I’m oh-so balanced?

15. Do you eat the stems of broccoli?
Of course! You mean other people don’t?

16. If you could have any job what would it be?
Mine.

17. If you could have any color hair what would it be?
Jet black like Betty Page, but that would just be silly. If I could have my hair color with eternal highlights I’d be happy.

18. Is the glass half full or half empty?
It’s either overflowing or desert dry. There is no in-between.

19. Do you like lemonade?
I like the idea of lemonade. It’s too sweet to actually drink.

20. Do you type with the right fingers on the keys?
Absolutely. I type faster than I talk. I’d make a great secretary. ; )

21. What's under your bed?
Dust bunnies

22. What is your favorite number?
6

23. What is your single biggest fear?
Regret

24. Favorite song?
Too many to name…

25. Super Bowl ads, love 'em or hate 'em?
Don’t care

26. Ketchup or mustard?
Mustard—but only on real brats with real kraut

27. If people could describe you with one word what word would you want that to be?
Passionate

28. Name something you always wanted as a child but never got.
A tree house

29. Favorite soft drink?
Diet coke

30. Name one good thing you did today.
Hmmm…is that a philosophical question? Is working 12 hours a good thing?

31. Favorite High School Subject?
English

32. What screen saver is in your computer?
Photos of my nieces

33. Burger King or McDonald's?
Ick.

34. Favorite pet?
I love all my pets, but my dog, Seka, is my baby. She’s sleeping beside me now.

35. Vacation beach or mountains?
Yes. Oh, yes.

It's on, baby! The Pequod is leaving the dock....

2006-01-08T09:33:00.000-08:00

Ok...I don' t know how much I'll post here over the next few months, because we're hitting the seas and reading and discussing Moby-Dick as our own little pre-conference to PLA in Boston. The goal is to read at least 1/3 of the book per month.

If you'd like to join us, either post to your own blog and use the technorati tag Moby-Dick06, or just let me know if you want to join the discussion blog so that you can post directly to http://moby-dick06.blogspot.com. (If you're posting to your own blog, send me the link so I can list it on our blogroll.)

Moby-Dick06 (technorati tag)

A more leisurely course...

2006-01-04T01:27:00.000-08:00

Like drinking and dialing/texting, there is probably a guideline about posting in the middle of the night when you can't sleep, but now I'm thinking 20 chapters a week for 7 weeks and a weekly online meeting is too ambitious (partly because I woke up at 3 a.m. in a panic about everything that's going on in the next 3 months--an IMLS/CPB grant we're working on with KCPT and Science City, the new content management system, completing the grant-funded projects we have, orienting new staff, completing the SWOT analysis and developing the 2007-2009 JoCoWeb World plan, etc...etc...)

What if we read at least 1/3 of the book per month (although you can read the whole thing in a month if you want, and just continue to contribute to the discussion as you wish)...and then we post as we wish, and meet monthly online? Like, end of Jan, end of Feb, and almost end of March (but before PLA)?

Scott mentions Skype--I'm cool with that, but I thought Skype was limited to one-on-one conversations, rather than an interactive "roomful" of folks--is that true? I'll admit that I like the idea of using OPAL since I want more staff to check it out and use it first hand, but I'll defer to you all. What are your thoughts? I don't want to be a cheertator (that was for Sarah).

We set sail on the Pequod...

2006-01-03T17:57:00.000-08:00

Woo hoo! Yes, bring your boots, clones, taste for whale meat, and your well-worn copies of M-D.

Re-enactments and interpertive dance aren't required, but highly encouraged.

All aboard, shipmates...Ok...here's the plan...we read for 7 weeks...and try to steer toward 20 chapters per week... and I'll see if anyone else wants to join us...

We set sail this weekend. Here are some options for how we can share our thoughts as we chart our course:

1. If you have a blog, post away. So that we can find all of our posts, just tag them with Moby-Dick06 (technorati tag).

2. For those who don't have your own blog or would prefer to post in one place, I started another blog just for this...http://moby-dick06.blogspot.com
I'll send everyone who wants to play invites, so you can all post directly...

3. We can meet online in our OPAL room weekly...again--this is up to you, and feel free to show up or skip it as you wish, but in case you'd like to join, what day works best for you all? A weeknight evening? Tuesdays or Thursdays are ok with me. (I have yoga on Mondays/Wednesdays)...or a weekend afternoon? Let me know what works best if you're interested in using the VoIP/text-chat/co-browsing of OPAL... Weekly might be too much...we'll see, but let me know when you'd like it to be scheduled.

For your reading pleasure, here are a few stories about the 10-anniversary marathon reading of M-D that just started today....ah...to be on a dock in New Bedford tonight....

http://www.southcoasttoday.com/daily/01-06/01-01-06/c03ae366.htm

http://www.whalingmuseum.org/prog/marathon.html

Moby-Dick06 (technorati tag)

Want a good launch for 2006? Read Moby-Dick with me!

2006-01-02T19:57:00.000-08:00

Yeah, yeah, maybe I can't convince any of you to stand on a dock in New Bedford reading M-D in March (slackers), but maybe I can convince you to read M-D with me over the next few months? I'm not planning to act as discussion leader...it's more of a joint venture, and whoever wants to set sail as a shipmate is in....Here are my questions: should we meet weekly or monthly as we all read/re-read the book? Should we have our online discussions via OPAL? Should we post discussions via a blog? Or (gasp) meet in person? (I'll admit I'm leaning toward an online experience...but maybe a beginning and ending face-to-face meeting would be cool)....

Come on...you know you wanna play...

Gaming Tournament @ the library

2005-12-28T06:43:00.000-08:00

I'm still in Knoxville, visiting my in-laws, but I just got the low-down on yesterday's Winter Gaming Tournament...it was a great success, and we received great press (an evening feature on KMBC Channel 9 and an article with a photo in The KC Star).

Thanks to all the cool folks like Sarah & Tim who made this happen at our library, to folks like Jenny who encourage libraries to jump in the gaming waters, and to cool libraries like Ann Arbor that show us how gaming can bring together libraries, teens, family, and community.

Tim has a great story linked on his blog about one of the kids who participated in the tournament. Here's my favorite quote from The Star article: “My son plays video games so much our family calls him ‘Basement,’” Burnett, of Olathe, said of his son Kendall. “Every once in a while he comes up for air, but he sure does play a lot...Not many social skills can be gained from sitting in front of a box,” Kenny Burnett said. “But an event like this is great because now he (Kendall) has met other kids who love video games as well.” love it!

OCLC Perceptions Report, pt. 1

2005-12-27T07:55:00.000-08:00

I'm reading the OCLC Perceptions Report (online, at my in-laws, from a desktop computer...and wondering if I shouldn't have just shredded the tree it would have taken to print this out...but enough of my whining....at least my brother-in-law has a nice monitor...)...Anyway...I'm working on Part 1, and I thought this was a particularly interesting finding....

When asked the following question, "Please indicate if you have used the following electronic information sources, even if you have used them only once," guess which where the top three resources used? (all ages)

Here are your choices...
Ask an expert
Audiobooks (downloadable/digital)
Blogs
Electronic books (digital)
Electronic magazines/journals
E-mail
E-mail information subscriptions
Instant messaging/online chat
Library Web site
Online bookstore
Online database
Online librarian question service
Online news
RSS feeds
Search engine
Topic-specific Web sites

Ready for the answer? Ok, the first two are easy...
1. E-mail (74%)
2. Search enginge (71%)

But, what was the third? Online news? nope (but close).... Online bookstore? (nope)...Topic-specific Web sites (nope again)

Drum roll.....
3. I.M./online chat (53%)

I thought this was particularly interesting. Now, I wonder about some of the labels (would most people know what a topic-specific Web page was), but I'm going to use this stat as a quick intro as we start our staff SWOT (Strength, Weakness, Opportunity, Threat) analysis of the Web page...My guess is that most library staff will be surprised by the use of IM/online chat vs other electronic resources....

Quick look back, long look forward

2005-12-26T08:20:00.000-08:00

Where have I been and where am I going...I'm still in the midst of family Christmas celebrations, but as I steal away from the festivities, I'm going to think about what's happened in 2005 and what I'm looking forward to in 2006. More posts to follow.

It's been an amazing year. Much has been really challenging as we've worked to build the Web Content Team, select a new content management solution to manage our 9-site, 2,000+ page JoCoWeb World, to not just think about answers, inspiration, interaction, and engagement, but to actually make all that happen, and oh, to not just do all this in a void, but to build excitement and interest and engagement among library staff and community members as well. Oh, yeah...and I'm supposed to find some balance, too...

I am incredibly lucky to work with truly amazing people who love all this stuff too. As I'm in here in Knoxville, they are getting ready to host the first ever JoCoLibrary Winter Gaming Tournament tomorrow...how cool is that?

2005 and 2006

2005-12-26T08:12:00.000-08:00

What's happened in 2005...
Increased the size of the Web Content Team from 5 to 7
Hired 2 new team members: a new Web Content Developer and a (new position!) Web Interface Designer
Made a decision on our content management solution: We're going with Episerver (we'll be the first library and the first U.S. organization to implement it, but it's very big in Sweden...ok, yeah, that kinda seems like a punch line, but I have great expectations, and I'm really excited about it).
Won the national award for library service

What's on our plate for 2006...
New staff join the team
Complete a SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats) analysis of our JoCoWeb World with library staff...
Complete Web World plan for 2007-2009
Do lots, lots more with OPAL
Rebuild the entire 2,000+ page, 9-site JoCoWeb World

Best of all, I get to work with really cool, energetic, amazing people. I'm a lucky girl.

We just won a major award!

2005-11-30T17:49:00.000-08:00

Ok...complete and shameless self-promotion ahead, but my beloved place of work just won the National Award for Library Service! I love that I work with people who are so passionate about libraries and who do amazing things with their passion. Cheers to all! It's an honor to work with you.

The Right Fight: ILS Customer Bill-of-Rights

2005-11-24T06:25:00.000-08:00

Yes! John Blyberg's post on ILS Customer Bill-of-Rights outlines exactly what we should require from our ILS vendors. Vendors aren't bad folks. But they are in a business, and we need to require standards and let them know what is acceptable for us, and what is best for our patrons.

1) Open, read-only, direct access to the database.
2) A full-blown, W3C standards-based API to all read-write functions
3) The option to run the ILS on hardware of our choosing, on servers that we administer
4) high security standards

From John: "Given these tools, libraries would be empowered to roll out new services and features in their time-frame, not that of the vendor. Vendors could still (and should still) provide templates for the more popular features such as RSS, but we wouldn’t be reliant on them. It would also let vendors focus on what they really should be focused on: the quality of the automation system itself. This isn’t a take-us-through-the-next-3-years feature. This, alone, is a major evolutionary necessity for the survival of the online library. If we don’t get this, we will fall irrepairably behind the curve."

I couldn't agree more. So, how do we get the ILS Customer Bill-of-Rights as ingrained into library culture as the ALA Bill-of-Rights?

Library 2.0 part 2: What Library 2.0 means to Michael Stephens (and friends)

2005-11-19T07:11:00.000-08:00

Fantastic post from Michael Stephens, "Do Libraries Matter: On Library & Librarians 2.0" on the ALA Techsource Blog. He reviews Ken Chad's and Paul Miller's post at Talis: Do Libraries Matter? The Rise of Library 2.0, and adds his own spin.

Michael suggests, "Please put a discussion of Library 2.0 on the agenda for your next staff meeting! Your users and staff will thank you for it!" What a cool idea. Ok, I'm on it.

Michael's posts: thought, heart & action.

I can't imagine a cooler job than working on the Web in a public library.

Library 2.0

2005-11-19T02:55:00.000-08:00

It's taken me a few weeks to catch up from Internet Librarian--the usual drill, so much excitement for projects, long to-do lists, wanting to get things rolling, trying to get the right people in the right room for things to catch fire, and you know, trying to keep all the projects we have already started up in the air. (Selecting a new CMS, designing a new Web world, working with a new Intranet system, community Web partnerships, e-audio books, link resolvers, hiring new staff--woo hoo! etc, etc, etc...)

Anyway, I just got around to reading, "Library 2.0 Movement Sees Benefits in Collaboration with Patrons." There are some great quotes from folks like Jenny Levine, and Jessamyn West, but my favorite quote about the impact of web 2.0 tools on libraries is from Aaron Schmidt: "Asking if these tools will replace librarians is like asking, 'Are power tools going to replace carpenters?'"

Overall, the article is fine, and certainly, it should be printed off and left lying indiscriminately around staff rooms, copy rooms, and anywhere your colleagues might stumble upon it, because I realize that library 2.0 has yet to be realized....but I admit the title makes me prickly. It's like writing, "librarians see benefit in books." Collaborating with patrons is the essence of what we do. Here's my wish: in the near future, articles will no longer focus on teaching "shy" librarians how to use Web tools, or figuring out how to "get them [librarians] to interact with patrons through blog comments, IM and Wiki entries," or about how IL is a bunch of librarians speculating how to "survive in a world of Web-based, user-created content." It's not a matter of librarians being taught how to use the tools, being cajoled into interacting with patrons with said tools, or speculating on how to survive in a world of (gasp) patron-created content.

Librarians will not have to be taught about new tech; we'll be the teachers and the developers of Web tools. Librarians will be the early adopters, and libraries (and library Web sites) will be the places where the public learns about new Web tools, and finally, librarians won't be thinking about how to survive in web 2.0 or web 3.0--they'll be the pioneers that are creating it, and creating new worlds for patrons to interact, create, and engage. This isn't just a wish...it's already happening in libraries everywhere, and I would argue that this is what Internet Librarian is really about. It's not about how to survive in the new world. It's asking, what new worlds will we create?

The Future of Public Libraries from InfoCommuner

2005-11-12T13:26:00.000-08:00

Ok, ok, I work with (and actually for) Tim Rogers aka InfoCommuner, but that is entirely by choice. It is because of him that I returned to the library world in the first place, and after reading this post, you'll understand why. Everyone should be so lucky to work with someone with vision, energy, and brains. (And no, he doesn't pay me to promote him--plus, we're a public library--we're in it for the glory, not the money ; )

I love this post on the Future of Public Libraries. Here's just a snippet, but you'll be happy that you read the whole post.

"It’s not just about hooking folks up with the printed page anymore ... there is too much value out there in experiences and emotions and conversations that just can’t be transmitted through the old paradigm of library work. Interaction creates the connection that will drive the next generations, and libraries need to be a part of that.The last chunk ... engagement that changes lives and builds community ... to me, this is the holy grail. It’s the stuff that allows us to move past learning, past understanding and into real action. On this plane, the library takes a central role a facilitator for community change and public good. It will occur on a personal level as well as across neighborhoods, cities, and counties. The library will not simply be the building, the collection, the technology, and the staff working to achieve something good and valuable for the community ... Instead, it will be all of those things plus community volunteers, civic leaders, educators, healthcare providers, business leaders, and of course library patrons. It will be all of these folks together working through the one perfect partner for community well-being, the public library."

Moby-Dick, PRI, and PLA preconference reading on the dock

2005-11-07T19:28:00.000-08:00

Ok, ok, I've only been half-joking about a Moby-Dick reading on the pier in New Bedford as our own unofficial preconference to PLA, but I'm not joking anymore. Tonight's PRI's show on artists inspired by Moby-Dick has cemented this for me. To top it off, the show began and ended with my mentor to end all mentors, the wonderful person who showed me what passion about Emerson, Whitman, and (of course) Melville really looked, felt, tasted, smelled, and sounded like, and who, oddly enough, told me to go to library school, Beth Schultz.

Even if we don't read it cover to cover, I WILL be at New Bedford on Tuesday, March 21, 2006. If you're in, let me know.

Library or Marketplace? Cathedral or Bazaar? Yes. Morville’s Ambient Findability

2005-11-06T20:46:00.000-08:00

Woo hoo! I just finished Peter Morville’s book Ambient Findability. I actually started it on my trip to Monterey and IL05, and quotes from the book quickly wove themselves into our presentation, but this weekend was my first chance to complete my dive into the book.

It’s a fantastic read full of engaging ideas, history, research, philosophy, practice, cool new tech, and ancient questions that continue to challenge us and which remind about everything I liked about library school.

I also really like his writing style that is sort of Whitman-esque as he skips from cathedrals to tsunamis to text chat, from shorelines to beehives, and from platypuses to fire to flickr. Everyone involved in libraries, information, and the Web should read it.

Some of my favorite quotes:
“Information is about communication. It involves the exchange of symbols, ideas, messages, and meaning between people. As such, it’s characterized by ambiguity, redundancy, inefficiency, error, and indescribable beauty.” (46)

“ ‘having information is painful and troublesome’ ” ~ Calvin Mooers

“Our ability to make informed decisions will depend on how we allocate attention and trust, how we define authority, and how we employ metaphor.” (154)

Some of my favorite ideas:
Folksonomies, taxonomies, and more. It’s a both/and world
I loved his discussion of metadata, and the way he embraces both the traditional and the cutting edge. It’s sort of a something old, something new, something borrowed, something blue kind of theory, and it totally works for me. It also reminded me of one my favorite MD quotes: “There are some enterprises in which a careful disorderliness is the true method.”

“Semantic Web tools and standards create a powerful, enduring foundation. Taxonomies and ontologies provide a solid semantic network that connects interface to infrastructure. And the fast-moving, fashionable folksonomies site on top: flexible, adaptable, and responsive to user feedback. And over time, the lessons learned at the top are passed down, embedded into the more enduring layers of social and semantic infrastructure. This is the future of findability and sociosemantic navigation: a rich tapestry of words and code that builds upon the strange connections between people and content and metadata.” (141)

“To manage complexity we must embrace faceted classification, polyhierarchy, pluralistic adboutness, and pace layering." (153)

From Marcia Bates (don’t call her Marsha ; ) Users don’t use library methods or systems. They use what’s easy. (61) Accessibility is “ ‘the single most important variable governing the use of information.’ ” (160)

People like computer systems that flatter them. Should our Web page flatter our patrons? (55)
Design matters. Good design= credible information, happy patrons (56)

Collaborative foraging, expert way-finding, information transfer, and symbolic communication: what can we learn from honeybees? (20, 61)

Oh, yeah: honeycomb: Morville’s honeycomb of user experience (109)
Modules of the honeycomb: Useful, usable, desirable, findable, accessible, credible, valuable
“More opening move than endgame, it gets people talking about qualities absent from the diagram and catalyzes discussion about goals and priorities. Is it more important to be desirable or accessible? How about usable or credible? In truth, it depends on the site’s unique mix of context, content, and users, and any tradeoffs are better made explicitly than unconsciously.” (109)

Humans are irrational. We don’t know what we want, and we change on minds on that. And yet, we try to build computer systems that figure out what we want. Bounded irrationality (156)

Mantras:
You are not the user ~ The experience is the brand. ~ You can’t control the experience.

You can’t use what you can’t find.

What we find changes who we become.

Technorati tag: findability
Flickr: ambientfindability

Glassworks: The Public Library as the Center of a Digital World

2005-11-06T18:01:00.000-08:00

Here's an overview our presentation at IL05, and a link to the slides. We had a great time presenting, and it was really gratifying to hear so much positive feedback. Now, we just need to write the article ; )

It was cool that we presented after Lee Rainie started his keynote with a discussion of how, as technology becomes more and more prevelent, it becomes invisible. A great lead in to thinking about glass as a metaphor for Web content...

Glassworks: The Public Library as the Center of a Digital World

To create glass, you must heat a mixture of raw materials to such an extreme that their molecular bonds break and then quickly cool the newly created substance in order to lock the atoms into a random state before they can form into a perfect crystal arrangement. In other words, glass, the very substance that makes our high-speed digital networks possible through fiber optics, is a type of frozen chaos. The potential for glass, like the potential of digital resources, is limited only by our imaginations. The goal of the Johnson County Library’s Web site is to become the center of everything local and to create a clearinghouse of digital community information. To realize this goal requires creating, repackaging, and organizing content; providing the staff to develop and support the content; and building buy-in from the organization, area agencies, and the community at large. Using glassmaking as a metaphor for community Web development, presenters discuss the planning and future of the library’s focus on creating and managing locally relevant Web content.

Why compare glass and glassworks to Web content and content development?
1. To help think about and expand thinking about what Web content is, what it can be, and how libraries can make the most of Web content to enhance the lives of the people they serve.

2. Think of the basic forms of matter: gas, liquid, solid. However, glass is its own form of matter. It is similar to liquid, and it is similar to a solid, but in fact, it is a unique form of matter. This is one of the most important reasons to think about Web content through the “lens” of glass. Although Web content is like other information, communication, and entertainment mediums—in fact, it is something completely unique—a form unto itself entirely.

3. The potential for glass, like the potential for Web content, is limited only by our imaginations.

4. Glass, like Web content, can reflect and interpret the world around it.

5. Glass is the very material that makes the many possibilities of Web content possible. Our fiber optic networks are simply very pure glass, transmitting information through light. Because glass can transmit an unbelievable amount of information at an unbelievable speed, library Web sites have the potential to serve as “the interplay of ideas at the speed of light, guided by glass.”*

Here are the slides (it's a huge file, but the photographs are pretty ; )

We've thought about doing another presentation entirely online through OPAL. If you're interested, let me know.

*At the Corning Museum of Glass, an exhibit on fiber optics is entitled “The interplay of ideas, at the speed of light, guided by glass.”

IL05 IL2005 Internet Librarian 2005

IL 2005 Redux

2005-10-30T10:38:00.000-08:00

After letting the sessions, after-hours discussions, and workshops all simmer for a few days, here’s what I’m thinking about post IL 2005.

1. Patrons don't need to know the words Blog and RSS (unless they want to).
Sarah (Lib in Black) mentioned that patrons don’t have to know you have a blog on your page. Call it library news, or something else. I couldn’t agree more. It’s easy to get caught up in the jargon, and isn’t that exactly what we’re trying to move away from? You have a blog on your page, big deal. The things that matters are that a. you’re creating a space for patrons and library staff to interact; b. it’s a quick, easy to communicate what’s happening and why; c. through the authentic voice of you and your colleagues, you’re showing that the library is about people: real people, ready to help; and d. built-in feeds let patrons bring library news into their own worlds.

Of course, we should also be the place for patrons to learn those words as well as be a "safe" place to play and learn tech in general. We're all things to all people: we're librarians.

2. What are we doing, and why are we doing it?
Tech plans matter. Not just for the tech, but for the people. Not only is it important to have a living, breathing tech plan, but it needs to include how you’re going to constantly work to create buy-in from staff. Also, don’t just talk. Act. Every meeting needs to end with action steps (which we do pretty well), and every action step should be follow-up (which we don’t always do so well—a good goal).

3. Online communities affect and create face-to-face communities.
The flickr stream of librarians with giant calculators is a perfect and amusing example.

Things I hope happen at IL 2006:

1. We pick the right fight.
Although I thought the discussions about Google were interesting, I can see other "threats" that are closer to us (at least for public libraries). If we really want to pick a fight with someone, it should be the vendors who are hi-jacking our Web pages, and forcing our patrons to bounce around to various interfaces, through various authentication processes, all the while making us pay not only for their so-called services and content, but for the release of our own data with additional pricing for API.

I don’t think vendors are evil. But they are in business, and we should all get together to ensure that if they want our business, they will provide interfaces that can be visually integrated with our own (with style-sheet headers and footers, not just “letting” us place our logos in little corner), free access to our own data, and standards for authentication.

2. We get rid of “tracks.”
At first, I was a little disappointed that there wasn’t anything new in the Public Library tract. I mean, the information was really good, but it wasn’t new. I read all their blogs, I know what they think, and while I’m truly grateful that all these folks write blogs that help keep their colleagues up to date, I’m really disappointed that John Blyberg’s session on the totally amazing things they are doing at Ann Arbor District Library wasn’t included in this tract. He did speak for a just a few minutes as part of a what’s new with library Web sites, but it was his full-blown presentation that everyone really, really needed to see.

Here’s what I think would be oh so cool for next year: instead of “tracks,” just post each one of the presentations on the IL06 site, and let us all tag them. Then, we’ll self-organize, and the coordinators will know which sessions have the most buzz, and likely the most attendees so they can plan the room size. But, it’s not really about buzz as much as it is letting the attendees self-select, and show (not just tell) the coordinators and presenters what it is about the presentations that they’re interested in. So all I want for IL06: tags, baby, tags.

Post-IL focus and action steps

It’s the people, not the tech
Ok, ok, I didn’t learn this at the conference, but over and over again it was reinforced as I was reminded about how important it is to stay focused on the people, on the emotional attachments between people, and how to build those emotional attachments within and through libraries.

Abram said “know your customers better than Google.” We need to know our customers, our communities, and our colleagues. We need to tell our library’s stories, and we need to learn what stories our communities have about our libraries.

My action items to get out from behind my screen and talk to more people:
a. Go to lunch with a different person from work each week.
b. Get involved in at least 1 community organization or effort.
c. Improve community engagement on our Web site by encouraging patrons to share stories about the library, library locations, and staff.
d. Once our Web survey is completed, post the results and answer any common questions and alert patrons to services they might not know about (as evidenced by the survey results).

We need to be doing I.M. reference
We’ve already been kicking this around, but only from a tech-side, and I don’t think it will get enough staff buy-in if the reference staff isn’t driving the ideas.

Action items:
a. Talk to Monique (I.T. director) about the tech issues with I.M.
b. After things shake out a little with reference, work with the powers that be to find some money and see if we can’t persuade Aaron from Thomas Ford (and walkingpaper) to come in and discuss why and how they have implemented I.M., and how we can do it, too.
c. Find some staff members who are most interested to pilot reference I.M.—maybe as a start we can focus on Homework Help.

Gaming in the library
Again, it’s somewhat of a staff buy-in issue. It’s somewhat a techie/librarian co-project (good for building internal relationships), and it’s just another way to show y.a. patrons that the library wants to provide experiences they are interested in.
a. Talk to Tricia (teen services librarian) and Atabong (Web Services Coordinator) about how best to get started with gaming at the library.
b. Assemble a project team of librarians and techies.
c. Let staff know what we’re doing and why.
d. Launch a pilot project.

Encouraging staff buy-in and tech planning
And speaking of buy-in, obviously we all know that staff buy-in is important, Michael’s session with 10 tips for encouraging buy-in was really good. This is also tied to our tech plan, which needs to be listed on the Intranet as a living, breathing, interactive document.
a. Complete our internal communication needs assessment so that we can better implement a practice of encouraging staff buy-in and make sure they actually receive the information we’re trying to share and encourage their engagement.
b. Find our tech plan and post it to the Intranet. (Do we have one, or do we just use the annual work plans for this function?)
c. Post the notes and information about on-going tech projects to the Intranet and encourage staff input.
d. Work with L.I.T. and Web Content Team to develop a staff-buy in plan/check list for developing and rolling out new-tech (this needs to include the development of a staff playground and recess time).
e. Talk to Coordinating Committee about a staff buy-in plan for developing and rolling out new tech.

Figure out how to bridge the gap between tech and content.
Everyone involved with our Web has to be relentlessly focused on what is best for patrons (ok, I guess that’s true for everyone who works in our library, but I’ll bite off what I can chew for now). It can’t be a matter in which the content team says what we want, and having the programmers and tech folks respond to our “business needs.” We all need to be on the same page, and in some way, share a brain to provide seamless, slick basic functions as well as cool tools and experiences for those who are interested. Also, we need to work with other libraries to collaborate and share applications, ideas, and code.

Basics:
a. Focus on improving the functionality, usability, and ease of use of our ILS.
b. Get the spell-checker for Sirsi catalog
c. Look into the EPS system for Sirsi, look at Sirsi-provided APIs, or think seriously about converting to a new ILS.
d. Ensure JoCoWorld 3.0 is clean, crisp, and super-easy to use

Advanced:
a. Increase interaction between patrons and library staff online
b. Encourage patron-created content
c. Provide intriguing experiences for all ages online

Action steps:
a. Find an answer to the staffing concerns: how to ensure everyone is focused on the same goal and has the time to commit to the goals.
b. Develop Complete S.W.O.T. analysis of the Web and all Web-based products (e.g. databases and the ILS) with patrons and staff.
c. Develop tactics and action steps for 2006-2007
d. Talk to Web Junction about encouraging usability document sharing and regional usability consortiums
e. Implement, implement, implement

Take more time for in-depth analysis and thinking
It’s ok to think about Web pages and library stuff all the time, but I shouldn’t be so focused on the daily minutia. Take time to read more, write more, and unplug.

Action steps:
a. Complete 1 book a week.
b. Write article on glass.
c. Be completely unplugged at least one day a week.

IL05 IL2005 Internet Librarian 2005

Abram: Top ten things libraries must do

2005-10-26T15:58:00.000-07:00

Stephen Abram is a smart guy. But you knew that already. Here's his top ten of what we should really be spending our time on...

1. Know your market
It’s an imperative to aggregate your data (Normative Data Project: http://www.libraryndp.info/)

2. Know your customers better than Google knows customers (Goolge knows data--you can know people)
Personas: understand your customers in terms of their needs, preferences, and desires
MS Personas (in this month's Computers in Libraries)
Millenials are different (and their brains are different)
Usability matters: The "A" frame adopted from newspaper layout isn't working for public library Web sites.
There is a difference between usability and satisfaction
Satisfying vs. meeting Real needs
Transactions vs. Transformation (Value-based impacts: we shouldn't worry about so much numbers--focus on how we're really transforming our communities--with hopes, for the better.)

3. Be where your customers are
How much of your usage is in person?
Simple collaboration (I.M.) 85% of people from ages 14-25 have at least 1 IM account: only 5% of people over 30's do

4. Searching for the target
Federated searches shouldn't look like Google.
Differentiate. Target your searches on specific topics/resources. Don't just be Google-Lite.
Build federated collections
Target your community
Build compelling content
In Context!
Respositories--only with compelling experiences
Understand what compelling is

5. Support your culture
"Get your texthead to nexthead"
MP3's
Streaming media
Voice search (SpeechBot)
iPods & podcasting

6. Position libraries where we excel
Google does who, what, where, when really, really well.
Google sucks at How and Why: everything that is complicated is what we're good at
"Libraries core skill is not delivering information."
"Libraries improve the quality of the question." (yum)
Taking the knowledge positioning between information and behavior
Information Engagement Levels: Read/View --> Act on/Discuss --> Argue/Defend --> Present/Teach --> Stimulate/Live
"It's an information ocean, not a highway." We create discovery and interaction spaces.
"Libraries are an "exploration space" not a collection space."

7. Be wireless
The next massive wave of innovation will start 06/07
HydroBroadband
Nanophone
Smart: DoCoMo phones)

8. Get visual
Google news Maps, visual display of quantitative data and interactions and experiences
Search engines and searching in general need to be visual

9. Integrate
Integrate with your communities
Build community context first
It's not about the library--it's about five very specific spaces, communities:
learning
research
neighborhood
culture/entertainment
workplace

Building portals: it's not a library portal, it's the portals on specific locally relevant topics

10. For Pete's sake, take a risk
Get over your fears and don't let the worry tank win

Focus! Pick something. Do it well, and move onto the next thing.

(Ok, the conference is over, and I'm too tired to spell check. Signing off for now...)

IL05 IL2005 Internet Librarian 2005

The best session I have ever heard at Internet Librarian. Ever. Pay attention to Ann Arbor District Library...it's even cooler than you think

2005-10-26T14:36:00.000-07:00

Presenter: John Blyberg, Ann Arbor District Library

This is absolutely the best session I went to the entire conference. Actually, the best session I have ever attended at I.L.

Not only is Ann Arbor doing really, really great things for their patrons, but John is doing really, really great things for libraries by completely setting the standard for how library Web sites should be designed and managed, advocating for open source and development sharing, and just being a totally cool, generous, and freakin' smart guy. Has anyone else noticed that English majors make the best library programmers?

I'm so disspointed that this session was buried in a weird tract in the last session of the last day, but I'll give my conference overview later. Right now, I just want to contnue glowing about John and his great ideas.

Where did they come from?
Like many library Web sites, the first version of their library's Web site was flat html files, created in dreamweaver, with animated gifs, and "functional enough to replace the card catalog." "Dreamweaver is a design tool, not a content management tool."

The next generation of their site used "Userland/Frontier" but that's a closed proprietary database-driven CMS. And that didn't allow them to do all the things they really wanted to do. It did give them the basic functionality of a CMS with a unified look. They had a number of problems with Frontier. They had a number of databases, but none of that was really accessible from within Frontier, and it was difficult to access their data once it was in Frontier.
So, they were ready to move to the next generation site, but, they needed to convince their administration it was important enough to go through such a large-scale change (time, money, etc...)

In the meantime, they had an interim period where they re-thought everything regarding their servers, network, and Web services. (love this...brains and energy, baby...)
What does re-thinking everything look like?

Network topology redesign
Server hardware updates
Database consolidation (audit: what data is important and how are you going to access it?)
Software upgrades: stay current on your own projects and stay ahead of/on the curve of upgrades to ensure you're taking advantage of the features available
Migration to thin-client architecture
Development of software libraries: As they started new development projects, they adopted the idea that all of their software would be written by using "libraries" that could be used repeatedly
Adopt open standards
Strategic planning sessions which were already

Next...needed to choose a new CMS.

His initial, informal wish-list for a new CMS:

LAMP-based (Linux/Apache/MySQL/PHP)
Well Supported
Well Respected
Modular
Extensive API
Easily Themalbe
Blog-based technology with RSS
The Magic Spark: keep your eyes open for that

We should be moving away from proprietary systems. Also, open-source tools work the best, becuase they are complety tranparent.

Enter: Drupal

LAMP-based
100% modular
Excellent API (API-centric project)
Large user-base --not only are they large, but zealous about what they do. The Drupal site went down shorly after they went live, they had a quick collection, and raised tons of money to buy new servers and got everything up fast
Very active project--continously launching new features that are well-documented
Well-documented (www.drupal.org)
Nice documentation site (www.drupaldocs.org/)
High-quality programming
Taxonomy-based organization (it's like tagging, but at the administrative level)
Bloggable: comments, RSS, etc.
It has the Magic Spark (it's really fun to use it)

What does ‘now’ look like to AADL?
www.aadl.org
July 4, 2005: AADL 3.0
Anyone who creates an account can post comments on their blogs. In the first six or seven hours they had over 200 users signed-up.

More cool things:
Ability to cross-post blog entries inside multiple taxonomies
Tie the blog entries to a bib record, so they will show up in the catalog as you browse them
Configurable inter-wiki links to catalog items, wikipedia etnries, whatever you want to bring in
RSS feeds for all blogs
Permalinks
Hitlist integration
The events engine: A centerpiece of their intermation-integration strategy (I wanted to jump up and down here...I so want a decent way to display, disseminate, search, and organize program information for patrons online)
Need good tools to bring together AV content from a program to end-users live and online.
RSS feeds of holds and checkouts. (Ahh...so cool! "A great example of modular programming.")
Does this new approparch work? Uh...yeah (duh)
Patrons, and particularly teens love, love, love this. They constantly post/comment. Voracious comments from their teen patrons.

A peek behind the curtain
They needed a way for Drupal to interact with III (their ILS)
They wanted at least the appearance of fluidity between Drupal and the catalog
They absolutely needed a seamless integration

What III provided:
Patron 'API'
Returns patron information
Tests a Pnum/Cardnum and Pin combination
wwwoptions

Taking it all apart:
They had to make the III server into an application server (Wow!)
All non-essential html was stripped from the screen files
Unnecessary wwwoptions were disabled
Added custom tags to pinpoin vital data

**warning** geeking out ahead...

Consuming the CURL
CURL: Client URL, allows your software to communicate with many differnet types of servers using different protocols.
PHP has native libcurl support
Using CURL, we were able to consume web pages from the stripped-down III server
By parsing the ouput with their custom tags, they were able to reliabley return any data set they wanted

ok...it's safe again...

The Wrapper
The result is a software library that allows them to fetch and update patron information, run catalog queries, etc...
Because its a PHP5 class, it's essentially stand-alone software
All catalog traffic down runs through Drupal

But seriously....
They should not have had to do what they did
We (all libraries) should have access to our automation systems
Vendors should provide APIs in the form of web services
SOAP
XMLRPC at the very least
(Novel ideas, folks--call your ILS and database vendors. Now.)

Designing for the future: making data portable
Make OOP design a requirement: take the time to create a foundation before you create the product.
Don't program yourself into a corner
Practice scalable database design
Use open-source platforms
Always ask, "What else can I do with this data."

"Libraries should all be sharing software."
A case study in portable data: AADL-GT Gaming tools
This is a Drupal module, and they are looking at the idea of sharing this with other libraries to allow others to set up gaming tournaments. It is so, so cool. Check it out: http://www.aadl.org/taxonomy/term/39

What else are they looking into:
Flash
AJAX (asyncronous java script--this is what G-mail is written in)
Sparkle/.NET
SOAP services for patron access
IRC
Widgets

I can't say enough about the work that Ann Arbor (and John) have done here. Giving their patrons fantastic tools, creating worlds in which librarians and communities can interact, creating spaces where culture and community, and just a lot of damn fun can bubble up, all the while sharing ideas, tools, and encouragement with other libraries. It's just incredible. This session completely wins my vote for best sesssion I have ever attended at Internet Librarian. Ever.

IL05 IL2005 Internet Librarian 2005

Building Cohesive Web-based Library Services

2005-10-26T11:30:00.000-07:00

Karen A. Coombs & Amanda Hollister spoke on how to integrate look, feel, and functionality across all your Web-based systems and your Web site.

Challenges
Disparate systems (ILLiad, Docutek, SFX, OPAC, etc.)
Differnet vendors
Distributed servers, hosted at differnet places by different vendors
Diverse content
Differnet ways for users to authenticate

Wanted a seamless solution so that they weren't bouncing their patrons off to other worlds with every click.

Potential tech solutions
XML
Federated Search
OpenURL
OLDB/ODBC connections: A lot of databases can be web-enabled. Pull the data into the world you want
APIs (Application Programming Interface--particularly XML Servers)

Creating an aesthetically consistent look
Consistent navigation elements (color scheme, fonts, logo, header when they can get away with it)
CSS
Server Side Includes
Branding
Include both print and Web documents (Woo hoo!)
http://library.cortland.edu/

Integrating content from disparate systems
Periodical Holdings
Export local holdings to include in list
Connect to OPAC API to link to the holdings page
(This is how the ILS target in their OpenURL resolver should work)
Creating a unived "my account" page
Goal: Items checked out from the ILS and ILL items from ILLiad together on one page
Incoporating the OPAC
Added a catalog search box to the library home page that directly searches the catalog
Added search boxes customized to specific collections on
Pull in direct information from the OPAC, like the new books page with links back into the catalog--but right now, it's a static thing they have to manually do rather than a dynamic option, which is the goal.

Lessons learned
Before you buy new systems, look to see if it's closed or the level at which it's closed (API, etc...) Will the vendor let you have access to database behind the scenes? Is there an API you can use to access data? Can you get an export of your data at any time?

Think ahead about how you are going to connect data from one system to another (Try to use the same user id throughout)

This is a really long process: they liked the idea of a federated search, but they didn't have the money

Erica's overview: Karen and Amanda are doing a lot of good things to pull these disperate systems together to improve patrons' ease of use and build a more cohesive library experience. But why do vendors have to make this all so, so hard for librarians? We need to get together to build standards for vendors, using style sheets, and making it easier to either completely customize the look and feel of their products that we purchase or to simply pull their content into our sites and streamline the log-in/autheniticate processes.

IL05 IL2005 Internet Librarian 2005

Rich & Roy wrestle over Google Print

2005-10-26T10:12:00.000-07:00

Everyone’s a little punchy on this, Wednesday, the final day of IL 2005, and this was a fantastic keynote with lots of interesting arguments, constructive dialogue, and laughs, led by Rich Wiggins, Roy Tennant, and Adam Smith (project manager for Googel print).

Rich’s take
A few years ago, Rich and Roy started talking about a federally funded project to digitize the entire contents of the Library of Congress. And now, we see Google basically doing this, and Rich is all for it.

Questions about digitizing:
Are we digitizing the cream of the crop or the entire corpus?
It’s hard to weigh a digital library—most of the “digital libraries” are actually tiny and not even near in size to the collections of even the smallest public library.

Think big: what if we digitize it all?
Obvious issues: server space, resolution, color depth, etc…
LOC has about 20-28 million titles in print collection (119 million items in all collection). But, broadband delivery, storage space, and digital imaging is all pretty cheap now, and getting cheaper, so everything’s on the table.

Maybe if it’s worth keeping the item in the collection, it’s worth digitizing it.

Bigger issues:
Rights management: once it’s digitized can we deliver it?
The paradox of latent value: An obscure title sits on a shelf, never used, bringing no royalties to the author, but if you scan it in, and everyone has access to it, then people come out of the woodwork demanding royalties.
Preservation
Improved digitizing technology (Everyone thinks/suspects that Google is doing amazing things with digitizing technology, rumors/fantasies of robots, but Google can’t comment on this at this time. Adam Smith, the project manager for Google Print, was on the panel as well)
Access and Standards (open & XML)

Ok, so what if we only digitize the good stuff? Answer: It’s really expensive to find the good stuff.

One of the really interesting things about Google Print is that it will force the issue of large-scale rights management. We shouldn’t let copyright decisions made back when Walt Disney was drawing a mouse on the back of an envelope dictate our world and our access to our world today.

Google Print has taught us to think big. It’s like the Apollo program, or rather Kennedy’s arguments for why we had to go to the moon, and it’s not because it’s easy. Google is taking on some really, really big issues: technology, institutional, legal. The big thing that’s different from the Apollo program or other think-big initiatives is that it’s not the government, but a company that’s doing it.

Why Trust Google?
Agile and innovative (AJAX)
They show no fear
They have enough money to take on Disney and other big, big players
They won’t do this alone: Ex: Open Content Alliance (added Microsoft last night)

Roy’s take
Google: Catalyst for digitization or library destruction?
Obviously, more access, easier access is better and the more players in the space is better.
It is good that Google is doing this, that the Open Content Alliance is doing this, and that libraries are digitizing things, but there are some big questions and issues.

Scary Monster 1: Copyright Cataclysm
Libraries have long enjoyed “fair use” protections
Google’s attempt to shield their activities under that same umbrella may destroy it for us all

Scary Monster 2: Closed access to open material
The Call of the Wild example: if you go to Google print, you don’t get the free, accessible version: you get a link to the closed copy of the book with a few snippets, but no real access to the text, and access only to buy the book, when elsewhere on the ‘net, you could read Call of the Wild in full-text. (Of course, the same thing happens if you try to find Moby-Dick)

Scary Monster 3: Blind wholesale digitization
Large research collections are not weeded by policy
Copyright will restrict the use of recent material and since users use what’s handy, older material will win over newer, better material

Scary Monster 4: Ads
Most of Google’s revenue comes from ads
How long before we see ads for antidepressant medication next to Hamlet?

Scary Monster 5: Secrecy
The agreements have largely been kept secret
Even the Google libraries themselves couldn’t talk to each other when making the agreements with Google
U-Mich revealed theirs after a ROI challenge
Roy sent the Open Contents Alliance Memorandum of Understanding to Library Journal
A rumor indicates that the U-Mich has the best agreement from the library perspective
But, we don’t know

Scary Monster 6: Longevity
What do Google, Enron, and WorldCom have in common?
They are/were large publicly traded companies driven by profit. Only 1 is still around.

The Harvard library is 400 years old. Google is 7 years old
Which organization do we trust must with our intellectual heritage?

Liz Lawley asked a really compelling question of Adam Smith: How does Google reconcile it’s own secrecy and policies of “no comment” with a policy of increasing access to everything published by anyone else? Adam said that he was new to the company, and that actually, no one had asked question of him in a public forum, but would be happy to continue the discussion.

IL05 IL2005 Internet Librarian 2005

Auto spell check in your ILS

2005-10-25T16:43:00.000-07:00

Thanks so much to Christopher from the Gates Foundation for tipping us off to this so, so cool tool that auto spell-checks patron searches in your ILS. He posted about this last spring, at his blog TechnoBiblio, but I didn't hear about it until last night when we were hanging out at my favorite English Pub in Monterey. (Mmmm...Guinness is yummy.)

The company is: Jaunter Lucien

And, happy days, a Sirsi library only 2 hours away from me in Columbia, MO has implemented it: Daniel Boone Regional Library

Check it out, and look forward to the day you never have to spell Melville correctly again ; )

IL05 IL2005 Internet Librarian 2005

How to create buy-in at your library

2005-10-25T16:13:00.000-07:00

Michael's presentation on creating buy-in at your library is spot-on. This is one of the hardest issues we deal with, and I think his suggestions are fantastic. His top ten list plus a bonus is at his blog: http://www.tametheweb.com/ttwblog/archives/001830.html.

IL05 IL2005 Internet Librarian 2005

Online program dine-around on Wednesday

2005-10-25T16:06:00.000-07:00

I'll be hosting a dine-around on Wednesday at 6 p.m. if you want to talk about OPAL (Online Programming for All Libraries) and other cool, cheap tools for online programs. If you're interested, there is a sign-up sheet on the bulletin board beside the conference registration. We'll meet by the registration area at 6 p.m. if you'd like to join us.

IL05 IL2005 Internet Librarian 2005

Steven Cohen's What's new with Blogs, Wikis, and RSS

2005-10-25T10:32:00.000-07:00

Like Lee Rainie said yesterday, the more prevalent and common place a tech becomes, the more invisible it becomes. Just a year ago, I was so excited by RSS. Now, it's a given. This is cool, but I have to admit I miss the lusty, gotta have it feeling. Luckily other new nifty tools are coming out.

Steven's presentation and lots of links are all online at: http://stevenmcohen.pbwiki.com/BlogsWikis

What are Splogs? Machine generated spam/blogs. These haven't really been dealt with. Most of splogs are coming from Blogger, so people are looking to Google to fix it.

The big boys catch up with blog search (Google, Yahoo, etc...)
G! catches up with RSS: And RSS is incorporated into Google's news searches, so you can run a search, sort by date, and then grab RSS or Atom feeds for a "news" search. But blogs are in their news search, so it's more than traditional media.

What's in Your wallet? Your I.M., skype and blog should be on your business cards

Yahoo buys Flickr: Yahoo is going to have the best image search ever

The new bubble? Lots of money and hype is being thrown around (Web 2.0, etc.) Steven would like to look at a new metaphor. Rather than "bubble" which grows then breaks, he's advocating something that grows and expands, but in a sustainable way.

Up & coming:

"My" ___ returns
www.Netvibes.com: You can create your own homepage through this. It's like My Yahoo, but you can drag and drop feeds, Web elements, social software calendar, etc... I signed up, but I haven't received my e-mailed info yet...stay tuned.

Reddit - (http://www.reddit.com/) Rating content

Digg - (http://www.digg.com) "I dig it"

Memeorandum - (http://www.memeorandum.com) Like Google news, but way better. Takes content, and the content that is most popular displays first. It gets stuff out really quickly.

Oishii - (http://opencontent.org/oishii) Runs through del.icio.us every few seconds, and grabs the most popular things being tagged.

Library Thing - (http://www.librarything.com/) Love, love, love it. This got rave reviews and lots of oooh's and ah's. (so well-deserved, I might add) "This is what the next generation library catalog should be like."

Reader2 - (http://reader2.com/) Similar to LibraryThing--not as nifty

Livemarks - (http://sandbox.sourcelabs.com/livemarks/) Very addictive: lots at the popular tags from del.icio.us

Writely - (http://www.writely.com/) Work on Word docs online

Life Management: Lots of online tools to help make your life more amusing or organized. The social aspects of these products is really exciting. Bowling Alone? We don't browse, read, plan our days, plan our lives, or even hang out on the 'net alone.

43 Things - (http://www.43things.com/) This is so cool--list the 43 things you want to do in your life, and find others who want to do the same things.

Planzo - (http://www.planzo.com/) Set up calendars, private or public; it's Web based, and you can have feeds.

IL05 IL2005 Internet Librarian 2005

Web Trends & Innovations for Public Libraries

2005-10-24T11:17:00.000-07:00

David King: Kansas City Public
Glenn Peterson: Hennepin County
Sarah Houghton: Marin County Free Library
John Blyberg: Ann Arbor District Library

What large public libraries are doing on the Web:
Content (Subject guides, events, and programs)
Customers (help your patrons discover library resources, push information to them, focus on specific user groups)
Communication (commutating with patrons: comments forms, RSS, etc.)
Redesigning with Web Standards

How do they do it?
Staffing is actually being the curve with regard to number of staff working on the Web vs number of patrons using the Web sites.
Use your online stats as justification for why you need more staff to do more work online.

It's all about leverage: leveraging your library staff as a whole to take on as many projects as possible.

Utilize Web Application Software
Integrate a lot of different information and content from different sources rather than static html (PHP, ASP, ColdFusion, perl, etc.)
Rapid Development Environment
Use smarter software like Dreamweaver and Homesite, etc. so that you can decrease your development time.
Use your reference staff for content (Use web-based tools for staff to create content)
Learn more about XML (RSS and more)

Subject guides
Starting points for finding information in specific topics areas
Bring together in one place all library resources on a topic (if you find the history database page, you should find an entrance to all other history-related resources: databases, sites, links to library catalog, Topic-specific RSS feeds, classes and events, subject-specific blogs, etc.) Example: Hennpin's Countries & Travel example
I love that they have the pictures of the librarians! A human face shows that they are real people, ready to help.

Small Library Power
If you have no staff, no money, no time, and no coders, what can you do?
Answer from Sarah: Lots

Simple blogging & RSS
Why love blogs & RSS: free, auto feeds, no tech skills required, you don't even have to call it a blog--it's really what's new at the library. Patrons don't need to know the words Blog and RSS.
Linked links: repackage pathfinders, booklists, etc.
Quick searches: links to prefab catalog searches
All the DVDs, new books, large type
Simple online forms
Printable PDFs of common forms
Simple HTML forms (e-mail reference requests, patron comments)
Lightweight virtual reference
IM: your users are already here: where are you? It's free or at least chap; Aggregate multiple accounts through Trillian or Gaim
Jybe: free right now; a library version coming out soon with links into your ; Co-browsing and text-chat
SMS: text-messaging with cell phones

Ann Arbor District Library
The recently redesigned darling of the public lib Web world (and their darling status is well deserved... did we mention their front page is a collection of blogs and that their director is blogging? Love it.)
AADL.ord's open source tools
L.A.M.P. (linux, apache, mysql, php)
Drupal is the CMS they are using (Again, it's Open source, completelyn PHP, completly modular, good support base, approach to CMS/Blogging fell within their needs. Oh, yeah, it's free)

Trends in Public Library Websites (Dave's best guesses)
Web redesigns galore!
Content and interaction continue to mix (more blogs, more RSS, more ways to connect with librarians like IM, text-messaging)
Video online
Who will have the next great redesigned Web?

One note from me: We are in the middle of redesigning our site (www.jocolibrary.org) and the many partnership sites we manage (www.jocohealth.net, www.jocofamily.net, www.jocobusiness.net), and I would suggest that while it's partly a matter of semantics, we shouldn't talk about redesigning our sites: we should start completely over from the ground up. If the old site had some good content, elements, cool, and we'll add it. But I think it's liberating and exciting to think about something totally new that fits just right rather than trying to modify something we know we want to move away from.

Burn it, and start over. Creativity is destruction. Woo hoo!

Technorati/Flicker Tag: IL05

Want an easy and cheap way to give your patrons access to all online-programming, podcasts, and more? Check out OPAL.

2005-10-23T13:37:00.000-07:00

I am crazy about OPAL (online programming for all libraries), and I'd like to host a dine-around on Tuesday or Wednesday night to chat with more OPAL-ites about programs and promoting OPAL at our libraries. I've sent Jane a message to see if I can't get it added to the dine-around schedule. Additionally, if anyone would like to learn more about OPAL, we could discuss the consortium, and how OPAL works. It's super cheap to join (the consortium charter for 2005 is here), and Tom Peters and Lori Bell are awesome to work with.

Plus, via OPAL you immediately have an online space for meetings (with co-browsing, VoIP, and text chat), online space for programs, and the ability to podcast your online programs. What's not to love?

If I get the official dine-around set up, it will be up on the site. If I don't, and you'd like to chat about OPAL, let me know.

Today I attended Aaron's and Michael's preconference session on Tech planning & libraries. It was terrific! I'll post on that later, but first, I'm off to the Aquarium for a few hours of unplugged bliss.

Technorati/Flicker Tag: IL05

Internet Librarian day 1: preconference workshop & wine

2005-10-22T17:51:00.000-07:00

Implementing Federated Searching and Open URL-based Linking Services
Presenters:
Frank Cervone
Asst. University Librarian for Info Technology
Northwestern University

Jeff Wisniewski (pinch hitter)
Web Services Librarian
University of Pittsburgh

Frank’s plane was delayed in LA due to fog, so Jeff filled in with Frank on the conference phone. Thanks to Jeff for filling in at the last minute, and being such a good sport. Overall, he did a great job, and I hope that InfoToday, Frank, and Jeff (if he’s still talking to any of us ; ) will consider presenting this online as well so we can get to all the details and nuts & bolts of implementing a federated search product. If anyone’s interested, we could easily do it via OPAL, and I would be happy to set it up with a password protect if that’s needed. Since Frank already has his slides, it would be easy-beasy to set it up in OPAL, kick back, enjoy the slides, and use the text chat and VoIP to chat about federated search engines and everything Z39.50 has to offer (and not).

Here’s my overview, but there are lots and lots of details in the powerpoint, and I’ll link to that once it’s up online.

“Librarians are the toughest critics of federated searching.” ~ Jeff Wisniewski

This is a great point, and I think one of the most important elements of implementing a federated search is managing expectations—particularly the expectations of staff.

Federated searching isn’t about trying to replace the sophisticated type of searching that you get via the native database. Federated searching is really a googlized search, and for most users that is perfectly fine. If someone is an advanced searcher and wants to use advanced-level research, federated searching isn’t the best tool. For average users, they are just doing keywords anyway, and most likely, they aren’t using our databases now, so federated searches are a great tool for libraries to provide to their patrons.

Agenda:
What is federated searching?
What does Open URL have to do with? How does it work?
How does federated searching work?
Implementation issues

Why do I care about federated searching?
To provide a single interface to info resources
Lots of the databases/purchased content packages have less-than intuitive names, and therefore don’t know where to start searching (Example: what do patrons think when they see a link to “Ebsco”?)
Decrease duplication of effort: you don’t want to have to re-run your search in multiple databases if you can get around it
Remote access to everything (which you probably already have with ez-proxy or some other method) PLUS a single-search interface, is a nifty thing for patrons.

Northwestern did focus groups with faculty and students to find out what they liked and didn’t like about library research, and found out that the federated search met most of the needs identified from both faculty and students.

Univ. of Pittsburgh has Web Feet. Depending on the product, you can save searches, set up alerts, and other additional services. They have had Web Feed up for 1.5 years, and they are now implementing the extra features like saved searches and alerts, and their faculty have been really excited about it.

A good question to ask federated search vendors: what can’t your software federate?
What Web Feet has always said to them: anything that has a search box, you can federate. But, it’s going to depend on the product.

Another thing that will change, depending on the vendor, will be the configuration decisions you can make regarding the pre-processing of the results, and how the results display to the user.

Where does OpenURL fit in?
Open URL is a NISO standard. So, because Link resolvers are based on those standards, there isn’t necessarily any reason to have to use the same vendor for the link resolver and the federated search engine.

If in addition to your federated search product, if you have an Open URL link resolver, you not only get a total list of citations and resources, but the Open URL resolvers makes the link directly to the full-text of the resources—no matter which database vendor is actually providing the full-text.

How is OpenURL enabled?
1. Buy/install an OpenURL (or set up a externally hosted solution)
2. Provide local holdings information
3. Tell source vendors to enable Open URL functionality (identify your OpenURL resolver to the vendors)
4. Once it is enabled, the Open URL-enabled button will appear as an option (some let you substitute an image, other text, etc…).

On-going maintenance
Need to edit subscription information as your subscriptions change, your vendors change content holdings, etc. (Some vendors provide these updates monthly. Some Open URL resolvers take care of the subscription maintenance as long as you at least let them know when you add/drop databases.)

One of the challenges is the full-text content available in aggregated databases, such as Lexis/Nexis, because the information changes frequently, so it’s important to have a vendor that updates often to keep the information current.

What do you get when you metasearch/use a federated search?
Issues of consistency come from databases not having the same types of searches. A keyword search in one database will work differently in different databases. (Searches run differently, look at different fields, etc.)

Types of results returned
Level 1: Link to (Provides a link to other databases and wishes you luck)
Level 2: Search & link (The content of the database is searched by the federated search)
Level 3: Search & return a brief record (IR returns brief parsable records containing enough information to construct a basic OpenURL)
Level 4: Search & return a full record (IR returns fully parsable records)

How does federated search affect collection development and/or database usage statistics?
With regard to the stats, federated search throws everything on its head. One of the metrics that used to make sense to them (at Pitt) was “number of searches” by database. But now, it doesn’t have meaning since the federated search is going to hit the database constantly to pull any results. The number they look at now is the number of full-text retrievals.

There is also a national standards group called “Project Counter” that is working with the database vendors to standardize how database vendors count and report end-user stats. During negotiations with database vendors, both Northwestern and Univ. of Pittsburgh ask database vendors if they are supporting Project Counter. And, if they’re not, they encourage the vendors to start. (You would also want your Federated Search vendor to be supportive of Project Counter as well.)

Does federated searching affect the number of concurrent users you have to have?
Yes. At first, Univ. of Pittsburgh had an option to search everything, and they had a lot of turn-away issues because of concurrent users. Users just tried to search everything, but then they didn’t get good results. Since they have 200+ databases, it slowed it all down, so it was better for the library staff to make some decisions up front. They still have the option to search everything, but it’s not promoted as the main or first option.

Issues with federated searching:
Variety in the returned results (because of different protocols, metadata formats)
Multiple vocabularies, ontologies, disciplines
Databases that are not fundamentally bibliographic
Merging result sets is difficult
It’s difficult to handle duplicate records, because of field discrepancies (a title here isn’t a title there)
Results sets that differ due to time outs

Z39.50 issues
A lot of the problems people have with federated searching have to do with Z39.50 issues.

Z39.50 was designed prior to the Web; it has a lot of features, but it’s very complicated.
It uses MARC as its basic format, and it has robust search options (Boolean, truncation, proximity, completeness).
It has lots of benefits and functions as the “fundamental glue” that binds disparate systems together (For example, many use it to search multiple library catalogs).

Transaction overhead: There is a lot of stuff going on to complete each transaction, so it slows the system down, or takes a long time to deliver the results. Therefore if you have a federated search vendor that is doing a number of Z39.50 transactions at once, it can really affect your network. It can also affect the server side as it tries to de-duplicate all the results.

Differences in implementation of the standard: When people compare how the federated search results look next to the results of the native database, they will often see that native database results are quite different. But, this is because of the variations in the implementation of the standard (what is a keyword, what does keyword search, etc…)

On the horizon: CQL query: XML based, but it’s lighter, faster, easier to process

(There was lots and lots more here, but we didn’t get a chance to get into most of it. Frank was trying to talk to us via phone, but the connection faded in and out.)

Implementation
http://www.library.pitt.edu/
Pitt uses 3 different entry points to the federated search:
From the front page of the library: the search pulls four major general databases and the catalog (and you can exclude either the databases or the catalog)
Databases by Subject: search across a collection of subject-specific databases –has the option to do a basic search across all or an advanced search across subject-specific options
Resource A-Z list—users can chose which databases are included in their total federated search (they do have the option to search all, but it’s at the bottom of the page, so they don’t slam into their concurrent user limitations)

Major trouble spots to implementing federated searching and open URL:
Configuring databases and resources: Have the correct technical information—it’s not complicated, it’s just getting that information pulled together.
Defining collections: Kick start the process by appointing a small group to make the first pass at each area to get a draft out, and then work on it with the subject specialists. Also, look at performance characteristics: “do these databases ‘play well’ together?”
User interface: How much are you going to customize the interface? Will you de-dup the results and have relevance ranking?
Rollout and acceptance: Be ready for internal resistance and plan for promoting it to the public.

In the end, a federated search isn’t perfect, but for most patrons, good enough usually is. Yes, librarians are often troubled by the discrepancies in the searches between native and fed searches, but we need to manage expectations and not sell federated searching as a replacement for native database interfaces. There are a lot of users who don’t look at the library as a source for information, and if we can bring those users into the library (or library Web page) to show them how the library’s resources are beneficial and a good ROI, it’s all good for all of us in the end.

Now...onto the wine!

Technorati/Flicker Tag: IL05

Packing for Monterey?

2005-10-21T09:50:00.000-07:00

The weather looks lovely and mostly sunny (lows 45ish/highs 60ish).

On my list for Monterey...

2005-10-19T09:51:00.000-07:00

I can't wait for IL 2005, and I'm excited to be listed as a IL '05 blogger. Here's a running list of ideas/projects that I want to bounce off/learn about from others at Monterey...

1. Library Web Usability consortium--I know that next time I write a grant for a Web-based service/resource in the future (like, say, an online database of local health services serving the underinsured, or a digital collection management system to deliver local history) I will build the funding for usability studies into the budget. But, in terms of regular usability needs, it's hard to conduct these oh-so-important studies on an ongoing basis, since to do good studies, you need a fair level of time-commitment from moderators who can say that they didn't have anything to do with the site design and development. We've ran a few rounds of usability studies in preparation for the big re-design, but now, everyone who I can cajole into serving as moderators has, in fact, helped design and develop the Web sites (including me of course). So, what we library folk could do is agree to serve as usability moderators for each others' sites. Maybe we should write an IMLS grant or find some other funding to help us get this set up. Or, maybe it's just enough to agree to help each other with usability studies, and we share docs/tracking/procedures that we already have set up.

2. Cross-tagging and the functionality of tags across sites like flickr, technorati, etc...I want to understand how tags work across the Internet, and how we can use tags more effectively.

3. Library Web Awards...I sometimes have a hard time explaining what we do or quantifying what we do to library colleagues/boards/powers that be/etc... but they understand awards, and one question I'm always getting is if there is some kind of award for the best library Web page. I don't know of one, but I think that having some type of criteria/rating system/best of thing would be cool to create. (like Dave's cups o' java ratings) Maybe this is something InfoToday would like to coordinate or award?

4. I'm always on the look out for a really good public library Web-based calendar of events. In a perfect world, it would include multiple display options, customizable RSS feeds out, online registration for patrons, online reservations for rooms and equipment, and help manage online meeting space as well as physical space--all in a super-slick, patron and staff friendly interface. I wish a vendor would create this, because I would love to buy it.

5. More to come...

Technorati tag: IL05

Brains, energy, otters, literature, and love

2005-10-08T16:21:00.000-07:00

I'm getting excited about Internet Librarian 2005, where I'll be presenting with my colleagues, Tim Rogers (infocommuner) and Sharyl McMillian-Nelson. Anyway, in addition to the fabulous presentations and the opportunity to meet lots of cool folks with lots of energy and brains, I get to go to one of my favorite places in the world: Monterey.

I won't go into all the reasons I love Monterey, but one of them is otters. If I hadn't named this blog after a character from Moby-Dick, I would have named it something otter-esque. Otter-daughter was one of my nick-names as a kid, but also otters are happy and when you talk about energy and brains, otters have all that wrapped up and more. Anyway, I've been checking out the exhibits at the Monterey Bay Aquarium, and I was thrilled to see the otter family album, and learn that many of the otters who live there (and are on display via the Web-cam) are also named after Steinbeck characters. Plus, there are otters that were rescued from Katrina hanging out, too. Love it.

Oh, one more note about otters: they look cute and fuzzy, but they are also one of the most expensive animals in the world to try to keep in captivity. They have expensive taste in food, and they have to be kept busy all the time or else they'll destroy their man-made environments. Brains & energy can equal creation or destruction.

"Temples of thought" it's all good on Wasow

2005-10-08T13:51:00.000-07:00

A great post from It's All Good on Omar Wasow--co-founder of BlackPlanet.com. I love this..."bulk of Mr. Wasow's comments were about how libraries must move from a focus on information to one of transformation." And, once again, Pine & Gilmore pop up, "He applied the concepts laid out in The Experience Economy by Joseph Pine and James Gilmore to libraries, saying that we should pay as much attention to the experience our users have when they use our services as we do to the services themselves. 'The experience of being in a library can be as important as the information available,' he said. 'Part of the magic of libraries is the experience.'"

Esquire's Wikipedia article experiment

2005-10-03T17:21:00.000-07:00

LISNews reports on AJ Jacobs's experiment with a wiki article for Esquire posted in Wikipedia. The experiment was to see if and if so, how quickly, Wikipedia readers would find and edit mistakes in Jacobs's original and intentionally error-ridden post. "According to the Wikipedia page for Jacobs' story, the article was edited 224 times in the first 24 hours after Jacobs posted it, and another 149 times in the next 24 hours. Check out the experiment, cast in Web-stone with the article text and the history of edits.

Promiscuous volunteering

2005-10-01T21:10:00.000-07:00

Whitney at :30 librarian and I have obviously been volunteering for far too much (and you know, I don't have a two-year old at home...)....

It's Presentation Season...stop your presentation before it kills again

2005-10-01T18:13:00.000-07:00

Creating Passionate Users has a wonderful overview of what is good and bad about using powerpoint, "Stop your presentation before it kills again." Although my love for all things Tufte is well-known, in all honesty, there are some ways to use powerpoint successfully that is hard to replicate if you're going for ease of use and effectiveness (hint...text-heavy bullet-points aren't among them).

Current practices and plans for public library Web sites

2005-10-01T17:55:00.000-07:00

Library Stuff tips us off to an interesting report on current practices and plans for public library Web sites and redesigns that says most libraries redesign their sites every three years. We're in the middle of a complete redesign at my library, so I think I actually will drop the $$ to get the full report. I'm guessing most public library webbies will be saying the same thing: usability studies matter; do what patrons want the most; locally relevant, original and patron-created content is king (or queen); use social networking software and cool tech like RSS, blogs, wikis, to give patrons avenues to share their own content, etc... but I also think that quotes from the report might be good evidence in proposals for why we need more Web staff (we always need more staff, but I have to say that I'm blessed with a wonderful team of content developers and we work with a whip-smart programmer) and why the Web is the most important service point "in" the library.

Ego Searching

2005-10-01T17:38:00.000-07:00

Librarian in Black has a great link to a tidy list of ego searching tips with auto RSS feeds. Although of course, "ego" searches can be used for all kinds of non-narcissistic reasons...stay up on all the blog and online references to your library or to your favorite topic (you know...like maybe your favorite 150+ year old book, or a particularly well-loved information design author/guru).

I heart librarything

2005-10-01T09:50:00.000-07:00

What a nifty idea...http://www.librarything.com/

I'm not a cataloging freak, and organizing my own books is not even close to making it on one of my to-do lists in the next 10 years, but I love this as a way to let others know what you're reading, what you've loved reading, and/or what books are in your collection (for those who love to buy me books, but forget what I have...this just happened last week when my Dad was in Harvard Square and was going to pick up the new Melville biography for me, but didn't know if I had already bought it...). Plus, I want to get my nieces' library in here so I know what books they have already acquired. They live in NY, and I'm always wanting to buy/send them books, but I often avoid buying some of my favorites because I think they might already own them.

Plus, they've added so many tools...nice way to add your own tags, comments, and blog widget (mine's on the right side of this page). Love it!

KC Star has RSS

2005-09-23T14:53:00.000-07:00

Groovy--Maybe this has been around a while, and I just didn't see it, but the KC Star now has a ton of RSS feeds! I'm so excited to start adding these to our Web pages!

Think building relationships and trust within your community is hard? Try doing it within your own library...

2005-09-23T13:11:00.000-07:00

There was a time I thought I would never, never work in a library again. After my first libraryesque gig of creating and managing a consumer health library (yes, I even had a budget, and yes, they had no business hiring me for the job because I was completely without library or medical experience...God bless paid internships at the V.A. and people who hire grad students with more moxie than expertise)....After building my little library and finishing grad school, I left for a "real" library job at a university that would also provide tuition remission so I could start my master's in English and not pay full price. I worked all of 18 months as an academic librarian before I bolted for the university's grants office to help faculty members develop proposals and write grants (if you're a librarian, and you're looking for a non-library job, check out research administration--particularly the proposal-side. It's a great job that usually not only pays better than normal librarian positions, faculty will love and even sometimes respect you).

That was when I started calling myself an escaped librarian. And I stayed away for three years. Then I saw a job add for a Web Content Manager at my local and well-loved public library, and I jumped at it. So, now I've been back in the asylum for almost two years. This is in no way a knock on my current institution--(because, you know I wrote the organization's guidelines for personal blogging ; ) --but really, I think most libraries are relatively weird places to work (taking into consideration that I didn't think about the "back-side" of the library until I started grad school in '96--post Yahoo!) . Why are so many libraries not the relaxed, intellectual, literary salons our patrons think we work in? A few reasons:

1. Librarians are perfectionists that build their ethos on knowing all the answers and know everything about information. That's a hard row to hoe in a world that is changing as quickly as ours.

2. We care as much as teachers, but we don't get our own world to rule. Unlike teachers/faculty members, librarians do most of their work without the autonomy of a classroom. We care deeply about what we do and providing great service, but since we don't work in a vacuum, and because managers like to avoid the situation where patrons all ask for the same "good" librarian (good because he/she gives incredible service, or good because he/she lets patrons get away with anything...it's the same deal)...we are often hamstrung by piles and piles of procedures and rules about what we can't do for people. For people who want to serve, having a million rules about what we can't do for people sucks.

I could think of other reasons, but I don't want to rant about libraries as workplaces--I want to think about what I can do to improve trust and build relationships in this world. This is a big deal to me, because we're a library with 12 branches and one central library, and since I'm the Web Content Manager for the library's Web site as a whole, it matters to me what the staff in each branch think, how they use the Web page, and even more important, how they use the Web page when working with patrons. So, here's my goal over the next few months: Each week I'm going to invite a different staff member to lunch. It seems simple enough, but since I'm in middle management, I basically sit in meetings with the same 15-20 people, give or take a few. Some meetings are productive, some aren't, but they aren't a great place to get to know people, or learn about their ideas--and I'm certainly not getting to know the hundreds of people who actually work on the floor with patrons. So, each week, a different staff member, from different branches, holding different positions. Stay tuned.

Conversation is content, take two

2005-09-23T12:57:00.000-07:00

Ok...I'm on vacation today, and normally, I'd be reading/responding to e-mails all day, but in this case, I have promised myself (and my co-workers) that I would not read work e-mail. So my fingers are jones-ing for some content and discussion. (Have you noticed that it's easier to think when you're moving your fingers? Has anyone done research on this?)

Anyway, more on conversation and content. First of all, I think that saying that conversation is more important than content misses the boat with a very narrow definition of content (a slight indeed for such a wonderfully flexible word that can be so many things to all people, including a verb, a noun, or an adjective). Without expanding content to a point at which it becomes meaningless, conversation (particularly recorded or typed conversation) IS content...just because it's not peer-reviewed doesn't make it less worthy, compelling, or clever. While I agree with Jarvis in that, it is good to "help enable and be part of fluid networks of content" that is, in many ways, also creating content. Just like I'm creating content right now. So, while I'm all about finding ways to encourage conversations--that doesn't mean I'm not about content. (Although I'll admit that Web Conversation Manager is sort of an intriguing title as well.)

Conversation is content

2005-09-23T05:18:00.000-07:00

It's All Good has a terrific post "Conversation, not Content?" reviewing Jeff Jarvis's discussion of "Who wants to own content?" Here's a snippet they plucked out, looking through the "library lens"... "Jarvis says, 'the value is no longer in maintaining an exclusive hold on things. The value is no longer in owning content or distribution. The value is in relationships. The value is in trust.' Why? Because 'There is no scarcity of good stuff. And when there is no scarcity, the value of owning a once-scarce commodity diminishes and then disappears....[I]n this new age, you don’t want to own the content or the pipe that delivers it. You want to participate in what people want to do on their own. You don’t want to extract value. You want to add value. You don’t want to build walls or fences or gardens to keep people from doing what they want to do without you. You want to enable them to do it. You want to join in.'"

I love this--partly because this is exactly what we want to do (not just try to do) on our library's Web site. Very experience-library. It's not just the cup of good coffee--it's the experience. The lessons learned by Starbucks and how libraries can build on them is one of the main reason I named my blog after another not-so-famous, but far more worthy character from Moby-Dick--because that's exactly what libraries should do--build on what private industry does, but make it better--more real, less expensive, more about community rather than commerce- And, you know, sometimes we should be first and let private industry build on what we do, too.

Also--In reviewing Jarvis's ideas, Alane from It's All Good asks, "A puzzlement to me--and something Jarvis doesn't address much--is how trust, relationships and conversation become monetized. In other words, libraries receive funding to be--for the most part--the content owners and the distribution pipes. How would they be funded for such ephemeralities as trust and conversation?"

Although I'm not sure is this is what Alane is getting at, I would say that we are funded for trust and conversation right now--this is why we hire people rather than simply stand as warehouses of books and databases. And we need to do better at encouraging the people of our organizations to get out and create relationships and therefore trust in the community, etc... as someone in a suburban library, I don't get out beyond my social circles much. My husband is a professor at JCCC, and almost all of our friends have Ph.D's or at least multiple advanced degrees. lHowever, I know the difference between swimming in certain social circles vs. really being involved in a community at large because I grew up in a small town. Librarians should act more like they are in a small town. Get out. Talk to people. Bring fliers promoting your library programs for adults, like poetry readings, out into the community, and hand them out at coffee shops. Hand out information on remote-access library databases at places with free Wi-Fi like Panera. Providing space (virtual or real) for community members is one thing--being part of that space is something else.

Getting kids off-line (at least sometimes...)

2005-09-07T18:32:00.000-07:00

This is great article to remind us that what we do on the Web only matters if it is connected to how we live, and is governed by the values of our communities and concern for our enviroment. (A good reminder for adults as well as children...I say as I blog in the evening after working 12 hours online....and how does this relate to our discussion of irony? ; )

Of course, the Web can be a part of our lives and can even improve our lives. But this also speaks well to the idea that nothing on the Web matters if it's not tied to real people doing real work. In case you don't feel like reading the article, I've posted a few meaty quotes below for your pleasure.

Charlotte's Webpage: Why children shouldn't have the world at their fingertips
by Lowell Monke
Orion Sept/Oct. 2005

"Structured learning certainly has its place. But if it crowds out direct, unmediated engagement with the world, it undercuts a child's education. Children learn the fragility of flowers by touching their petals. They learn to cooperate by organizing their own games. The computer cannot simulate the physical and emotional nuances of resolving a dispute during kickball, or the creativity of inventing new rhymes to the rhythm of jumping rope. These full-bodied, often deeply heartfelt experiences educate not just the intellect but also the soul of the child. When children are free to practice on their own, they can test their inner perceptions against the world around them, develop the qualities of care, self-discipline, courage, compassion, generosity, and tolerance—and gradually figure out how to be part of both social and biological communities."

"As the computer has amplified our youths' ability to virtually "go anywhere, at any time," it has eroded their sense of belonging anywhere, at any time, to anybody, or for any reason. How does a child growing up in Kansas gain a sense of belonging when her school encourages virtual learning about Afghanistan more than firsthand learning about her hometown?"

Ok, Erica here again: Obviously our answer is that public library Web sites do help kids learn about their local neighborhoods and activities in their local neighborhoods. It's all about local content, baby.

On experience: modeling thrills at the library

2005-09-03T18:03:00.000-07:00

Dave King ala Dave's blog has been talking about creating memorable experiences at the library all summer and has some great posts on the Pine & Gilmore's book The Experience Economy.

I've been in and out of the same book ever since KLA (Kansas Library Association conference) this last spring when we were fortunate to hear from the groovy folks at Cerritos Library--a glorious info-rich palace of a library that has relied heavily on Pine & Gilmore's ideas. I blogged my some of my notes from this presentation on a fledgling library staff blog, but one of the things that really struck me is that Cerritos is all about the experience AT the library--and well, while I'm interested in that too, I am personally more focused on the library experience outside the walls of the library. So ever since KLA, I've been thinking about how we should create the experience library online.

Dave has some fantastic ideas about how to do this, and one thing that I keep coming back to, thanks to another speaker at KLA (actually he was a storyteller) is the idea of modeling the thrill of discovery. The storyteller was actually talking about how we get people excited about reading--we don't just hand them some books and wish them luck. We model reading. We talk about what we've read to others. We let kids know we love reading. And, most importantly, we read to kids.

So, now shifting to one of my demons (forgive the hyperbole): online full-text databases of licensed content. Librarians sort of understand databases, but we don't love them. Patrons rarely understand what we even mean when we say "databases," and really the term is ridiciously vague. (We have to find some better way to refer to the information we provide online...)

We have really missed a great opportunity--or in a more positive light: we have a great opportunity before us--to not just pave the cow path and provide access to full-text books and articles, maps, and images, just like we provide access to these items in print in our libraries....but it seems like the online world could give us so, so much more with regard to creating connections between the ideas and concepts found within all that digital licensed content. And provide tools for us and our patrons to create those connections ourselves and share them with others.

So, back to the idea of modeling: what do we do with databases linked from library Web pages? We post the links and wish our patrons luck. So, what I've been thinking about over the last few months is this: how do we model the thrill of disovering new ideas and information and the jolt of connecting disperate concepts to find the fundamental patterns that make the world gloriously mysterious and completely understandable at once...and doesn't it seem like the thousands of dollars we're all throwing toward licensed (and poorly named) databases would be part of the solution? And, even if we don't have to reach toward the mysterious and glorious, couldn't we just make it a lot easier for patrons to find the answers to their casual information needs (home improvement, gardening, buying stuff, etc...)?

When I read Pine & Gilmore, I keep thinking that part of making the library experience richer, more thrilling, and more memorable, is just ensuring that basic library services and resources are way, way, way easier to find and use. I'm still working (as I have been for a year, on and off) on the revision/update to our Digital Community Inforamation Clearninghouse plan--this is the document that created my job and my team, but one of the most important points in the plan as to be this: work to improve what matters most to the patron. Which means, we have to not have so many crazy exceptions to all our procedures or have a thousand different rules for patrons to remember...think about this: what are the "rules" at Amazon or Starbucks? How many procedures or policies do you have to know to use their serices?

Then why do we have so many?

Building the Experience Library Online

2005-06-27T07:44:00.000-07:00

Dave King talks about experience planning "and trying to figure out how it works for libraries, especially library websites."

When I first saw the Cerritos Library DVD, I was thrilled and inspired by how a library could create such an amazing space, but it was also intrigued that while they had created this amazing physical space, their Web presence didn't have the same impact (I think, it's because they have to live within their city site--but they might have other philosphical reasons as well.).

Anyway, I think there's a good bit of ground to cover in terms of thinking about and building an incredible experience online for library patrons.

Here's the start of Dave's list:
"Try to put things where people might look (usability)
Offer people information they actually want (focus groups)
Provide a pleasing experience - one with a good feel to it (this one's the hard one!)"

As I've been thinking about this and planning for the major overhaul of our library's site, here's what I've come up with so far:

1. Experience starts with usability. Like Dave said, you have to put things where people will look for them. Also, things have to work right, and if I really bite the bullet here, at the risk of throwing the whole experience idea into overwhelming dispair, it means we have to get our OPACs in order. Probably 80% of the comments I get about our Web site have to do with our OPAC and patron features. Patrons don't know the difference between what we built and what we bought. And why should they? We have to dig in and really work with our vendors and library colleagues to make these catalogs and online accounts easy to use. When you look at online library competitors, (aka Amazon,

2. Experience is creating delight. This is the feel-good part, and here, we should go with what brought us. Knowing more is delightful. Trivia and stories; information and wisdom. And, while not everyone delights in the same thing, I think we can learn a lot from J.K. Rowling here. People like to be clever. They like to know. (And focus groups help a lot in determing what they want to know.) They like surprises (good ones, not surprises like inconsistent navigation systems). They like stories. They like friends and family. They like to have the inside track. They like to skim along the surface, but have the option to dive down deep and learn a lot about something very specific and likely very dear to them. It's ok sometimes to have to work for something, but there has to be a big pay-off, and the work has to be about gamesmanship and problem-solving and a search for meaning and understanding--not mindless hoops (aka outdated, patron-unfriendly policies and applications not designed for the end-user, etc.).

3. Experience is learning more about yourself and your world. Part of experience is exploring. Exploring your own thoughts, the thoughts of others. Bouncing ideas of each other to help formulate better ideas and goals like bats using radar to find their way. Blogging software and other social networking software have given millions of people the playgrounds in which to experience themselves and others--library Web sites should help millions more do the same.

4. Experience is multi-sensory. We have a lot of text. I like to read, but as we all know. Web reading is mostly skimming, and what we need is more sensory experiences online. Voice-over IP, podcasting, and other audio online are all just the tip of the iceberg. Insead of just giving patrons the option to submit their reviews online, we could encourage them to share their voices too. Have kids narrate your kids Web site (why rely on text, images, and buttons?) Use OPAL and other similar software to create real multi-sensory online programs. Help teens set up a weekly pod-cast from your library's teen site. Ok, ok, we have the audio & visual, but what about smell, taste, and touch? Online recipe or gardening tip sharing and real-life gatherings to taste the results or swap plants. And stories--any good story immediately pulls in all senses.

more later....

Google & books...full-text or full-price?

2005-05-18T18:03:00.000-07:00

1. I'm a lazy blogger....lo siento.

2. I love Google. I'm not a librarian who smirks when someone says they search Google before they search an online purchased database. We're kidding ourselves if we think those purchased databases are easy to search or if we think they are good at retrieving the information needed by patrons (or library staff for that matter, but I won't bore you with my attempts to find quick, interesting information on honeybees or the winter solstice via our purchased content....two tasks that Google assisted me with admirably...)

3. But, while Google is a great search, I'm not so excited about the books thing, although it's possible what I'm experiencing is just growing pains. I'll give them some slack, but here's what I encountered tonight....

I was writing an e-mail to my colleagues at my place of work to share with them the "Ontology is Overrated: Categories, Links, and Tags" article which was cited by librarian.net.

As I was writing I felt the need to quote Moby-Dick (a common occurrence), but I wanted to ensure the quote I remembered was accurate, so, rather than walk across my study to pick up my well-loved copy of the book, and flip through the pages until I found my pen scratches from, like, 10 years ago, I Goggled Moby-Dick, knowing full well that Moby-Dick is available full-text online since forever (or at least 1996).

BUT, what I get in the first hit ala Google books is a nice searchable version of Moby-Dick which allowed me to quickly search and find the quote I wanted "There are some enterprises in which a careful disorderliness is the true method" ....BUT I couldn't read more than a few pages online because, it says the information is "copywrited material."

But wait, Moby-Dick has been available in full-text forever. My only guess (not well-researched) is that this is penguin's copyright issue. (I know I'm admitting my ignorance here. But this is a post written as a gut-reaction, and the reaction is annoyed.) Will Google not take folks to the free full text as well as the book to be purchased option? Because, like patrons, I don't have the patience to look at more than one screen of Google hits, I tried another search, and this time I specified "Moby-Dick Gutenberg" (no quotes), and came up with what I wanted, but that's because I knew about Project Gutenberg, and I actually kind of expected Google to take me there to begin with...I think this is an issue for our patrons with equally short attention spans looking for real full-text--Not just a link to which I can get a taste of full-text but then have to buy the book (even when the full-text is readily available...)

For those of you aching to full full-text version of M-D: http://onlinebooks.library.upenn.edu/webbin/gutbook/lookup?num=2701

Art & experience via the Web

2005-04-03T07:41:00.000-07:00

The Kansas Library Association (KLA) conference is now over, and I'll post my notes shortly, but here are a few things I'm working out...

1. Creating the experience library (ala Cerritos--a truly amazing and wonderful concept) on the web... engaging all the senses in a digital world and creating pleasure--to delight in details, to create online experiences/exhibits that model the joys of knowing more, to provide exceptional online service/functionality.

2. Being a conduit for experiences and connections--not just bringing together the community outside the library, but bringing together the community within the library--across departments and management hierarchies.

3. Art nouveau online...I've always loved the philosophies of art nouveau-- public art for the industrial (vs. the agricultural) world, but inspired by natural forms, reminding us that while we are creatures of a world of commerce and increasingly living in a world of cities and environments of our own making, we are still creatures...I need to find some way to incorporate this philosophy into our new Web design....

metaphysical triangulation

2005-03-24T19:04:00.000-08:00

Example A.
3 a.m. I can't sleep. Actually, I woke myself up thinking about things I needed to do today, and since I couldn't get back to sleep, I read. I'm reading Barry Schwartz's The Paradox of Choice --anyway, so I'm reading, and I'm thinking, "this is so dead on...regret or fear of regret really does drive a lot of of our decisions....everyone who talks about experience libraries needs to read this...this completely explains customer service in Johnson County (an affluent county with a high-expection of everything)...and more...." and while I'll write more about Schwartz's convincing arguments in later posts, I need to get on with my story...

5:30 a.m. I finally can't keep my eyes open and go back to sleep.

6:50 a.m. I finally get out of bed, stumble into the bathroom to take my shower, turn on NPR, and there is Barry Schwartz talking about regret and the implications of choice in our society, and the other arguments I've been reading lo those early morning hours, so I start wondering if maybe I'm not really awake yet. Turns out I was awake. But there's something about reading a book at the same time that the author turns up on NPR. It's like I found the secret reading list, and somehow the heavens are aligning for me.

Example B.
This morning's inspirational quote from Fast Company:

-----Original Message-----From: Fast Company's First Impression [mailto:newsletters@fastcompany.com] Sent: Thursday, March 24, 2005 5:00 AMTo: Reynolds, Erica, JCLSubject: First Impression: Conference Room CreativityMarch 24, 2005

"The best ideas probably don't occur when everybody is sitting around a table." —Adrian Caddy, Creative Director, Imagination Ltd.

After I opened up the article linking to this "first impression" quote, I was happily surprised to see that it is an article on Guinness and brand marketing. "Guinness as a brand is all about community. It's about bringing people together and sharing stories," says Ralph Ardill, director of marketing and strategic planning.... "And Guinness stout is a great social catalyst."

Ok, isn't that some kind of sign? Of what I'm not sure, but it has to be some sort of positive convergence. Kind of like metaphysical triangulation to prove you're on the right path with whatever you're trying to work out...Guinness, community, & connections....
http://www.fastcompany.com/magazine/58/marketing.html

What Joe Kraus has learned....

2005-03-19T13:08:00.000-08:00

Three good points on management from Joe Kraus, co-founder and CEO of JOTSPOT and co-creator of Excite, in this month's FastLane:

1. "Very early on, the founders of startups make an important choice. Do they want success or control? Neither is bad so long as the choice is explicit. I've picked success. And success implies giving up control--hiring people who are much better than you, or being willing to be the janitor if that's what's required." I completely agree--hire good people, and get out of their way.

2. "Never compromise on hiring. Every time I've compromised, I've come to regret it. You have to be tough, even if that means not hiring people who could turn out to be great, because of the damage one person who isn't great can do." One thing I've decided to do next time I interview is to ensure that the potential team member not only understands metaphors, but can apply them and create new ones. Although I can't say it's a magic bullet, I will say that I think that people who have trouble thinking with metaphors have problems with systems thinking and understanding multiple perspectives--two requirements for people who work in the Web world developing, creating, and repackaging content for public library patrons.....

3. "Nothing demotivates people like the equal treatment of unequals. When you hire a bozo and treat him the same as the rock star, it deflates the rock star." I'm no rock star, but this really hit home. It's probably a sign of being a bit too externally motivated and a bit of a praise junkie, but the few times that I've been in situations where incompetent people were tolerated and the rest of us had to pick up the slack, I high-tailed it out of there fast. It's not just a matter of incompetent people being tolerated--it's also simply no fun to work with people who suck at what they do. On the other hand, it's oh so fun to work with people who are engaged and keep me on my toes. Friendly competition is a good thing.

Computers in Libraries: for those of us who didn't make the trip

2005-03-17T15:16:00.000-08:00

I've been loving all the post from bloggers at Computers in Libraries--although it makes me wish I had gone this year, I can't thank them all enough for the up-to-date posts and overviews of the presentations! And since the data is streaming out gradually as folks attend different presentations, make new connections, meet new people, it's almost like I'm there--or at least way better than scanning through the presentation slides after the fact.

Some of my favorites so far:

LibraryWebChic's post on Social Networking Software (because I wish I could have been there, and then had a list of everyone else who attended/is interested in colloborating on ideas for public libraries...)

InfoToday's Blog & overview of the conference

Dave King's posts on Stephen Abram's tech innovation presentation

Michael Stephen's posts & pictures

Big things from small teams

2005-03-13T08:22:00.000-08:00

Christian Crumlish and Pete Gaughan's Power of Many blog steered me toward Terry Storch's overview of Jason Fried's presentation on how to make big things happen with small teams. Here are just a few of my favorite points...Read the rest at Storch's post: SxSW: How to make big things happen with small teams...

hire the right people!- passionate and happy
well rounded
quick learners
good writers
trustworthy
act your size
don’t try and be a big company
less formalities
more flexible
more change
more freedom
embrace constraints
less people, more power
less money, more value
less resources, better use
less time, better time
build half a product not a half-a** product
there is nothing functional about a functional spec
transparency=trust