Internet Librarian, Day 4 – Wednesday, Oct 28 2009 – #IL2009
Day 4 of the conference started with another great keynote: a panel of two high school students and one college student talking about how they view technology, education, and their own research habits. Some of my favorite sessions happened on the last day. I loved some of the comments that the teen panel made, particularly when the guy from high school said that in the future technology will make our leaves easier [and better], but ONLY if we use it in the right way. I got to attend my first Pecha Kucha session, too, which was neat (20 slides per presenter, 6 minutes and 40 seconds to present).
- Keynote: Growing and Grown-Up Digital: Net-Gen Speaks
Facilitated by Stephen Abram, SirsiDynix - Mashups for Library Data
Nicole Engard, Director of Open Source Solutions, ByWater Solutions - Technology: The Engine Driving Pop Culture-Savvy Libraries or Source of Overload?
Elizabeth Burns, Pop Goes the Library ; Sarah Houghton-Jan, LibrarianInBlack.net - Pecha Kucha: Innovative Practices
Amy Affelt, Nicole Hennig, Steve Harris, Matt Hamilton
Other IL posts: Index | Day 1 | Day 2 | Day 3 | Day 4
Full session notes available after the cut.
Keynote: Growing and Grown-Up Digital: Net-Gen Speaks
Facilitated by Stephen Abram, SirsiDynix
We were asked to respect the privacy of these young panelists, so no names are used. The use of “hs” refers to high school. In a question and answer style.
what music do you listen to?
– hs guy – classical and jazz, uses his ipod and computer
– hs girl – eclectic tastes, listens to radio and ipod, keeps music on USB drive so she has it with her
– college girl – eclectic tastes, on vinyl and tapes, also CDs, but no ipod and not much computer — uses online software called “playlist”
how do you get your music?
– hs guy – used to download illegally, not buys on itunes
– hs girl – also itunes and the occasional download
– college girl – does NOT pirate music
what’s in your backpack?
– hs guy – phone, ipod, usb drive, sometimes a camera
– hs girl – phone, ipod, 2 usb drives
– college girl – textbooks
how important is branding?
– hs guy – not important, just buys whatever is cheapest
– hs girl – quality is most important, brand only important when it specifically denotes quality
– college girl – brand doesn’t matter
how do you use your phone?
– hs guy – does not have a great phone, mostly uses it to CALL friends
– hs girl – keeps in touch with mom and friends in NY, texts a LOT
– college girl – keeps in touch with family, uses SMS – mainly uses as a camera, tho
what is your expectation for standard of living?
– hs guy – everything is easier, and keeps getting easier – on the other hand, doesn’t know how to address a postcard (so bad with good)
— everything WILL get easier because of technology IF we use it the right way (YES!)
– hs girl – important to remember that for some of us, technology represents more of a distraction than an opportunity
– college girl – education and connectivity will serve to create more options for how to live
homework?
– hs guy – uses voice recognition software to do homework (instead of typing), makes things go much faster
— uses the internet for research, uses library for “older text”
– hs girl – uses google and bing, sometimes uses homework help now DB thru library
– college girl – uses textbooks and stays away from computers (they’re distracting!); does use DBs
how determine quality of info?
– hs guy – books are more valid, also compares information access multiple sites
— does not use blog posts!
– hs girl – likes to find out where the information is coming from
– college girl – uses textbook reference and DBs for research
——–
Mashups for Library Data
Nicole Engard, Director of Open Source Solutions, ByWater Solutions
what is a mashup?
– takes data from multiple sources and smooshes it all together to create something new
— and possibly something not intended by the original content creator
— e.g. real estate data mashed with a map to create a real estate map
web service
– technology that allows the info to be passed between the 2 applications
api
– a set of functions that allow that information to be passed back and forth
programmable web
– good website for finding out mashups as they’re being released
– has good statistics for showing what mashups are available
— 35% of mashups out there are map-related
why care about mashups in our library?
– easy way to provide better web services to our patrons
— without a tremendous amount of computer or programming savvy
– good way to add value to our websites
— news data, local newspapers, local government info
– lets us promote our services where our patrons are
— patrons can grab our data and then put it out on their own websites
— which they actually really do want to do
how?
– ask our vendors for APIs
— we’re paying for that data, we should be allowed to get that content out there to our users
— we should be able to do what we want with that information
– take library data and mash it up with popular web services
— e.g. import an RSS feed into your facebook page
– create RSS feeds for library content (if it’s not already available)
yahoo pipes
– let you pull info from different locations and in different formats and mix them together into something new
– don’t give up after your first try
mashups for fun and function
– bike tours of CA website
– real estate maps (trulio, zillow, etc…)
– readingradar.com – merges NYTimes bestseller list and mashes with Amazon.com data
— so what if we do this with library data as well?
– developer.nytimes.com – more mashable data and APIs
– this we know – local and government data from your community
— data from geonames website and govtrack.us
mashups for libraries
– map library locations, simplest mashups are map mashups
— hcplc.org
– collections on flickr
— put the photos on flickr, and then bring them back into your website
website mashups
– join any service with an RSS feed
— blogs, wikis, flickr, calendars, bookmarks, etc
– delicious – allow multiple librarians to share websites with certain bookmarks
– drupal from yourlibrarysite.com – create your own library mashup site
opac mashups
– much harder than the other mashup stuff we’ve been talking about
– get an api from your vendor
– get an api that generates javascript (will work in most opacs)
– hire a programmer (someone to come in to hack the system)
other library APIs
– the open library at openlibrary.org/dev/docs/api
– lexisnexis academic
– worldcat search api
– librarything APIs – librarything.com/services/
where patrons are
– apis and rss sends your content to where your patrons are
— opac search in facebook, chat reference, etc …
ideas from librarians
– travel data from circulation data and various travel sources to provide patrons with better services
– grab MARC location data to plot information on map about a specific title
– pull data from MARC records about the campus and plot them on a map
— all from a content put on by the library 2.0 gang
– mashup your patron rating with amazon ratings to show side by side and compare
– article lists pulled by subject from all your databases and shown in one spot
mashups.web2learning.net – slides, apis, and more!
——–
Technology: The Engine Driving Pop Culture-Savvy Libraries or Source of Overload?
Elizabeth Burns, Pop Goes the Library ; Sarah Houghton-Jan, LibrarianInBlack.net
elizabeth burns
pop goes the library – popgoesthelibrary.com
yzocaet.blogspot.com
smart phone
– weather, mapping, twitter, notetaking, etc
– texting, is it cool or a waste of time?
kenleyneufeld.com
– top ten iphone apps for librarians
we need to be tech savvy if we want to serve our tech savvy patrons
library success wiki
– online reference
are you tech friendly?
– we’re an interactive community, so are our users
– how is the electric interface, wireless, etc…
— are we offering our patrons the things we want when we’re at conferences
can your patrons watch television on your library computers?
we’re letting patrons use our resources for the things they want to
– and further, we can promote these things
– why NOT let your patrons know they can come in and watch hulu on your computers
trendspotting
– form a group (formal or informal) and let decisions come from a more diverse group
— include the tech-savvy and the conservative
— include those serving different demographics
you don’t have to reinvent the wheel, or do it on your own
– you can have a tech consortium, or even a statewide committee
twitter – waste of time or library saver
– #saveohiolibraries was a very effective campaign
– have to know how to use the tool effectively to have this sort of campaign
— which is why we need to know and use these things
be willing to look silly
play is practice
—
sarah houghton-jan
information overload is the devil
information overload predates home PCs and mobile devices
– though our inputs now can also cause a problem
– we still have paper content, books and articles etc, piling up that we can’t get to
not being able to keep up with all the things we want to do / learn
– don’t look at web 2.0 service clouds!
– take things one at a time, as you come to them, and see what they’re worth to you
top 5 barriers to dealing with info overload
1. lack of time (or perceived lack)
— if you treat something as a priority, then you will find the time to do it
2. lack of interest / motivation
3. not being encouraged or threatened appropriately by management
— sometimes this is necessary
4. not knowing where to start
— so much i don’t know where to begin
5. frustration with past attempts
we need to be more like automatic paper towel dispensers
10 tips for dealing
– inventory your inputs – what content are you bringing in to your life
– inventory your devices – what are you using to get that content
– think before sending / subscribing – is it worth your time?
– schedule yourself – including unscheduled work and tasks
– use downtime
– stay neat – get rid of your virtual and physical piles, organize
– keep a master waiting list – anytime someone owes you anything, keep a file and mark it down
– filter your input
— weed, weed, and weed again – if you don’t have time for something consistently, stop subscribing to it
— teach others communication etiquette (and stick to it yourself) – don’t send those “thank you” emails
— schedule unplugged times
— unplug at will – know your limits and listen to them
– limit your feeds and following
— use lists to organize feeds and twitter friends
— use RSS when applicable
— use RSS to send you reminders
– interrupted technology
— phone, SMS, IM, twitter – only use them when you feel like they’re appropriate
— check when YOU want to; your schedule it most important to you, don’t be a slave
— don’t interrupt yourself
— use your status message
— lobby for IM or twitter at work
— use the phone when appropriate – and turn it off when you need to
— keep your phone number private
— let it ring
— work = work, home = home
– stop “doing” email
— use email when appropriate
— deal with email by subject
— keep your inbox nearly empty
— filter your messages
— limit listservs
— follow good email etiquette
— delete and archive
just because you can touch it doesn’t mean you have to keep it
– choose your entertainment thoughtfully
— limit television viewing
— schedule entertainment time
— use your commute to your benefit
social networking
– schedule your time on your networks
– pick a primary network and point other sites towards it
– limit your “in-network IM”
time and stress management
– use your calendar
– take breaks
– eliminate stressful interruptions
– look for software help
– balance your life and work to your own liking, not your boss’s or your spouse’s
——–
Pecha Kucha: Innovative Practices
Amy Affelt, Nicole Hennig, Steve Harris, Matt Hamilton
6 minutes 40 seconds ; 20 slides ; a fast-paced series of presentation
meant to represent the sound of conversation
—
amy affelt
drucker’s 5 most important questions
perpare people and free them to perform
what is our mission?
– linking knowledge seekers with knowledge resources
– how we do that changes
how do we make work more fun?
– move meetings into restaurant with outdoor seating
— people will share more, more open environment
who is our customer?
– what do we call them?
web 2.o +
– numbers, get them to join our tribe (godin)
want people to feel like they are part of our tribe
– facebook, twitter, etc. let them communicate
– push information out
– show them a page that works in a business setting
what does our customer value/
– relevance, access, and timeliness
– CI, management of relevant content, value-added information
– promote vs defend value-driven benefits
– knowledge is the bridge between information and action
– evolution, not revolution
what are our results?
– tell a story instead of getting statistics
— illustrate what you brought to the project
— lets you “trump quantity with quality”
– annotate your work process in a way that’s illustrative
– the tin man knew he had a heart, but he needed testamonials to believe it
– trendspot and think about how you can apply things to your own situations
– houston public library lets you text in your materials need (and they will bring it out to
your car)
– the whole is always greater than the sum of its parts
— practice better brainstorming
—
nicole hennig – innovation smoothies – MIT libraries
– we tend to agree on our problems
— but we keep repeating them ; how do we solve them
– book: “thinkertoys”
— look at innovative services you love: zipcar, youtube, netflix
— apply them to your own world
– netflix: queue of things you want someday, no due dates
– zipcar: will send you a text message when car is coming due, and makes it very easy to renew
psfk.com – good brands report (every year)
– look at what these brands are doing that is innovative
– the best way to have a good idea is to have lots of idea
— we’re not generating enough ideas, we need to do more!
– lets do creativity on a schedule
— put these exercises into your staff meetings to keep fresh and generate new ideas
book: weird ideas that work
– the most creative people have the most failures because they do the most weird stuff
— reward people for their failures
— people want assurances and support from leadership
— put people’s failures into their annual report, have the stories about these things
have a place to experiment
– have a sandbox to try these things out
— MIT Libraries Betas (modelled on Google Labs)
— libraries.mit.edu/betas
– read many books outside of the library field
– book: seven day weekend
– book: founders at work
subscribe: open thinking, tedtalks, poptech, readwriteweb
attend: good experience live GEL (very experience-based)
– gelconference.com/videos
slides at bit.ly/nic-pres
—
steve harris
what is a book in second life?
it’s not about flying, teleporting, building, skin, hair, boobs
what do three dimensions add to IR and the reading process
– how can libraries exploit the possibilities of virtual worlds to aid their users
“i’m not building a game, I’m building a country”
“until virtual worlds came along, human interaction with information was primarily
two-dimensional”
“a book is a place”
reading may be 3d
– libraries are also 3d
– but text is 2d; the place where we store it on the web is 2d as well
3d doesn’t aid the display of text, or the reading process, or information discovery
books in second life are more decorative than functional
– are difficult to create
– don’t adhere to any ebook standard
the book as place is the real possibility
– create active learning
– immersive learning
– collaborative and multimedia
– create communities of interest
—
matt hamilton
innovation!
one of the most overused words in libraries right now
– right along with “ask me about my flood”
innovation is about rubber bands
– meeting a need that someone has
– we need to meet these needs with more than rubber bands
– the best innovation involves elegance and simplicity
we need to overcome incremental improvements and have revolutionary innovations
– and we need to start by trusting our users
– we don’t know better than our users; we need to ask them what they need / want
library vendors are FAR behind the innovation curve
– we shouldn’t stand for this for much longer
go to their conferences
use meetup (and tweetup)
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