The Librarian's Nosegay

Free Ebook PDF Search Engine

Tue, 09 Feb 2010 10:34 GMT

Great PDF Search Engine. is a pdf search engine for PDF ebooks, manual, catalogs, sheets, forms and documents. Very basic - just pop in what you're looking for, and it returns a list of links. No real information other than title, which is a shame.

Wordle: Lasting Impact of Learning 2.0

Tue, 09 Feb 2010 10:08 GMT

Wordle: Lasting Impact of Learning 2.0, originally uploaded by mstephens7.

A Wordle for our talk at VALA Thursday morning. This visually represents the qualitative data for the question: “What has been the lasting impact of Learning 2.0 at your library.”

TopSite - The Best Way to Find the Top Sites on the Web

Tue, 09 Feb 2010 05:46 GMT

TopSite. attempts to show you the 'top sites' on the net for a variety of different subject areas. 'Top' is of course very difficult to work out and this site uses 'a unique algorithm' with the capabilities of finding top websites in every category in any language. 'Category' is another term that I have difficulties with, but there we go. The results page is nice and clear - big thumbnails, brief summary, with the ability to add/share with appropriate social media sites. To be honest, I could have done with much more information on each site - the days of...

Blocking Web 2.0 in schools

Tue, 09 Feb 2010 05:18 GMT

Very interesting set of articles here. The first, from the Institute of Education entitled Children disappointed but not downbeat about school ICT "the current generation of high-tech primary school pupils feel increasingly disappointed by the low-tech nature of their schools." A few useful statistics here - over 50% of 7-11 year olds have their own mobile phone and 90% have a games console at home. 20% regularly use social networking sites. Most frequent school ICT uses? Word processing and internet searching. A great blog post comes from Tom Barrett called 'Blocked for you. Open to me' which goes into considerable...

Safer Internet Day 2010

Tue, 09 Feb 2010 04:40 GMT

Safer Internet Day 2010 is today! Don't feel bad if you didn't know, because I wasn't aware of it either. It's a yearly event which promotes safer user of the net and mobile phone technology, mainly aimed at children. There's a bunch of activities taking place across the UK and the site gives you information on them, and resources that you can use if you want to start your own. Before you visit the site though, turn your speakers down, because some cretin seemed to think it would be a good idea to have a dancing mouse (computer, not animal)...

Siri - the next wave of internet search

Tue, 09 Feb 2010 04:25 GMT

"Why if you miss Siri you'll miss the future of the Web". This is the title of a piece by Robert Scoble, who rates this resource very highly. There's a nice (quite long) video where he's interviewing the founders that is worth a look if you've got the time. Basically, what Siri does it knit together a bunch of different resources and it's able to talk to them, work out answers and give them back to you - it's a personal assistant rather than a Google Killer. For example, if you want a nice fancy French restaurant that serves salmon...

A page is turned [Financial Times]

Tue, 09 Feb 2010 02:00 GMT

LIS768 Student Project at Canadian SL site

Sun, 07 Feb 2010 15:49 GMT

LIS768 Student Project at Canadian SL site, originally uploaded by mstephens7.

So happy to see one of last semester's LIS768 Projects highlighted at the Canadian Association for School Libraries.

http://caslnetwork.ning.com/video/lis-768-privacy-presentation

The Top 10 Twitter hashtags that lost out to #snowpocalypse

Fri, 05 Feb 2010 19:29 GMT

As the east coast continues to settle under what many are referring to as the SNOWPOCALYPSE, I thought it might be a good time for a little Friday fun. So here, for your reading pleasure is…

The Top 10 Twitter hashtags that lost out to #snowpocalypse:

10) #snoway!
9)    #now#hit#torm
8)    #snowlaughingmatter
7)    #snowkidding?
6)     #snOMG!
5)     #snowblows
4)     #wellillbeacrosseyedshovelmonkey
3)     #snowdownyoumovintoofast
2)     #kicknthesnowballs
1)     #justsaysnow

Add your suggestions in the comments!

while I follow your eloquent points..

Fri, 05 Feb 2010 13:52 GMT

while I follow your eloquent points.., originally uploaded by leeleblanc.

Congrats to TTW Contributor Lee LeBlanc on his graduation! WooHoo!

WordItOut - a Wordle competitor

Fri, 05 Feb 2010 04:57 GMT

To be honest, I'm surprised that it's taken this long. Wordle, the resource that lets you make a word cloud by inputting some text or a URL finally has a competitor in the form of WordItOut. Both resources do exactly the same thing, and are almost identical in interface. WordItOut isn't quite up there yet, since it's only possible to choose from 3 fonts, while Wordle has access to a considerably larger number. However, the rest of the functionality is there - you can choose colours, the extent to vary word sizes, word colour, though I can't see an option...

WWII historical imagery in Google Earth

Fri, 05 Feb 2010 04:07 GMT

Google LatLong: WWII historical imagery in Google Earth. If you're a history buff, or teach history then this will be of interest to you. Google has now made historical data on more than 35 European towns and cities available. It's possible to compare what a city looked like in 1943 with what it's like now. Fascinating stuff. Related articles by Zemanta Google Earth Lets You Compare World War II Aftermath to Today (wired.com)

Using Inkscape to make a text based portrait

Thu, 04 Feb 2010 09:15 GMT

Hi, all. I got an email recently from an attendee of my GIMP and Inkscape workshop (which I've had the pleasure to give on behalf of a few of New Jersey's finest Library Consortiums). This attendee asked how I had performed a particular effect in Inkscape during the workshop in which I use a bit of text as a brush in order to render a portrait. An example follows:

Text based portrait

Instead of writing out the answer in text (I myself am a visio-audio/experiential learner, and tend towards those kinds of solutions), I decided to use the question as a starting point for an entry in a daily project I've been working on at http://365sketches.wordpress.com, in which I'm trying to make a quick sketch a day in 2010 using free software to demonstrate the power of those tools.

You may want to check it out from time to time (or subscribe to the feed, if you're into that kind of thing) to get ideas for how you can use free software like Inkscape to create interesting designs for your library's fliers, posters, and other advertising materials and platforms.

If you've seen me talk on the topic of Best Practices in Design, you also know that I feel strongly that design, and tools like Inkscape, can change your life, your attitude, and your view of the world.

At any rate, I made the following screencast to demonstrate how I make images like the one above. Enjoy, and if you have questions, I'm happy to answer them in the comments!

41 of 365 is how to make a text based portrait in #inkscape (365sketches.wordpress.com)
How to solidify your visual brand and identity (librarygarden.net)

Author: John LeMasney

FreeTube Watch Free TV Live

Thu, 04 Feb 2010 05:29 GMT

FreeTube Watch Cartoons Free TV Live. This is vaguely interesting. There are 11 different channels available, from News through Business to Sports, Lifestyle and Movies. Within each channel there are dozens of different channels that you can watch. There is an adult channel, but this can be blocked. The quality was variable and a little bit pixilated at times, and it jumped now and then, but overall, I found it to be acceptable. I watched a few channels - ESPN for soccer, the cartoon channel (Bugs Bunny and other traditional cartoons), Brighton TV (yes, Brighton on the south coast). One...

Finding My Tribe – A Report from EDUCAUSE Learning Initiatives

Wed, 03 Feb 2010 14:52 GMT

I have a new post at ALA Techsource about attending EDUCAUSE Learning Initiatives last month:

http://www.alatechsource.org/blog/2010/01/finding-my-tribe-at-educause.html

Keynoter John Palfrey, co-author of Born Digital, gave a thoughtful presentation on his work studying Digital Natives. The revelation that the room should have been filled with librarians as well as faculty and IT staff came when Palfrey acknowledged the issue of information overload facing the natives as well as all of us and noted that the wealth of information out there now available to young people via mobile device presents a key challenge for librarians: “In a world of information overload, who are your guides? Who are the people who help you find the most credible information when you need it?” Palfrey went on to say that librarians are in a perfect position to curate, collect resources and develop spaces for young people to find information and interact. I was the one who shouted “Amen” from the back by the power outlets.

Beyond session content, this conference was one of the most connected and open events that I have ever attended. All of the keynotes and featured sessions were streamed live on the Web as they happened via Silverlight and then archived for free viewing at the EDUCAUSE site. The combination of speaker and slides in a Web browser window has made going back to view sessions I couldn’t attend most enjoyable. This content is free and readily accessible on the web. I’d like to see more of this in our library conferences–more streaming and recording and more FREE access. Go watch Palfrey’s session or one of the others listed below. It’s probably the closest to “being there” I’ve ever seen for capturing a conference.

I'm still mining the presentations and slides at the EDUCAUSE site – my brain filled with what we could – and should – be doing for LIS students.

Utilizing Emerging Tools to Extend the Classroom

Wed, 03 Feb 2010 14:49 GMT

Links from my Dominican “Technology Bytes” session tomorrow:

Finding My Tribe at EDUCAUSE LI

WordPress as a Learning Management System – Move Over, Blackboard

Links from ALA Techsource Post:

Born Digital: http://www.educause.edu/Resources/BornDigital/196238
ELI2010 Presentations: http://www.educause.edu/Resources/Browse/ELI2010/37186
Gardener Campbell’s Blog: http://www.gardnercampbell.net/blog1/
Google Moderator: http://moderator.appspot.com/
Michael’s Hyperlinked Campus:http://www.educause.edu/Resources/CreativeCollaborationandImmers/196260
Twitter Symbiosis: http://www.educause.edu/Resources/TwitterSymbiosisALibrarianaHas/196234

WordPress as a Learning Management System – Move Over, Blackboard

Wed, 03 Feb 2010 14:01 GMT

Don't miss this interview with the Kyle Jones all about the WordPressMU/BuddyPress sites he's developing for my classes at

http://wpmu.org/wordpress-as-a-learning-management-system-move-over-blackboard/

Q: What are the pros and cons of using BuddyPress in an educational / classroom environment?

A: No other LMS that I’m aware provides such a human touch on learning. We really see the students personalities show in BuddyPress – they open up to each other, they open up to the world. We get to read their academic reflections on their blogs and are provided insights into their thought process on their wire posts. If you’re an instructor and you’re looking to create a personable and personal learning space BuddyPress is the way to go.

If you’re an instructor that prefers the lectern and strict office hours don’t come near BuddyPress with a 20 foot pole. There’s a real onus on the instructor to monitor the communication streams not for behavior but to keep in touch with what’s going on in their online classroom and to be involved in a very dynamic conversation. In just over a few weeks of class there’s been over 200 different types of posts on the LIS 768BuddyPress-powered course site.

But this the state of 21st century learning with online communication technologies and the always-on classroom. There’s a higher level of responsibility placed on the instructor to stay tuned into the collaborative online experience that organically develops.

Nanocrowd - The movie search engine

Wed, 03 Feb 2010 04:07 GMT

Nanocrowd. This is very clever, and I like it. It's a discovery engine rather than a search engine though. Simply type in a film/actor/director that you like, and Nanocrowd will attempt to find others that you like. I tried 'Withnail and I'. It then brought up a new screen with 'movies most like' (with generally accurate results) and 'movies least like'. There's a link to 'Tell me more about this movie' which pulls a summary from Amazon. Trailers and previews come from IMDb, as do external reviews/critics. User reviews are also pulled from Amazon. There's a 'Movie in a nutshell'...

10 Steps to Promote Learning in Your Conference Presentation

Tue, 02 Feb 2010 08:47 GMT

By Peter Bromberg

I have a new post over at ALALearning Here's a taste:

A small meme developed on Twitter yesterday prompted by the following tweet by David Wedamen, “Just had a GREAT idea from @brandeislibn. Conferences should be built around TEACHING not PRESENTING. Wouldn’t that be something?” (Thanks to Michael Stephens for retweeting and bringing to my attention.)

Alice Yucht built on the idea with her tweet, “how about Conferences should be about LEARNING, not Show-n-Tell ?”, which got me thinking about how we approach conferences, and conference presentations, in the library profession. If the goal of the conference is that attendees will learn, what do conference presentations have to look like to achieve that goal?

I believe the goal of presenting should be…

Read the rest of this post over at ALALearning

Google News now allows starring/favourites

Tue, 02 Feb 2010 07:23 GMT

Nice little bit of new functionality from Google - you can now star particular news items that interest you, in the same way that you can star Gmail or GReader content. If you run a search (or simply open up the news page) you'll see little starts next to the stories: If you star an item it turns yellow, as you can see above. It's important to note, as the Google News blog post explains, you're telling Google that you're interested in the story, not the specific news item. If more news stories come up about the same subject area...

New adult books are still under glass

Mon, 01 Feb 2010 21:32 GMT

Boo – the new adult books are still under glass, originally uploaded by The Shifted Librarian.

Core of CMS

Mon, 01 Feb 2010 20:06 GMT

I have been trying to figure out how to best describe the awesomeness that is content management systems to an audience whose technological knowledge will range from using email/Word to a little more advanced. By the way, I have less than an hour to do so.

Instead of bemoaning my fate I am looking at this as an opportunity. I get to think about the “elevator speech” for content management systems.

After much thought I identified the two most important aspects, content types and permission levels. These two aspects of CMSs are counter intuitive to organizations and individuals used to traditional websites.

Content Types
Separate the content from the presentation and let the content creators create the content. Content can be a blog entry, an image, a page, an advertisement for an event, a description of a database, a video, a link to a helpful website, anything really. The type of content doesn't matter. What does matter is that the content is easy to put on the website for the content creator.

For example, I want my youth librarians to be able to add upcoming programs. The “youth program” content type will need to display the title of the program, a description, an image to draw the eye, the date, time, the age group the program is intended for, and how to sign up.
For the sake of uniformity, I want:

the title to be in the Arial font, grey, and to be defined as a header
the image to float to the right of the description and be sized to 75px by 75px
the description to also be in Arial, colored black, and the font to be sized to .9em, and be below the title
the date to be formatted to short hand (01/30/10) and be bold as will be the time
the age group to be in bold
the youth program to automatically be placed in the youth programs list (sorted by date), be put on a calendar of events, and move to a place of high contact as the program's date comes closer

An example of a content type, input form on the left, output on the right.

To ask a non web designer to try to figure out the necessary HTML/CSS or follow lengthy step-by-step instructions to keep this uniform format is crazy and a complete waste of time on many levels. To have a single person format and position all the content is also wasteful. Any CMS designer will be able to make what I described happen fairly easily.

Permission Levels

The idea of permission levels takes some time to understand for those used to one or two people being the funnel to getting content on a website, but should never be overlooked or underestimated. Permission levels allows assigning particular users differing abilities.

For example, a youth librarian may be assigned the permission level/role “youth” and be able to add content such as youth programs, blog entries to the Youth Services Blog, databases to the youth research area, images to youth photo gallery, and administer comments on the youth blog. An anonymous user could be allowed to add certain types of content (pending approval or not), comment without permission, or anything else. The admin roll would be able to do everything. The best CMSs allow the creation of roles to suit any organization's needs.

The ability to think in terms of permission levels is hugely important. It also completely revolutionizes websites which are meant to have community generated content, be that community: library employees, patrons in a town, or interested parties all over the world.

How are you selling content management systems? If you are not using a CMS, why not?

Mick Jacobsen – TTW Contributor

Thomas Brevik on iPad

Mon, 01 Feb 2010 07:18 GMT

Thomas and I have worked together at Internet Librarian International 2008 and back in the day doing a podcast or two about Library 2.0. He's one of the good thinkers in LIS who I wish I had more of a chance to sit with and talk. Glad to see his take on the iPad this morning.

http://lib1point5.wordpress.com/2010/02/01/ipad-and-libraries-some-thoughts/

For libraries the iPad will have little immediate impact. What it probably will do, if it is a hit in the marketplace, is that it will fuel reader demand for e-books. I predict that it will be a slow development, but maybe too fast for many librarians. When the demand for e-books is for Nora Roberts latest romance novel, rather than some science fiction blockbuster or main stream popular science non-fiction, and the person wanting the e-book is the harassed mother with three kids running around her at the library desk, then e-books will have arrived in the library. This could happen if the iPad really hits it off with the public.

For libraries there are two main challenges:

1. How do we get content from the library to the iPad and similar devices, and can libraries use iBook or the AppStore as a delivery method? I think there will be several opportunities, and that binding libraries to a cooperation with Apple to get in through the iBook store probably will be difficult and even counterproductive. There are at least two avenues to go, either create an international LibraryBook app (open source of course), that will work on any operating system, or cooperate with the creators of any of the open source apps that are out there to deliver books through them. Both avenues has their pros- and cons, but I believe that to secure a future for the library brand it would be a good idea to develop a special library app.

2. Will the iPad and iPad like devices change the media habits of readers? Very likely. The iPod and iPhone has both changed a lot of behaviour and expectations from library users, and how other devices are viewed and used. I expect to see increasing demand for content on tablets from readers and probably pressure on the library to deliver certain types of content, i.e. ebooks.

I’m looking forward to getting my hands on an iPad and try it out in my library.

So am I – to try it out with my students and colleagues at Dominican.

Internet Librarian International 2010 – Call for Participants

Fri, 29 Jan 2010 14:30 GMT

Deadline: 2 April 2010

Got information to share with your peers?
Worked on an innovative project at your library?
Introduced technologies to increase the relevancy of your information service?
Developed new techniques for managing electronic resources?
Raised the profile of your library within your organisation?
Created new opportunities within an information environment?

You’re invited to present at Internet Librarian International 2010, taking place on 14 & 15 October 2010 at Novotel London West, with a day of workshops on 13 October.

We’re looking for dynamic speakers from any country and all types of libraries to share their knowledge and experience about information tools, techniques, processes, innovations and management. If you’re running innovative projects within any of the following environments, we want to hear from you:

Academic libraries
Corporate information and knowledge settings
Government libraries
Health/Medical libraries
Public libraries
Non-traditional information settings

Get real, stay relevant. The reality of the current economic climate means that it's imperative to provide pertinent services, utilise the most appropriate tools, and explore alternative approaches, regardless of your library type. Even if you’re managing information outside a traditional library setting – as web designer, content evaluator, portal creator, systems professional or independent researcher – you must continue to offer services that are relevant and cost-efficient.

Internet Librarian International seeks a mix of papers for conference sessions, workshops, and short tutorials. As always, our emphasis is on the practical rather than theoretical: case studies and proposals about initiatives in your organisation, not product pitches or overviews.

Share your success stories – and your failures
Tell us what lessons you've learned
Describe what strategies work best for your information environment
Continue to develop professionally by learning from your fellow information professionals
Help others stay relevant by sharing your experiences at Internet Librarian International 2010

Possible topics include:

Technology
Mobile delivery
Cloud computing
Semantic web
Social networking
Surface technologies
Moving toward Web 3.0
Virtual research environments
Augmented reality
Library apps
Future net
Building for multiple platforms
Resource Management
Web content management
Electronic resources acquisition and management
Next generation catalogues
Integrating/federating collections
Open access
Institutional repositories
Copyright, DRM, DAM, intellectual property protection
Digital curation
Taxonomies, ontologies, folksonomies
Web publishing
Planning for the future
Collaboration and partnering
Forecasting trends
Future scenarios
Strategic planning for libraries
Evidence-based librarianship
New roles for internet librarians
Information policy
Adding value
Using the web for research and reference
Web search engines
Search tips and techniques
Distance learning
Best practices for search
Real-time search
User generated content

How do I participate?

If you would like to be considered as a speaker, please submit your ideas at

www.internet-librarian.com/CallForSpeakers.shtml before the deadline of 2 April 2010.

The Advisory Committee review all submissions and notifications regarding acceptance are sent in early May. If your proposal is selected, the primary speaker will receive a free registration to the full conference, which includes lunches and a reception. Please note that the expenses of attending Internet Librarian International – including travel, hotel, and any other expenses – are the responsibility of the presenter.

We're looking forward to receiving your ideas and suggestions before the submission deadline of 2 April 2010.

Marydee Ojala

Programme Director, Internet Librarian International

Editor, ONLINE: Exploring Technology & Resources for Information Professionals

Dominican GSLIS Student’s Blog Highlighted at BestBizWeb

Fri, 29 Jan 2010 14:22 GMT

Allow me to gush a bit. One of my students from last semester has had her LIS768 blog highlighted by BestBizWeb:

SITE: Megan Mulherin’s Blog

URL: http://classes.tametheweb.com/meganmulherin

CATEGORY: Blog

PURPOSE: This is a blog about news, trends, and tips related to information, research, online searching, and library issues.

FEE/FREE: FREE

SOURCE CHECK: This blog is written as part of a library science class by Megan Mulherin. Mulherin is studying for her master’s in library science at Dominican University in River Forest, Ill .

OUR VIEW: We’re always pleased to find a thoughtful, well-written, and incisive blogger on the information industry, and we were particularly delighted to discover that this outstanding blog was created by a student. Megan tackles issues of interest to all the information industry, including business research. She is an excellent writer and has put together a well-designed and appealing site. Consider this site if you want to get some interesting news, reflection, and thoughtful analysis on online research, trends in searching, and the library/ information industry.

Megan graduated in January but she'll continue to blog at http://www.meganbuttita.com/. Congrats to Megan!

Survey: NY State Educators & Librarians

Thu, 28 Jan 2010 10:48 GMT

http://blog.findingdulcinea.com/2010/01/new-york-state-educators-we-want-you.html

If you are a teacher, librarian or school administrator at a New York public, private or independent middle school or high school, WE WANT YOU! We are conducting a survey of middle school and high school students’ online research habits and we’d love for you to participate.

The online surveys are short, painless (we don’t ask sensitive questions), easy to understand and anonymous. They should take about 10 minutes to complete.

Please note: Students will not be asked to provide their names, e-mail addresses or any other identifying information.

Our analysis of survey data will be used to create a report that identifies the strengths and weaknesses of students’ online research habits and presents strategies for improvement.

The report will also include the recommendations of librarians, teachers and our staff of online research experts. We plan to share both our results and our recommendations at several educator conferences this year.

Each participating school teacher or librarian will be given a $40 certificate to Amazon. If you’d like to participate, please let us know by e-mailingshannon.firth@dulcineamedia.com.

Seth Godin’s Linchpin: Thoughts from the Blogosphere (Updated)

Thu, 28 Jan 2010 10:13 GMT

I received my copy of Linchpin, the new book by Seth Godin a few weeks ago and have only got to read a bit. What I've read, however, is speaking to me the way all of his books do. Until I have finished the book and pondered some more, take a look at these posts, etc. I'll be suggesteing this as yet another choice for context books in LIS768.

Church of the Customer Blog: http://www.churchofcustomer.com/2010/01/5-questions-with-linchpin-author-seth-godin.html

Q: What is a linchpin, and why is it important to become one?

A linchpin is the part you can't live without, the thing that makes a difference. In every organization there are one (or several) people like this. It might be the brilliant inventor who creates the impossible, but it's far more likely to be the great sales rep or customer service person who makes a connection, or the marketer who knows how to tell a story that resonates.

In a post-factory world, manning the assembly line isn't so critical. Stuffing the candies into the boxes, running the punch press, following the manual… these are easily replaced roles, ones where neither the worker nor the organization gains much on the margin. If you want real job satisfaction and security, then, you need to figure out how to do the unexpected, to do work that matters and to create human interactions.

Daniel Pink: http://www.danpink.com/archives/2010/01/linchpin

GODIN: Does this explain why people with an irresistible need to create tend to gravitate to fields where they’re almost certain to not get paid? (Stuff like poets, painters and playwrights come to mind).

PINK: I doubt it. What I think is going on is that until recently, the business world didn’t much prize people with these kinds of skills. So if you wanted to do those things, you weren’t going to get paid much. Today, these right-brain types are much more in demand. That said, there are maybe fourteen people on the planet who are going to make a living as poets. But, again, there are maybe a million who can use their talents as poets in work as teachers, copywriters, bloggers, journalists, and other professions and business centered on creation.

GODIN: Do you agree with me that every successful organization needs people like this today? Problem solvers, self-drivers, artists?

PINK: Of course. Not even a close call.

GODIN: How then do we merge the two motivations? How do we get people to bring their artist to work?

PINK: Stop treating people like horses and start treating them like human beings. Instead of trying to bribe folks with sweeter carrots or threaten them with sharpen sticks, how about giving them greater freedom at work, allowing them to get better at something they love, and infusing the workplace with a sense of purpose? If we tap that third drive more fully, we can rejuvenate or businesses and remake our world.

Rethinking Learning: http://my-ecoach.com/blogs.php?action=view_post&blog=8&ost=8470

Q. Universities take the longest to change. Does everyone need to take classes with information they mastered already? How can university students set their agenda, challenge material they know already, and demonstrate what they understand?

Seth: Here’s what’s going to make universities change: we’re going to stop going. We’re going to stop paying. Once people realize that Full Sail and the U of Phoenix can deliver the same thing (or better) for much less money, the panic will set in, for the first time in five hundred years Universities are going to have to do something new. I think this will happen in the next thirty years.

Q. Education tends to be a top-down driven model where administrators, standards, policies, and test scores drive what teachers teach. How do you see education changing with this model where the individual sets their agenda?

Seth: As a student in a digital world, tell me again why I need the building? The administration? The system? I don’t. And as accreditation becomes less meaningful because it’s easier to test the student than to test the system, the top heavy organizations will falter. And fast.

Can you tell I chose those passages because they speak to me and my vision of the library workplace of the future? I'd like to think we'll be hiring poets, artists and dreamers in our libraries – bringing their vision, uniqueness and viewpoints. And what does that mean for they way we prepare new librarians? I definitely have some thoughts about that!

Check out Linchpin soon.

Podcast with Merlin Mann: http://www.43folders.com/2010/01/26/godin-linchpin

Squidoo: http://www.squidoo.com/the-Linchpin-Posts

First Thoughts on the iPad from 2 Michaels and a Phil

Thu, 28 Jan 2010 08:38 GMT

I think a lot of us monitored the chatter or tuned into a faltering U-Stream yesterday to hear Apple's announcement of the iPad. ( I think I was a bit more fond of iSlate or just “Slate” myself) But now the fact-finding, opinion sharing and general “what will it mean for consumers?” begins – as will all of the “what will it mean for libraries” conjecture.

Phil Bradley, across the pond, weighed in this morning:

http://philbradley.typepad.com/phil_bradleys_weblog/2010/01/first-thoughts-on-the-ipad.html

I'm really keen on the idea of using it as an e-Book reader. It's the first item that I've looked at which actually makes me think I'd really actively enjoy reading from it. Again, I can read from the iPhone, and this is going to be a better experience. Not so keen that the iBookstore is US only at the moment – until I can buy a book there and then, download it and just start reading, I'm not going to be buying one. That for me IS a deal breaker. I want to go onto a site, choose a book that's been published today, download it and start reading there and then. Download the morning newspaper? Grab my favourite magazine – absolute requirements for me.

Is this going to kill the Kindle? I think it will, yes – at least if the Kindle stays in its current incarnation. Simply can't see the value in buying one, certainly not on price comparisons.

Price. £450 or thereabouts for the largest size wifi (without 3G) is going to be fine by me. I don't need instant connectivity to the net – I have a laptop/dongle and iPhone combination for that. Though the idea of running around with iPhone, iPad and laptop and dongle and any iPad peripherals is not a great idea. I suspect that I'd use it at home on my wifi, download what I need, power it up and be on my way. We don't yet know about dataplans in the UK, but I doubt I'll be tempted, unless my provider is intelligent enough to work out a dataplan that includes the iPhone.

There's a lot of interest in the use of the thing in academia already – just try a twitter search and see what I mean. On a tangent – I wonder how long it's going to be before someone publishes the Harry Potter ‘Daily Prophet' onto it.

I've been pondering myself how it will fit into my digital lifestyle: Will it mean packing laptop, iPhone & iPad to travel? Will it replace many of the media duties assigned to my laptop when I'm in my TV-less spot in Oak Park? Can I travel with the iPad and run Keynote presentations without a worry?

Also, I've held off buying a Kindle to see what Apple was going to do. The slides from yesterday's talk make the experience of e-books attractive and the video at apple.com is certainly alluring. I love the idea of the iPad being my media device but still pondering.

Take a look at Michael Casey's “Wish List” for the tablet he published on Tuesday. As happens more often than not, our opinions are in sync as is our wants. Sadly, some were not included – yet:

Amazon owns Audible. Audible is the best provider of audio books. Sorry Overdrive, but it's true. Audible's audio books could sync with Amazon's ebooks and allow the user to switch seamlessly between reading and listening. A lot of people I know like to do this, and making it seemless would attract a new style of reader.
Strike a deal with Netflix to allow Netflix subscribers to easily view content on the new Tablet. Yes, Amazon's on demand video content is good, but Apple needs greater depth and video downloads via iTunes are slow and expensive. The Netflix subscription model of streaming is a much better developed service.
Subsidize the cellular connectivity just like Amazon does for the Kindle. Leo Laporte has been arguing this for a long time and I have to agree. Base cellular service needs to be included in the package, even if it's just for content download and streaming and does not include browsing or email.
Offer a web browser and the same quality email interface found on the iPhone. A web browser and email require ever-present connectivity. This may need to be an extra-cost service but a Tablet without the option for web browsing or email will fail. The two cheaper Kindles can get away with not providing email, but the Tablet can't. One option here is to allow tethering to the iPhone so users don't have to pay for two monthly data plans.
Don't build Flash into the browser. Force developers to keep moving towards HTML5.
A forward facing webcam would allow the type of collaboration iPhone users have been wanting for a long time.

The discussions Phil pointed to about educational/academic use of the tech are the most intriguing to me, given my current, post-EDUCAUSE LI mindset – what would a classroom full of these things look like? What would the experience be to teach & learn via rich-media text books, the Web, etc? Could I design a course experience based on all of my students having the iPad: an “app” or streamlined HTML5 version of my WPMU/BP sites developed with Kyle Jones?

These things are true:

A brave, forward thinking university will jump on this in the coming months experimenting with ways to bring apps, connectivity and interaction inside the classroom experience and outside as well.

A brave, forward thinking library will do the same experimentation – possibly loaning the device, utilizing them in training, making them available for use in the library or incorporating them into on the go reference and service interactions. x

AND a whole bunch of technologists/bloggers/podcasters/ etc will spend the next 60-90 days discussing the feature set, possible value and bright or dismal future of the iPad. Game changer? I knew the iPhone was in 2007. For this, the verdict has yet to come in.

David Pogue: http://pogue.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/01/27/the-apple-ipad-first-impressions/

“My main message to fanboys is this: it’s too early to draw any conclusions. Apple hasn’t given the thing to any reviewers yet, there are no iPad-only apps yet (there will be), the e-bookstore hasn’t gone online yet, and so on. So hyperventilating is not yet the appropriate reaction.”

Open Conversation: Twitter & Libraries

Wed, 27 Jan 2010 07:49 GMT

Note: This is the second column I co-wrote with Jan Klerk for Digitale Bibliotek last year. I realized it was one of the first times I've discussed the backchannel in my classes in print.

Michael Stephens and Jan Klerk did their open conversation this time on microblog platform Twitter. The topic was of course…

Twitter and Libraries.

INTRODUCTION

MS Jan- I’ve been thinking about librarians using Twitter as medium 4 collaboration & as info space. Have u seen this?

JK I see a small but growing group Dutch librarians just over- came prejudices & are experimenting. How it’s in the USA?

3 CATEGORIES OF TWITTER USE IN LIBRARIES

MS I see librarians using Twitter in 3 ways: as a thriving commentary/community, as a useful tool & as a question space.

MS As commentary/community, we might look at the use of #ALAMW09 as a means to network, plan and state opini- ons.

MS As a useful tool to save time, my favorite example is UGL alerts and @askundergrad2

JK Yes, the UGL is a nice example of smart timesaving distribution.

MS 3rd area is monitoring Twittersphere 4 ?s to answer & using the space as info resource if ?s asked we need to be here.

JK I think your categorization is very enlightening I also see librarians use Twitter interconnecting different social networks.

JK In this way Twitter is a very smart & fast way to distribute the same information simultaneously on different platforms.

JK Aggregating reactions from different platforms in 1 email account makes it easy to communicate either with patrons or staff.

JK The way Twitter=used at #ALAMW09 2 share sad feelings about the tragic loss of colleagues is very touching & adds value.

MS Yes, the human factor comes through the medium strongly to convey the sadness & shock at losing colleagues.

TWITTER AS LEARNING TOOL AND TWITTER AS QUESTION PLACE

MS Also as LIS educator this fascinates me (Twitter as a Learning Tool)

JK The idea of using Twitter as a question space I think=challenging. Could this replace existing Q&A services?

MS Maybe not replace Q&A but become part of the channels where questions are asked & info is sought. I think it’s fluid.

HAVE TO BE WHERE PEOPLE ARE’ MENTIONING THE LIBRARY

JK We talked about channels yesterday & monitoring them. How can libraries take part in the fast growing amount of channels?

MS I suggest librarians do a scan of the multiple channels & find the spaces where folks might be mentioning the library.

JK I agree & finding spaces where folks mention the library=the job4 our marketeers. Instead of our usual shooting in the dark.

MS Using @briansolis’s conversation prism is a good start but it can also be overwhelming until you jump in and explore.

MS Checkout the prism here (http://www.briansolis.com/2009/03/conversation-prism-v20/)

USING A SOCIAL LIBRARY MAP TO RENEW LIBRARY SERVICES

JK I think I could use the prism as starting point to renew traditional services into build-in participatory services.

JK I mean that the conversational aspect is always build-in in every library service you want to develop.

MS I like that thinking. I wish more libs did that here. One barrier is a marketing/PR mindset not open to conversation.

MS Or open to allowing users to chime in, contribute, create & guide those new/rebooted services. We must listen/reply!

DISTRUST VS. RADICAL TRUST

JK Sounds challinging2useTwitter as backchannel during classes. Can u trust your pupils? Or is it a matter of radical trust.

MS Is indeed a matter of radical trust ? if I am doing my job well & trusting them to do theirs well 2 then we are fine.

JK I like this! It’s simple, it’s clear, it keeps you going. We libraries should make this our mission statement!

MS Look at what Pima County Lib in Arizona did: Users made vids!

JK In the Netherlands some schools have forbidden their pupils to use social networks during classes.

MS It concerns me that schools (& libs!) are blocking access 2 social networks when they could be used in the edu process.

JK I have the impression that relationship between school & libraries as institute&upils as group=often based on distrust.

MS I agree. In many cases students are not trusted or must be protected from ‘the big bad world!’ in school.

MS In libraries distrust is probably contributing factor 4 unwelcoming youth spaces & adversarial attitudes of librarians.

CONCLUSION

MS This has been fun to play out this discussion using Twitter. I hope our readers will try it out.

Noten

1 ALA Midwinter Meeting 2009 www.ala.org/ala/conferencesevents/ upcoming/midwinter/home.cfm Helaas geeft Search.Twitter.com niet langer de conversatie weer die hoorde bij de ALA Midwinter Meeting en die onder de hashtag #alamw09 is gepubliceerd

2 Twitteraccount ‘Undergraduate Library’ van de University of Illinois

3 Undergraduate Library www.library.uiuc.edu/ugl

4 Pat Callagan:TwitterasaLearningTool www.astd.org/TD/Archives/2009/

New ALALearning Post: Pete’s 23 Things (Minus 3)

Fri, 08 Jan 2010 04:41 GMT

Posted by Peter Bromberg

Hey LG Readers, All of the ALALearning Bloggers are starting off the new year by telling a little bit about ourselves (and lucky me gets to go first! )

For instance, did you know I spent 17 years in a Turkish prison for badger smuggling? Or was that a dream I once had after a spicy meal followed by a late night viewing of Midnight Express?

Read my new post: Pete Bromberg’s 23 things (minus 3): A getting to know ya post” to find out.