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Cliff November 6th, 2007

Rocketboom (one of my favorite internet news vlogs) covered social networking sites and Open Social today. Best of all, they pointed out the ways in which Open Social will change Google’s standing in the social networking sphere, as well as what it will mean for privacy and advertising revenue.

As we talk more about Web4, Library 3.o, and our future, we’ll have to realize that users are willing to give up privacy in order to gain better connections to each other and richer media (”TOS? Of course I didn’t read it! I just wanted to create a place to share my pictuers!”). What this will mean for libraries and the general population of the future has yet to be seen. We will likely see much more targeted advertising as our online habits are recorded and the data harvested for marketing companies.

Will libraries be the last bastions of privacy? Or will we allow users to choose their own levels of privacy, and therefore allow them to have the benefits and drawbacks that come with such a choice?

• Libraries , social software
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Cliff October 8th, 2007

The July/August issue of Library Technology Reports gives a comprehensive overview of Next-Generation Library Catalogs courtesy of Marshall Breeding. Breeding is one of the leading experts in the field of library automation, and it shows in the expansive knowledge he relates in this issue of LTR.

The introduction to this report is alone worth the cost. The author succeeds in explaining the benefits and drawbacks of legacy catalogs, the emerging options that users are coming to expect, and how each of these “next-generation” options provide both benefits and challenges. Many of the complex issues that are raised by next generation features (such as relevancy ranking in federated searches) are explained at length, giving the reader a clear picture of the present challenges.

Breeding goes on to highlight various tools for next-generation catalogs, including AquaBrowser, Endeca, Encore, Primo, and WorldCat Local.  He covers each of these in enough detail to answer the technical questions that spring to mind, and yet he succeeds in doing so in an accessible way.  Also lightly covered are next-generation ILSes Polaris, our local hero Evergreen, Koha, and LibraryThing for Libraries.  Although I was hoping that he would review VuFind, he notes on on his blog that it was not available at press time.

This is an excellent overview of the the options that are available, should your library be shopping around for a new ILS or looking at expanding your current catalog.

For those looking for a shorter introduction to the topic, I recommend Breeding’s The Birth of a New Generation of Library Interfaces in the October 2007 issue of Computers in Libraries, p. 34.

• Libraries , reviews , technology
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Cliff October 5th, 2007

About two months ago I ceased being the Reference Facilitator and became the Technology Librarian.  This is probably part of the reason for my sparse updates over the last little while–I’ve been swamped trying to help create a website usability study, a library instruction assessment tool, and a blog for our upcoming Big Read.

The most exciting thing for me about the new position is that I can find places where we can improve user services.  Jane made a good point about being a 2.0 Librarian in a 1.0 Library, and I think that a lot of the frustrations that we feel as techie Librarians can be channeled effectively.  That’s why I enjoy being part of the Library 2.0 community–I’m always seeing folks do amazing things, thinking of creative ways to improve service and information quality.  I’m glad to be a part of that.

• Libraries , me
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Cliff October 5th, 2007

I had a great time at the afternoon sessions.  I learned a lot of new tricks in flickr and del.icio.us.  Since most Web 2.0 tools are constantly adding new features, it’s always nice to have an overview from a colleague–we each use the tools in different ways!

The closing speaker was Dr. Kristina Jaskyte, from the UGA school of Social Work.  She gave a brilliant presentation on organizational change and innovation, and how we deal with change psychologically.  It was quite insightful, and gave me a lot of food for thought.  She was kind enough to give me a copy of her presentation before she left–I’ll definitely be making use of the notes that I took in the future!

I had a great time, met some cool librarians, and learned a lot about Athens and the surrounding area.  Thanks, everyone, for making me feel so welcome!

• Libraries , presentations
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Cliff September 27th, 2007

I’m halfway through another great experience, hanging out with library folks.  I presented this morning at the Athens Regional Library System Staff Development Day, and had the pleasure of a great crowd:

I presented Keeping Your Bearings in the New Digital Landscape.   I also recorded the audio for the presentation, which I’ll sync and attach to the power point later.

I’ve learned a few new tricks on Google and RSS feeds already, and I’m looking forward to the rest of the day–hanging out with new library friends, and learning more about flickr and del.icio.us.

• Libraries , presentations
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Cliff September 21st, 2007

What if society treated librarians like they do superstars of the TV, music, movie, and political scene?

This was my fantasy today.  I have a somewhat active imagination, which usually gives me great inspirations and new ideas.  Today’s was just random.

If the world had librarian superstars…well, first off we’d be rich.  Or at least a few of us would be.  We’d be on MTV Cribs showing off our awesome houses, computers, and book collections (oh the book collections!!!).  We’d be interviewed all over the place. All the young librarian starlets would brag about which LIS program they got accepted into, and upon graduation they would immediately move to Dublin, Ohio looking to become the next big star.

Ideas would be the hottest commodity on the market.  To have a truly fresh, new idea for the library world mean that you’d skyrocket to the top–for a while.  Then if you ran out of ideas, you’d be forgotten (wait, doesn’t this already happen?).

Intelligence would be higher on society’s values than entertainment.  Although, I’m willing to bet that we’d still have Librarian Paris Hilton, Librarian Brittany Spears, and Librarian Jackass–because even we need something to laugh at.  Yet eventually, we would be told that we don’t live in the “real world”; that we are so wrapped up in our own Library Land that we are oblivious to the needs of Everyday Joe. Hmmm….

Everyday people would talk about librarians over the water cooler–who is divorcing who, who adopted an African baby without the normal due process, and who looked like they were on drugs at their last presentation.  Librarians would no longer have to fight for a marketing budget–administrations everywhere would be throwing money at advertising agencies to promote their libraries and librarians.  After all, everyone wants the new blockbuster idea out of their library.

Each superstar librarian would have an entourage.  Well…some do right now.  We call them support staff, and unfortunately some of them get treated like “hair and makeup crew” currently anyway.

Librarians are an invisible profession–you don’t know about us until we’re gone.  Thank the gods we’re a loud bunch–we fight to make sure that we don’t disappear.  But what would we do if we didn’t have to fight so hard?

Me?  I’d be Superstar Librarian Ryan Reynolds. I’d work as a Superstar Information Literacy Librarian somewhere, using humor to get the importance of information evaluation across.

Alright Superstar Librarians…who would you be and what would you do?

• Libraries , me , randomness
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Cliff August 22nd, 2007

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• Libraries
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Cliff August 21st, 2007

It appears that the American Libraries’ article A Manifesto for our Times was the final straw for many folks, including The Annoyed Librarian, who responded with an Anti-Manifesto. The AL article by Laura B. Cohen expounded upon A Librarian’s 2.0 Manifesto, a blog post/manifesto that Cohen wrote back in November 2006.

These two writings illustrate a growing divide in LibraryLand–one riddled with stereotypes, misperceptions and above all, miscommunications. The conversations about Library 2.0 that I’ve participated in and observed have made me reflect upon my experiences with conversion.

Back in 2000 I was the president of Pantheon, the Auburn University Student Pagan Association. As you might imagine, we had quite a few “newbie”Pagans who had recently self-identified as Pagan. They were often excited by their new faith, and wanted to share that excitement with others. In many cases that came across as superiority or attempts at conversion (something that is generally disallowed in Paganism). For other new Pagans, they didn’t know enough about their own (or others’) faiths to carry on intelligent discussion about their beliefs. For that reason, I wrote Pagan Guidelines for Interfaith Discussion. It was a quick list of pointers for new Pagans who found themselves discussing their faith with friends and family.

As the Library 2.0 movement has picked up speed, it has created tension in LibraryLand. The Annoyed Librarian has coined the term Twopointopians (which I love by the way), which refers to the zeal, excitement, idealism, and (in some cases) blind spots of the 2.0 Librarians. In the same piece the Annoyed Librarian refers to the opposing perspective:

“I will recognize that libraries change slowly, and will work with my colleagues to expedite our responsiveness to change.”

Let’s paraphrase this a bit, shall we? How about, “I won’t get too frustrated that my stupid colleagues don’t jump on the Twopointopia bandwagon just because I’m all giddy with enthusiasm. I’ll try working with them as long as I can stand it, or until they all retire or die off.”

When I present on Library 2.0, I’m very quick to point out that I don’t preach the Way of 2.0. I’m not trying to convert the Librarian masses. Instead, I’m pointing out some changes that are happening, things that other libraries are doing, and options for following along that path if you so choose. There are some tools that I don’t see as adding value to library service (such as Twitter and SecondLife). However, I don’t disparage those librarians who are trying those services out. Nor do I disparage those librarians who are skeptical of the Library 2.0 movement.

All that said, here’s a few pointers I’ve reworded from my article on interfaith discussion to keep in mind when carrying on conversations about Library 2.0 (or new services/technologies of any kind):

• Don’t let folks talk down to you, regardless of your position on Library 2.0.
• Know the logical arguments for your position.
• Know the logical arguments for the other positions on the topic.
• It’s all right to “not know”–it just means you have to research the topic and think about it.
• Feel free to change your mind, especially if the evidence changes.
• Don’t use words like “all”, “never”, “always”, etc.
• Listen.
• Have a sense of humor.
• Don’t get personal.
• Understand that no one wins a discussion.
• Don’t name-call (no matter how brilliant “Twopointopians” is.)
• Know when to stop.
• Know when not to start.
• Don’t try to “debunk” the others’ beliefs.
• Don’t try to convert.
• Don’t get your issues confused–Library 2.0 is a very different topic from generational differences, despite the fact that many folks conflate the two.

I don’t usually see things in an either/or way, but in a both/and way. We need both controlled vocabulary and folksonomies. We need both in-person and online reference service. We need to give users both what they need and what they want. That is how we’re going to stay valuable, relevant, and helpful to our patrons: by honoring both our past and our future.

• Libraries
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Cliff August 16th, 2007

Indiana University is partnering with the search engine ChaCha.  “The experts will initially be comprised of the university’s librarians and IT staff, working just for the university’s ChaCha search. Indiana University will be paid based on how often the ChaCha system is used…”  Two words stick out to me:  “initially” and “paid”.

• Libraries , social software
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Cliff August 14th, 2007

As librarians, we have taken our users’ privacy rights away. As part of our code of ethics,

III. We protect each library user’s right to privacy and confidentiality with respect to information sought or received and resources consulted, borrowed, acquired or transmitted.

In many cases, we are protecting the user’s right to privacy whether they like it or not. By shredding/deleting/anonymizing user information without the user’s consent, we are taking that right away. If a library user is unable to exercise their right to privacy themselves, do they have that right at all?

At the GGAUG Conference, several librarians expressed concern that the Web is evolving to slowly chip away at privacy, and that “Big Brother” is collecting information on us all. In response, I asked how many people in the room had Amazon.com accounts. Of about 100 people, only two did not have accounts. As a matter of perspective, I pointed out how Amazon.com has my current and former addresses and phone numbers, credit card information, and how it knows what books I read, CDs I listen to, woodworking tools I wish I could afford, and how I’m related to various friends and family members with similar wishlists. How did this corporate monolith gain all this information about me? I gave it away for the convenience of one-stop-shopping online. Many of our patrons are also willing to sacrifice a little privacy for the sake of convenience.

Booklovers are constantly discovering LibraryThing, and are sharing their reading lists with each other. WorldCat.org is developing social networking so that users can create lists of books and articles to share with friends. We are struggling to hold onto privacy that some of our users are actively trying to give away. So why not give the users their privacy rights back, and let them decide for themselves what to do with their information?

My recommendation to librarians as a whole is to give users privacy options–let them choose what information we keep or destroy. Let them pick who they will share their information with. In the post-USA PATRIOT Act world, we have become so scared as to destroy our patrons’ records “for their own good.” Wow. That sounds surprisingly familiar, no?

As a student, I would have loved to have gone into the library’s catalog to write reviews and share booklists with fellow group members from class. In my family, I would love to share booklists with my family’s book club. As a teacher, I would love to share what I’ve checked out of the library with my colleagues. But I don’t have the option to do that. I can’t choose. And therefore I don’t have the right.

• Libraries , social software , technology
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