Library Mashups: Exploring New Ways to Deliver Library Data

Nicole Engard unfortunately was in the hospital and unable to present this program. David Lee King from Topeka and Shawnee County Library filled in. Right away, he proved a point about technology by whipping out his iPhone to film a short “get well” greeting for Nicole from the crowd. After defining mashups and related terminology like web services and APIs, he discussed some easy tools libraries can use to create their own mashups – web features that mix data from two sources, such as map info from Google and photos from Flickr. Nicole’s suggested way to think of the whole system was to consider the web service as a bridge supporting the APIs (cars) as they pass between two services. This allows the two sources of data to be displayed in one place. Yahoo! Pipes and Dapper are two free tools that will create the necessary code. David also pointed out that many sites like Google maps and Youtube provide code you can embed into your website, so you don’t need to know how to write scripts on your own. Mashups can provide added value to library patrons through such techniques as placing a catalog search box on your library’s Facebook page or adding an IM reference box to each catalog record.

Adrift or Right on Target: Perspectives on Floating Collections

Greg Bodin from San Mateo County Library, Sarabeth Kalajian from Sarasota County Library System, and Barbara Spruill from Gwinett County Public Library provided three perspectives on floating collections. Each library had experienced a lot of success with floating collections, a system wherein library items are kept at the branch to which they are returned, rather than going by courier back to a home branch. All three libraries had found numerous benefits to using floating collections:

• It cut down significantly on the need for the courier and resulted in fewer health problems for staff having to lift many large boxes per day.
• It meant more items were available on the shelves instead of being in transit.
• It refreshed collections in all branches and gave the libraries good data on what patrons in each branch really wanted, which often surprised those doing collection development.
• It strengthened the identity of each branch as part of the system rather than an independent outpost.

Each library experienced some resistance from staff, including those who felt they needed to have more control over exactly what was at their branch and those who were concerned about splitting up series or multipart items. They also discovered it was essential to the success of floating collections to develop standardized cataloging systemwide and a system for rebalancing the load if one branch had too many of a particular item type. All in all, the libraries were very happy with how floating collections worked out.

Privacy Revolution!: Engaging Library Users in a Conversation on Privacy in the Digital Age

In the leadup to the first Choose Privacy week May 2-8, speakers from the ALA and elsewhere rallied librarians to remember that the privacy of patron records and privacy in general are still under attack in this country. Joan Airoldi, director of the Whatcom County Library System, told about the day an FBI agent walked into one of her branches and asked for the names of everyone who had checked out a particular book about Osama Bin Laden. Although the FBI eventually withdrew its request after intervention by the library’s attorney, other libraries are still facing this type of challenge, especially with the PATRIOT Act having been renewed by Congress just last month. In response, the ALA has developed the Choose Privacy initiative, including posters, bookmarks, a set of guidelines for starting a conversation about privacy in your libraries, and more. Along with making sure library staff are well-educated about privacy issues, ALA hopes libraries will engage patrons in a discussion of privacy in their own lives, especially as online services mean more and more personal information is exposed.

Marketing as Conversation: How to Interact with Your Community Through Your Website

David Lee King and Gina Milsap of Topeka and their former colleague, Jeff Dawson, now director in Two Rivers, Wisconsin, discussed various web 2.0 technologies that can be used to enhance libraries’ online marketing. Through blogs, video podcasts, and photostreams, these libraries were turning their websites into a place to interact with patrons rather than simply serve up information. In Topeka, staff members film at least one video per week that is posted to Youtube and embedded on the library’s site. Various librarian host blogs on topics of interest to them. Dawson had started taking photographs as a way to learn more about his new community and ended up becoming the town photographer, known for his pictures of events, festivals, and the library itself. Comments on any of this posted material – positive or negative – were welcomed as a way to learn more about users and engage them in all the library has to offer.