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Internet Librarian 2009 – Meredith Hammons

m.hammons — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 02:46:05 +0000

The last section I attended was on adapting technical services for the digital age. The presenters were all from academic libraries, but I thought there would be many things that would translate to public libraries.
The first presenter spent a lot of time discussing what had been the catalysts for change. The most important things I gleaned from this presentation were that the skill sets needed for quality technical services do not change, even as the medium changes. The presenter also mentioned that technical service employees need to be positive and open to change to cope with all of the transition. One specific issue he highlighted is the need to adapt to non-MARC metadata. He did not mention RDA, but clearly the current discussions about that system, factor into the need for non-MARC metadata.
The second group of presenters discussed the ways that they had changed technical services at Cal State-Northridge. They discussed the need for a workflow analysis among the tech services staff. The results of this were eliminating duplicate tasks, eliminating unnecessary tasks, leveraging technology, maximizing staff expertise, providing cross-training, and aiming for “one touch” handling. The speakers really emphasized staff buy-in. I was able to take a great deal from this section of the presentation. It gave me some ideas on how to hold a workflow analysis for my own department and ways to get workflow analysis from the branches, as well as from my centralized staff. I would have liked more practical information, but I did find value in points about gaining staff buy-in and the necessary positive attitude for staff, as well as the ways that I, as a supervisor, can cultivate that attitude.

Internet Librarian 2009 – Meredith Hammons

m.hammons — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 02:33:00 +0000

Marketing on the Cheap. I’ve become really fascinated with marketing efforts on the part of the library. I think this is an area that has traditionally been neglected, because of the assumption that everyone knows the library is there and what it has to offer. With the technological changes, and changes in perception of libraries, there are needs to market that we are not just a place of dusty books. OCLC has produced a paper called “From Awareness to Funding” which illustrates some of the concepts that should be emphasized when marketing the library, which include seeing the library as part of the community infrastructure, like police or fire departments, seeing the library as a necessity, rather than a nice thing to have, focusing on the future, rather than the past, etc. The full report can be found here:

http://www.oclc.org/reports/funding/default.htm.

Something I’ve noticed is that single adults with no children are a market that would join the library, but there is no advertising directed toward us. When I started working for the public library, my single thirtysomething friends were all astonished that one could rent DVDs in the library. I know people cut back on spending by canceling subscriptions to audible.com, but were totally unaware that audio books, including playaways, were available at the public library.
With the current budget crisis, one of the speakers emphasized the need for library support marketing, in addition to library use marketing. She mentioned that her community had defeated a number of library bonds, and they realized that they could not simply market a few months before an election. Thus, they are gearing up now for support marketing for the 2012 elections.
There were a few specific suggestions, which included having a plan with specific goals and including Web 2.0 in the plan, considering policies on access, content creation, monitoring, measuring return and a schedule.
Another emphasis was on local marketing, including not just social media, but partnerships with local media, or taking advantage of the skills of community members, to teach classes.
There were a lot of good ideas, for both programming and marketing that came out of this section.

Internet Librarian 2009- Meredith Hammons

m.hammons — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 20:05:06 +0000

The second session was on how technology can either drive initiatives or result in information overload. The first part of the session was led by Lizzy Burns, author of Pop Goes the Library: Using Pop Culture to Connect with Your Community. Lizzy defined pop culture as anything your community is interested in and uses. She pointed out that if your community is texting, but the library demands that staff lock their cellphones in their offices/lockers for the day, we are not relating to our community. She also pointed out that while we may allow users to watch TV shows on hulu, we aren’t truly doing our jobs if we don’t advertise that resource to people who may not be aware of it. Her last point emphasized the need for trendspotters, preferably a committee of people, both comfortable and uncomfortable with technology, to keep the library ahead of trends. She used a great example of not being afraid to be betamax (the video cassettes that were supposed to better than VHS, but lost the popularity war way back in the 80s). What she meant by this was that betamax set the stage for the concept of watching TV and movies when you wanted to, which is a concept we continue today, though the technology has changed. This idea repeated the theme I’d heard earlier in the week that technology is going to continue to change, but the needs it meets will not, so changing technology is not a reason not to start using these tools.
Sarah Houghton-Jan followed with a presentation on how to avoid information overload. She offered 10 tips:
1) General organization.
2) Filter your input.
3) Use RSS and Twitter wisely.
4) Use “interruptive” technology wisely (i.e. turn off your phone when you need to focus, don’t set your e-mail to alert you every time one comes in, don’t be available on IM if you don’t want to be).
5) Manage your phone and keep work and home calls separate.
6) Manage e-mail (schedule times to check e-mail, keep your inbox nearly empty, delete and archive).
7) Print media – recycle catalogs, weed books you’ve already read. Multi-media- choose TV thoughtfully.
9) Schedule your social network time.
10) Practice time and stress management.
A lot of these things can help save time (and sanity) and it was nice to hear, in the midst of all this technology, encouragemnet to unplug once in a while.

Internet LIbrarian 2009- Meredith Hammons

m.hammons — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 19:52:12 +0000

This morning, I began my sessions with the awesome title “Selling Tech to Power”. It was a group of tech savvy decision makers advising people on how to persuade administration of the benefits of using new technologies. The first speaker, Danis Kreimeier, Director of the Napa City-County library, pointed out that directors have a large number of people to report to as well, including city/county governments, Friends groups and other donors, etc. She offered a number of questions to ask oneself before beginning any initiative.
What problem are you trying to solve? Whose problem is it? Is it sustainable (i.e. if you leave, is someone else going to be able to run it?) Where does it fit into the library’s goals and objectives?
She also gave a strategy script for communicating to those in power:
1) Tell people where you are headed.
2) Give facts and statistics to support the project.
3) Give the actions you are proposing and show that you have thought them through.
4) Describe how it fits with other plans and strategies (i.e. green initiatives).
5) Take advantage of existing assets and resources.
6) Tell them how and when you’ll know it is successful.
7) Show your passion! Invite them to join you.
Danis said that she had used this script for 18 months in submitting proposals to the board and had yet to be turned down.
The second speaker, Fred Cohn, Assistant City Manager of Monterey, pointed out that technology projects are no different than other business projects. He also offered the point that when times change, we cannot keep doing the same things and expecting different results. He then emphasized the importance of marketing, which he defined as identifying and meeting needs. His primary pieces of advice were to be careful of perspective and make sure you are meeting the community’s needs and interests, not just your own and to see yourself as part of a broader organization.
The last part of the presentation allowed people in the audience to discuss previous attempts to introduce new technologies that hadn’t worked and offer suggestions of how to improve the process. The primary advice was to identify all the stakeholders and speak to their concerns and goals, do research and get concrete information, show how an iniative will save time or moeny, get allies within your organization, focus on activities with low investment and high results.
I’ve been trying to get a Facebook page for our library for several months and this presentation gave me a lot of good ideas of how to get this accepted. It will require some initial research on my part, but will be much more effective.

Internet Librarian 2009 – Meredith Hammons

m.hammons — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 23:16:28 +0000

Day 2:
I tried to vary it up a little more today. The first session I attended was the keynote presentation, in which Erik Boekesteijn interviewed Paul Holdengraber, the Director of Public Programs for the New York Public Library.
This presentation was very exciting and engaging. Paul is the founder, curator and voice of “Live from the NYPL.” He states his purpose as “oxygenating” the library, to challenge people and encourage thought. Some of his more innovative programs include a debate between the Rev. Al Sharpton and Christopher Hitchens, author of “God is Not Great.” Paul calls these debates “cognitive theater” since they draw people in and create thought. He talked about wanting to make the private experience of reading into a public experience.
His advice to people doing library programming is to get to know your audience and give them something that surprises them. He discussed how he did not particularly like seeing gaming at libraries, due to the fact that he wanted to see libraries give people what they cannot get elsewhere.
I found his talk fascinating and would have enjoyed hearing more about the programs he has done and strategies for encouraging participation.
Now I am sitting here, trying to figure out who in the local area of San Mateo County would make for an exciting debate.

Internet Librarian 2009- Meredith Hammons

m.hammons — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 22:04:02 +0000

Here is the thrilling conclusion of my afternoon immersed in Web 2.0. This session was entitled “Sneaking the Social Web Into Your Library and Going Beyond 23 Things”. The first part of the session was presented by Lori Reed, of the Public Library of Charlotte and Mecklenburg County. Despite the fact that I grew up in Charlotte and now work in a public library, I was unaware of the 23 Things model that the PLCMC used to educate their staff on technology. I blame the fact that I worked in a very small academic library for 8 years previous to my current job. If you are as ignorant as I was, you can find out more here: plcmclearning.blogspot.com. Basically, the program taught staff to use Web 2.0 tools by using them: staff created Facebook accounts, set up RSS feeds, etc. The library also offered prizes for completion. Lori discussed what the PLCMC is doing now that the 23 things initiative has been completed. Due to budget cutbacks, there are no prizes and subsequently less participation for their Learning 2.1 program (where guest bloggers post on various topics). However, Lori did recommend how a library could create learning plan for staff. The steps are: 1) Identify a need. 2) Research the need. 3) Identify an audience. 4) Identify objectives. 5) Create a message. 6) Find the right platform/tools. 7) Implement Evaluate.
The second part of the session focused on the sneaking aspect of getting one’s library staff to use Web 2.0 tools. The first speaker was Bobbi Newman of the Chatahoochee Valley Libraries. She advocated taking the focus off the technology/tools and placing it onto the patrons. Another strategy is to make it as easy as possible for people to use (i.e. don’t start with something complicated). 3) Reward people for doing what you want them to do. These rewards can be prizes, but with no budget, you can also make people feel good about themselves (e.g.giving statistics showing how patron service has been improved due to their work.) Erin Downey-Howerton of the Johnson County Libraries in Kansas continued this theme, of illustrating how she had used Web 2.0 to meet needs. For example, children’s librarians who wanted to add links to educational materials to the library website needed to contact IT. Erin instituted the use of delicious.com, which allowed them to add the links themselves. Another example was collecting stats on the use of homework centers using googledocs, rather than compiling stats at the end of the month or sending individual e-mails, which had been leading to confusion and missed deadlines. A third example was using wetpaint.com as a wiki for a library committee, in order to provide one place for all documents to be shared. Previously, the documents had been saved in three different places on a common drive. The last example was that librarians had been sending each other e-mails to recommend books. Erin created an account for the library on goodreads. com so that there was a central place with an RSS feed for people to get one notice once a week of books recommended by their colleagues.
I found this session incredibly helpful. Our library is in the midst of a major website redesign and are unable to get IT to set up a wiki until that project is complete. Learning about wetpaint.com showed me a way that I can use wiki technology before that happens. Also, the emphasis on both patron focus and on meeting needs (particularly in making things simpler and easier) gives me necessary information on how to overcome some of the resistance to technology I meet among my staff.

Internet Librarian 2009- Meredith Hammons

m.hammons — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 21:43:06 +0000

Blog #3 from the Social Media group.
The third session was “Evaluating, Recommending and Justifying 2.0 Tools” by Marydee Ojala, Editor of ONLINE Magazine.
Marydee pointed out that it is much easier for individuals to adopt to changing technologies than it is for institutions, such as libraries.
She advocated using social media for empowerment and collaboration, as well as having a clear purpose for the tools selected.
Marydee also looking for needs in your community and using Web 2.0 tools to meet those needs. Examples of needs are: meeting customer/patron expectations, marketing the library, product promotion or branding, transmitting information, learning from others’ experience, and monitoring the library’s reputation.
In order to justify tools, she recommends seeing how they might align with the library’s missinon statement, providing research that appeals to the discipline or interest of those you are speaking to, and making sure that you keep your managers informed. A few people in our library have been advocating the use of Facebook for marketing for quite some time. I found this session helpful because it provided avenues for research that will appeal to our administration.

Internet Librarian 2009 – Meredith Hammons

m.hammons — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 20:24:57 +0000

Part two of my afternoon exploring social media was Sarah Houghton-Jan, of the San Jose Public Library, discussing Web 2.0 for underfunded libraries.
Sarah discussed several free or inexpensive tools a library can use to be involved with Web 2.0. These included various free e-mail programs such as gmail, or IM services, such as yahoo, Skype for audio and video, Jing for screencasts, etc. She also had 10 suggestions for things to do.1) Talk with customers. Put chat window where people are mad at you (i.e. where they have done a search in your catalog and gotten no results. Use the myinfoquest cooperative (a national consortium of libraries to provide 24/7 reference service). ) Interact with Customers and talk like a person. Allow comments on everything, even if you don’t think it will be a likely place for comments. Create online book clubs, using Library Thing, free blogs for recommendations, etc. 3) Be social. Go to where the patrons are and what they already use. Go beyond the library calendar – few people look at that. Instead, they go to sites like craigslist or going.com. Facebook charges $10 for 500 “flyers” to a targeted audience. 4) Use multimedia. Share images. You can take a picture of marketplace display and upload it onto your Facebook site or on the library website. Use audio and video with free software like Avidemux and free hosting usch as YouTube/BlipTv. 5) People like shiny things. Find out what they want and give them some. Simple things such as the opportunity for comments on books or a link to the large print or sound version from the print version.
6) Use free things such as gimp (a free program similar to photoshop. 7) Marry free and paid content. Don’t assume that the product is inferior because it is free. Respect customers. 9) Offers users choices on how to communicate with you, how to find items, etc.
10) Keep going. If you fail, you are at least pushing the envelope.
While these items cost little or nothing in the way of money, they do have a cost in staff time. Working in technical services and seeing how much things have changed (with a greater amount of outsourcing, etc.), it strikes me that tech services staff are a good avenue for performing these kinds of activities, although in many cases that does require retraining.

Internet Librarian 2009

m.hammons — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 19:33:38 +0000

I spent the afternoon yesterday at 4 different sessions under the category Social Media: Leveraging Web 2.0.
I’ll break up my blog entries for each session.
The first one was called “Micro Interactions, Conversations and Customers.”
This session was largely about how to maximize interaction on social media resources. The first speaker, David Lee King of the Topeka and Shawnee County Public Library, recommended the following
1) Say the stuff in your head (if it’s controversial, people will respond)
2) You have to give to get (if you don’t keep posting things, no one will respond) 3) Ask and ye shall receive. (People love to be asked questions). 4) Listen first. (Hear what people are saying in their comments. 5) Dangle a carrot (offer an incentive to participate – waive an overdue fine, give some free printing, etc.) King’s other suggestion was to connect with your local online community. Often these are people who don’t yet come into the library, but have an interest and ideas on how to get others on board. The other part of this session, led by Amy Kearns and Julie Strange, focused on how to use Twitter to reach patrons. They gave the example of the CEO of Zappos who frequently tweets and thus builds a rapport with customers and potential customers. The two presenters also emphasized the importance of connecting with your patrons – basing tweets on the kinds of questions asked and embedding the tweet stream in some place where patrons already are (one example was a college library that scrolled their tweet stream on large screens in the library). Strange pointed out that there were several uses of Twitter for libraries: reference, customer service, broadcasting events, getting feedback, and professional networking. One example given for customer service was the ability to respond to customer complaints quickly. If a patron tweets about a bad experience at the library, it can be quickly corrected before it permeates the web. These presentations emphasized how useful tools such as Twitter can be, and that using them effectively does require an investment of time.

Vint Cerf Says, “Rendering” is a Problem With the Internet.

p.sweeney — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 18:58:51 +0000

Vint Cerf, VP and Chief Internet Evangelist for Google, gave the opening Keynote at Internet Librarian in Monterey 2009 and spoke, in large part, about the problem of “rendering” information across software and hardware platforms. In essence, the problem of rendering (which is new concept for me, so forgive me if I butcher the definition) is that new versions of software and hardware make older versions obsolete and the information contained in those older versions can no longer be rendered and the information is lost. Or, as he said; “as we build more digital media, the information may become meaningless with the lack of ability to render the bits, or we might no longer have the capability to read the bits. There could be a lack of software or hardware and how do we address the problem of lost information through the innovation and creation of new media rendering tools?”

There are many great examples of this issue. One demonstration is with the current battle between competing E-Readers such as the Kindle and the Nook. Because the e-books and therefore the information contained in them is not transferable between brands of readers and as publishers select specific devices to deliver their books, the public is going to suffer from a lack of access or ability to render the information. This issue becomes even more apparent as new forms of information storage and transmission become available and the older forms begin dying out. For example, issues of compatibility between various word-processing documents and various versions of the word-processing programs can cause vast amounts of information to become unreadable or “un-renderable” and consequently lost or inaccessible.

I hadn’t realized that this is going to be the big challenge that librarians are going to be facing. As he spoke I began to see that we have quite a few questions to ask ourselves as we move forward. Some examples include; How is it that we are going to ensure that the information is accessible by solving the problems that are created with materials that can’t be rendered? As archivists, how can we ensure that we are able to provide older versions of information via newer forms of access points? As reference librarians, how can we ensure that we are finding the most valuable answers and not simply the most accessible? As catalogers, what do we do with materials that are in forms that are no longer used or accessible? And, as libraries in general, how do we ensure that we are maintaining a collection of materials that is currently relevant (renderable) and employ those that know how use the current (and previous) tools necessary to render that information?

As Mr. Cerf spoke, it became apparent that there are even more questions that we are going to have to answer in the coming years and Vint Cerf didn’t provide the answers to any of these questions. He did however, hint at a potential solution in cloud computing. Unfortunately, it looks like this concept is far beyond my understanding and because the Internet access in the conference is spotty at best I’m unable to Google a solid definition so I’ll leave that to you.