tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7155355497739701802024-02-08T09:03:18.978-08:00In a Chilly PlaceA blog from a librarian in the frozen north...where climate change is making us colder in the winter and hotter in the summer. All the positions expressed are my own, and nothing but my own.da chilly librarianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01970374145471359790noreply@blogger.comBlogger36125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-715535549773970180.post-74158248903197006402014-01-16T08:05:00.001-08:002014-01-16T08:05:31.163-08:00The Re-return of "Chilly"Just a caveat: "Chilly" is outdated. The blog came from my opinions about the influence of neoliberalism on our society, and particularly on libraries. I'm still very interested in the topic, and may revive it, but for right now please consider contents old news.da chilly librarianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01970374145471359790noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-715535549773970180.post-70564169323302399632011-03-03T08:19:00.000-08:002014-01-16T08:02:16.038-08:00The return of "Chilly"I'm back, after a long hiatus, and with a revived interest in the topic of neoliberalism, and particularly how this concept applies to libraries. I'm especially concerned in exploring how neoliberalism may relate to the current situation in Wisconsin, as Governor Walker tries to disassemble public-employee unions with the assistance of the oil-grubbing Koch brothers. More soon.da chilly librarianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01970374145471359790noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-715535549773970180.post-40308131032083047192009-04-18T14:48:00.000-07:002009-05-05T17:38:56.582-07:00Bookstore model "how-to" websiteA<span style="font-family:verdana;">s an example of a library system that's gone hog-wild for the bookstore model, the </span><a style="font-family: verdana;" href="http://sjrlc.org/tradingspaces/welcome.shtml">South Jersey Regional Library Cooperative</a><span style="font-family:verdana;"> takes the cake. </span> <span style="font-family:verdana;">These folks came up with a project called</span><span style="font-family: verdana;font-family:Verdana;" > "Trading Spaces: Reinventing the Library Environment." Essentially, the project, presented on their website, is a guide to turning your library into a bookstore. Reading the site's content, you'll find countless references to "customers" (of course), ominous phrases like "merchandizing the collection" and statements that reek of business-oriented new agey pretension: "</span><span style="font-family:Verdana;">library staff at all points on the change-oriented and traditional scale can thrive in a library where the collection and services star." There's even a paragraph that makes the library seem to be striving to emulate a bank!<br /><br />South Jersey offers training to assist in a library's transformation. There's advice on how to make your books face out on the shelves, how to walk around and make things spiffy, how to be a good greeter to folks who walk in the door. (Forget the bookstore--this sounds like Walmart!) Unfortunately, none of their advice seems to concern helping people find a particularly useful book or answer a reference question.<br /><br />For an ominous moment, I even thought South Jersey had done away with a classification system. Luckily, I found a reference to DDC buried in one of their guides.<br /><br />Well, maybe it's not all that bad. From the looks of the website, updates have been pretty infrequent, so the South Jersey staff must be pretty busy. There's a lot of postings from last year's PLA, for instance. It must be working out ok, though, 'cause South Jersey even offers a DIY toolkit on how to do what they did to their library to yours. Check it out--if you dare.<br /><br /><br /></span>da chilly librarianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01970374145471359790noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-715535549773970180.post-65341100089143612952009-04-11T13:37:00.000-07:002009-04-13T14:11:18.308-07:00Bookstore model...disaster?I just read a piece about the bookstore model run amuck. The story would almost be funny; instead, it's a little bit scary, because what happened at the featured library illustrates the direction in which a lot of libraries are moving.<br /><br />Here's the story, in a nutshell: the library system in question, Washington DC, apparently has some of those administrators who are now as common as mud in April: they read in LJ or hear a conference presentation about a trend and jump in, head over heels, never giving a thought to the consequences. In this case they decided to implement the bookstore model for their system. So, to start, they took a branch library, weeded the collection in half (apparently by circulation figures and condition), then added lots of books with bright shiny covers, included tons of self-help, "Idiot's" guides. Science and history areas were decimated.<br /><br />The only trouble was that some patrons (users/customers) in that part of town didn't want this kind of material. They're a highly education demograph (unlike a large part of DC), and those folks wanted good stuff on the shelves, including Caucer's <span style="font-style: italic;">Canterbury Tales</span>. Which, guess what, was no longer available--although quotes from the book were ornately inscribed in glass panels on the library's shelves.<br /><br />Now, at this point, I have to admit it--this is old news. The above all happened in 2007 and a lot of folks seem to have adjusted just fine. Turnstile and circulation numbers are up and the library has increased its db subscriptions as well. And as for <span style="font-style: italic;">Canterbury Tales</span>, there's a number of copies in the system, including those at DC's Martin Luther King Jr. research-oriented library. Still, there seem to be some patrons who don't like what's happened to their neighborhood library.<br /><br /><br />So, I wonder: what would have been wrong with just weeding more judiciously at the above library, and retaining some the reference books and less-circulating material with re-bound covers, etc.? Sure, the shelves could be thinned, faceouts added, that kind of "bookstore" stuff. But don't the patrons at this library deserve at least some research material or less-read books such as classics that have fallen out of favor with most modern readers? Why should they have to go to another library, or wait for a book to be shipped to one closer to them? As I've said previously, the bookstore model isn't necessarily a bad thing. It just often seems to be applied without much thought given to a library's mission, collection or all the patrons/users/customers.<br /><br />Here's a couple links about the story. One's from the <a href="http://thehill.com/hillscape/library-now-cool-but-old-guard-wary-2007-08-01.html">The Hill,</a> a DC paper. The other's from the <a href="http://www.examiner.com/a-859884%7ELibrary_patrons_indignant_at_Southeast_Library_s_lack_of_classic_titles.html">Examiner</a> website. Read 'em; see what you think.da chilly librarianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01970374145471359790noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-715535549773970180.post-60110844356067042052009-02-23T14:11:00.001-08:002009-03-03T14:52:47.273-08:00More on neoliberalism in the libraryAnother aspect of the influence of neoliberalism in my library is the common use of the word "customer" to refer to patrons or users. I encountered this quite a while ago in library literature, as more and more articles seemed to focus on "customer" service. Most of these pieces tacitly accepted the bookstore model for running a library, and with it the notion that users get better service at bookstores than libraries. I find this problematic. As an example, consider direct interaction between users and staff: is a customer/patron treated better by an ill-paid, under-employed, should-be academic at B&N or an unfireable, union-protected, civil-service-hired clerk at the public library?<br /><br />To be fair, this slightly negative comparison of public-service between libraries and bookstores is only a part of the model. Other concepts of the bookstore model are actually promising and can be applied to reference libraries as well those intended for browsing: users can find books more easily when library shelves aren't dusty or cluttered; books shelved face-out attract attention; there's no reason why old, battered items can't be rebound to make the books look nice; weeding can be done judiciously to keep material current (if guidelines aren't too focused on condition or circulation figures) or sent to stacks for reference-use retention. And getting back to "customer" service--patrons should be treated with respect and friendliness. <br /><br />Still, despite these positive sides of the bookstore model, I can't see the overall advantage for treating the library as one. Except, of course, to library administrators who rather like the B&N staffing concept of paying minimum wage to under-employed academics. In the long run, though, they may be unable to pull that off. With the recession and decline in people's purchasing power, more folks are using libraries than ever. In fact, it may be possible that more books are being circulated by the nation's libraries than being bought at bookstores. The powers-that-be in the library world should remember--bookstores are designed for one thing: to sell books to customers. Libraries are intended for so much more.da chilly librarianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01970374145471359790noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-715535549773970180.post-17022164849484935962009-01-12T12:32:00.001-08:002014-01-16T07:29:13.557-08:00New year, new postMy last postings began a new theme for this blog, focusing on libraries, especially public libraries, and the influence of neoliberalism. To define the latter, in my terms: the creeping influence of capitalism on every aspect of society, giving virtually anything the potential of becoming a commodity, including the library.<br /><br />In the library world the influence of neoliberalism can be seen in various ways. A good example is the bookstore model, most famously considered by Steve Coffman in a 1997 issue of American Libraries ("What if you ran your library like a bookstore?") and developed further in Jeanette Woodward's <em>Creating the Customer-Driven Library: Building on the Bookstore Model</em>. Designing such a model involved significant changes in the traditional library, such as tailoring collection development toward very popular materials that are certain to check out a lot, thus driving higher circulation numbers. Circulation is a traditional signal of overall library usage, which helps earn potential higher tax levies from voters and respect from politicians who divvy up tax dollars. Another example of neoliberalism, more blatant, is the funding of library capital projects by corporations and their owners, creating such facilities as the Target computer lab or the Carl Pohlad performance hall. Add such support to the artificially created "success" of the bookstore model with its high circulation numbers, and neoliberalism would seem to be well on the way to taking over the library.<br /><br />Of course, for most, rich folks and corporations giving dollars to libraries seems a no-brainer--every corporate dollar means less taxes paid by the average joe. And high library usage, of course, is a good thing--as long as one realizes there is more to a library than the number of books checked out. Consider a reference collection, for instance, with its maddening inability to generate statistics. But here's the rub: what if that reference collection begins to be underfunded because the library is buying material that adds only to its circulation luster, such as dvds and best-sellers?<br /><br />One of the problems with this can be seen in my shop. I work in one of the last great urban public reference libraries. While we have plenty of computers for the public and dvds and best sellers and databases and programming, we also have an in-depth reference collection of monographs, continuations and serials. Right now this collection is at risk: Last year my taxbase-deprived city library system was merged into the larger, richer county entity, and some of the new people in positions of power now seem to wonder why my library has to be different from all the rest: why do we need all those dusty old books and serials at the downtown location? How come there's all those subscriptions for "obscure" trade journals? And why shouldn't my library be buying the same kind of books as all the other libraries in the system?<br /><br />Reading this, one can see my library has a dual mission: to serve as a popular, browsing library and simultaneously as a facility for scholarly research. And with this duality, of course, comes tension. It's inherently difficult for both sides to receive equality. Especially during this time of economic downturn and malaise and reduced funding from the Feds and state, when every dollar must be spent wisely. And add to this the common belief that book are passe', because "everything can be found on the internet," and the reference collection is clearly in trouble.<br /><br />So what's the solution? The discussion of that will start with my next post.da chilly librarianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01970374145471359790noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-715535549773970180.post-48595403190980165942008-09-19T09:11:00.000-07:002008-09-19T09:16:26.255-07:00Still ResearchingI promised I'd be posting more often, I know, but one gets BUSY. But I'm still on my agenda of letting people know, especially library folks, something about neoliberalism. I've just got to do more reading on the topic until I can justify an intelligent conversation. So, there's more to come--I just have to finish working through the books on that bib I posted a while ago.da chilly librarianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01970374145471359790noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-715535549773970180.post-25191421672043588752008-08-22T14:35:00.000-07:002008-11-01T15:55:11.600-07:00More on NeoliberalismFor information on the topic, here's a brief, slightly annotated bibliography:<br /><br />D'Angelo, Ed. Barbarians at the gates of the public library. Duluth: Library Juice Press. 2006<br />(Interesting, even philosophical discussion of the influence of modern capitalism on the public sphere and libraries.)<br /><br />Giroux, Henry A. Terror of neoliberalism. Boulder: Paradigm Publishers. 2004<br />(Good discussion of post-911 actions of Bush administration. Radical approach, with adulatory chapter on Edward Said.)<br /><br />Harvey, David. A brief history of neoliberalism. Oxford: Oxford University Press. 2005<br /><br />Kranich, Nancy C. Libraries & democracy : the cornerstones of liberty. Chicago : American Library Association. 2001<br />(In particular, see section on Civil librarianship, p-67+ (“Civic librarianship honors the historic mission of education for a democratic society.”)<br /><br />Lee, Earl. Libraries in the age of mediocrity. Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland and Company. 1998.<br />(Not specifically about neoliberalism, but describes the effects of neoliberalism on libraries, e.g.: centralized collection development, user fees, replacing librarians with cheaper paraprofessionals.)da chilly librarianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01970374145471359790noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-715535549773970180.post-80759433612848411892008-08-18T10:27:00.000-07:002014-01-16T07:32:58.758-08:00The library and "customers" (Part One)In the past months, my library system has been merged into a larger entity. The move was inevitable: due to the recession/sub-prime crisis, the influence of a Republican governor in the pocket of the no-tax crowd and a not-so friendly Democratic mayor, my system had gone into life-support mode. Without the merger many libraries would have closed, with a lot of staff having to go bye-bye. So, we were sucked up by the big kids. And for the most part, that's ok. <br /><br />But the new system is far more corporate than we're used to, with the library just a single entity in their big picture. And as a smaller fish having to learn to swim with the big one, an aspect of assimilating is figuring out the new library's culture.<br /><br />In this case, the culture has a large customer-service base. In fact, the term "customer" is front and center, used in all discussions and communications. I have to admit this bothers me. I know the word is predominant in current library literature, spouted in LJ and blogs and library websites galore. But to me, customer implies a financial exchange between the library and the library user, a deal which goes way beyond the formerly accepted concept of a library patron merely paying taxes and getting various library services in return. Instead it smacks of the infamous public library-as-bookstore model, first presented years ago by Steve Coffman in American Libraries:<br /><br />Coffman, Steve. "What If You Ran Your Library Like a Bookstore?" American Libraries (March 1998): 40-46.<br /><br />As we've been merged for eight months now, and I've heard the term coming out of my colleagues' mouths on an ever-increasing basis, I've been doing some thinking. Why does this use of the word customer in a library context nag at me so much? Why can't I just join the crowd and parrot the word in meetings like everybody else? Of course, being a librarian, once I putting my brain to work on something, I needed to find out more. So I starting investigating the bookstore model more deeply: in articles in library literature, books, online. And I discovered an interesting thread popping up in some of the more-radical lit. A thread that reveals the whole basis of the bookstore model, and one that got me to the root of why I dislike the library-as-bookstore model--a concept known as neoliberalism.<br /><br />More soon.<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />Ida chilly librarianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01970374145471359790noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-715535549773970180.post-30398933648270029492008-08-14T15:12:00.000-07:002008-08-14T15:29:33.971-07:00Finally, a new postWell, it's been a while since the last post. A busy spring and summer is a good excuse--here in Minnesota you need to cram an entire year's worth of outdoor life into 3 months. Fun stuff: my bro's getting hitched, going to the Kingfield neighborbood farmer's market; National Night Out, attending my very first St. Paul Saints game, concerts, outdoor wine bars, walks by the lake, bike rides. You gotta do it, 'cause the middle of August means time's a-wastin' here in the Great White North.<br /><br />Another reason for not posting is my search for content, after finishing up 'Stick. There's so many blogs in the world, and most of them are self indulgent or have uninteresting subjects or are just plain boring. So I thought: why post if I'm going to just be one of the crowd?<br /><br />But then, after a while, I thought some more...I've got interests that I'd enjoy blogging about--and I know quite a bit about 'em. And somebody might actually get something out of what I have to say, or I might pick up something from someone else.<br /><br />So, I've decided Chilly's going to focus on 3 main areas: libraries and librarians ('cause that what I do professionally), guitars ('cause that's what I like to do on my time off) and politics ('cause at heart I'm a West-Wing watching, Obama-supporting political wonk).<br /><br />Those will be the new themes. I may stray off them from time to time, but bear with me: when and if that happens, I'll try to keep away from talking about me, myself and I and, most of all, I'll try to keep it interesting.da chilly librarianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01970374145471359790noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-715535549773970180.post-34933390864180932062008-04-30T15:24:00.000-07:002008-04-30T15:47:59.015-07:00Thing 22. What Did I Learn...And Keeping UpTime to be wrapping it up for the "Thing on a Stick" part of Chilly, and moving into a proper blog, full of info about what's on my mind, what's going on with the family, what's happening with the world, or just the library world or...oh, hell. I don't know. Apparently 1 out of 7 internet users are blogging now, and if I'm going to be one of the better of the horde, I'd best come up with a subject. Write about what you know was the mantra of my creative writing program, and it's a good and proper one, but I'll have to do some thinking on that before coming back to Chilly. <br /><br />How to keep up with 2.0?--that is the question. And it's a toughie. Because there's so much out there now. The more you seek, the more you find and then more and more and more. Like right now I've got 55 feeds in my Bloglines account (about 45 of 'em usually active), more than 300 links to my Del.icio.us page, about 20 items sitting in Google Docs, tons of connections via LinkedIn, yada yada. So the trick is to winnow out the chaff. It's rather like having a pile of library books on the bedside table, all good and all due on the same date. A pleasurable cause for stress, but Argh! <br /><br />But one shouldn't stress from pleasure and usefulness, and that's what 2.0 is for me. So some tactics are needed: It's probably a good idea to go through and weed items once in a while, whether they be feeds, or Del.icio.us links or MySpace friends (now that sounds nasty). And to consider carefully what I add, no matter what the application. And finally, if I start stressing from essentially having too much info, I just have to remember--I'm in control, not the information. Nothing bad will happen if I don't read my Bloglines feeds for the day. Or a week. Or even a month. Life goes on. And so do I.da chilly librarianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01970374145471359790noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-715535549773970180.post-17411268374855210492008-04-19T15:21:00.000-07:002008-04-19T16:04:58.016-07:00Thing 21. Beyond MySpace: Other Social NetworksI really like Ning and kind of enjoy Web Junction. The former is great, I've found, for discovering folks with similar interests. Like I'm really into guitar playing and blues music, and guess what: there's lots of groups in Ning that reflect those interests. Within these groups there's forums on all kinds of related topics, sound files, videos (including lessons)--pretty cool. And particularly so is the Ning page for old-fart rockers like me: Loud Old Guys--check it out!<br /><br />Web Junction is different, but cool on its own. Not so much fun, but educational in a career-enhancing way. You can learn new stuff or brush up on skills in all kinds of areas. From my standpoint, what's especially useful are the resources on patron services and technology, with the classes either on vid. or self-paced. A few of 'em are free, but a lot are pretty inexpensive and would seem to be a great way to start learning about Cold Fusion or Dreamweaver or to hone one's business skills. On the other hand, though, there are a few that cost TOO MUCH: it seems wrong to charge 150 smackeroos to learn how to use Google a little better at the ref. desk, for instance. If I want to learn that any better, I can find it on the internet. By Googling.da chilly librarianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01970374145471359790noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-715535549773970180.post-30001256812897186442008-04-03T15:45:00.001-07:002008-04-12T15:37:56.521-07:00Thing 20. Social Networking.I have accounts for MySpace and Facebook. I got 'em both so I could see how each works and compare. Now, I admit I don't do a lot with either. I've set up minimal profiles but haven't created cool pages or anything. Heck, I don't even have any sound files to automatically deafen you when opening my MySpace page. I guess this is 'cause I'm of the age group that's reticent about letting the whole wide world know too much about me. Unlike modern kids who seem to revel in the thought. Also, I know few folks to network with (how sad, but we're all the same age kinda), don't have the urge to share stuff like songs with anybody and find trad. email perfectly fine for electronic communication. There--spoken like a truly old fart.<br /><br />But it's a good thing libraries have established a presence in Facebook and MySpace. Every kid on the planet has an account in one, the other or both. (A speaker at a conference I attended said he asked the students in the classes he taught how many had pages and EVERYONE of 500 did.) And if this many kids are using an app., it's important that libraries be there. I've seen a lot of what many institutions are offering: communication options, catalog search boxes, links to groups, book talks, yadda, yadda. And it's great--the more kids see this stuff and use it, the better for libraries.da chilly librarianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01970374145471359790noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-715535549773970180.post-28737213298747923712008-03-26T15:29:00.000-07:002008-03-26T16:03:41.400-07:00Thing 19. PodcastsI'll admit it--I'm the last person in the U.S. without a MP3 player. I don't have an Ipod, haven't converted my CDs to digital to be kept snugly on my hard drive, listen to nothing fancier while driving in my ancient Chevy than those shiny silver disks. Yet I like podcasts, even if I have to listen to 'em on my pc. It's just way cool that you can listen to stuff other than music when just strolling around--although the tunes are good, too. (Ex: Minnesota Public Radio's Current has a podcast with the 'caster's favorite gee-tar solos and discussion thereof.) And great that so many educational institutions such as universities, libraries and museums are making podcasts available. One problem, and it's a "good" one: as with much of the 2.0 world, there's almost too many interesting podcasts from which to choose.da chilly librarianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01970374145471359790noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-715535549773970180.post-19649720094612990562008-03-18T14:51:00.000-07:002008-03-26T15:25:53.209-07:00Thing 18. YouTube and other online videoHere's a YouTube vid. that anyone who spends time introducing newbies to computers or doing tech support can appreciate. Hysterical. There's another one as well, a golden oldie about librarians from M. Python back in the 70s.<br /><br /><br /><object width="425" height="355"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/xFAWR6hzZek&hl=en"></param><param name="wmode" value="transparent"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/xFAWR6hzZek&hl=en" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" width="425" height="355"></embed></object><br /><br /><object width="425" height="355"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/ukJmF6f0JdQ&hl=en"></param><param name="wmode" value="transparent"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/ukJmF6f0JdQ&hl=en" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" width="425" height="355"></embed></object>da chilly librarianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01970374145471359790noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-715535549773970180.post-5803563761840767402008-03-15T13:47:00.000-07:002008-03-21T15:41:18.940-07:00Thing 17. ELM Productivity ToolsLots of stuff to do here: Gale, Ebsco, Proquest dbs, and Netlibrary to boot. It's very cool that ELM provides these resources; I mean, we get 'em through my library, but making them available as a MN-wide resource is a tremendous value. This brings to mind a pet peeve I've long had of the "industry"--we give so much good stuff to folks, but it's not promoted beyond a library's website or via the print lit a library puts out, or perhaps through an article in the paper somewhere. How about some of those hard-earned dues we pay to the various pro orgs: ALA, MLA in Minnesota, etc., going into TV or online PSA's that promote stuff like the ELM dbs?<br /><br />In doing this Thing, some of the detail-stuff didn't work as described. That's to be expected. But for the most part, it's great being able to do research and then make it available to yourself or to colleagues via RSS or a webpage. I guess I do question the need for the latter, but I supposed having results published in HTML provides web-based accessibility that elimates the need for sending the same material in an e-mail attachment, etc. The more avoiding PDF, the better as far as I'm concerned.da chilly librarianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01970374145471359790noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-715535549773970180.post-28910569861622287402008-03-11T14:30:00.000-07:002008-03-11T14:45:42.207-07:00Thing 16. Student 2.0 ToolsIf I worked in an academic library, or taught classes, I definitely could see the usefulness of student 2.0 tools. Both the Research Project calculator and the U. of M. Assignment calculator provide a guiding structure (timelines, strategy recommendations, worksheets, tips, etc.) that would be especially useful for students learning how to organize their scholarship. I could also see the value for those unorganized grownups I see around me. Nonetheless, I don't see much in either of these calculators for library project management. Other tools are better, such as Doodle or Ikordo (for scheduling/sharing meeting dates), Zoho or Google docs for sharing apps, or Nexo for file sharing, meeting setup, collaboration in general. And there's always good ol' wikis.da chilly librarianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01970374145471359790noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-715535549773970180.post-62551649344978092702008-03-08T15:08:00.001-08:002008-03-08T15:47:15.016-08:00Thing 15. Online games and librariesWell, I gave Second Life a shot. I heard folks from Alliance pitch how their library uses it (one librarian on staff even spends half her workweek in SL, per her job description!) during one of those informative quickie-sessions at ACRL in Baltimore last year. They were all pretty enthusiastic, so I signed up. But, much like everybody else (except a lot of Germans; apparently they find it very appealing over there), I quickly became disenchanted. <br /><br />SL as an app is just too balky. It sucks up more memory than even IE and requires a ton of bandwidth. In addition, it's unreliable: when your avatar is acting like he's lost in space, or the screen doesn't paint, or your mouse sits promptless for minutes, you don't know if the problem is with your connection, your pc, or SL's hopefully gigantic server farm wimping out. Another gripe: lack of decent tutorials or documention--hey, I'm a Virgo: give me details, please. And a final whine: how about allowing go-backs, Linden Lab guys? I mean, your avatar learns the ropes, gets some confidence, you figure it's time to leave Orientation Island and what-the-f....you can't go back! What gives with that! Part of gaming is making mistakes and learning from 'em; it's an empirical digital world, but SL doesn't seem to agree. Once you're off the island you're stuck finding your way around with the crappy tutorials, which give you a few basics: how to pick something up, how to fly, etc., but after that you're screwed--you can spend hours (s-l-ow-l-y) wandering around SL and not getting anywhere.<br /><br />So, I'm like a lot of folks: tried Second Life, thought it cool for a while, then discovered reality. Don't get me wrong: The concept of SL's digital libraries as a new vehicle for supplying information to people is a great one and I'm all for it--I just wish the vehicle was easier to drive.da chilly librarianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01970374145471359790noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-715535549773970180.post-28036528489097331752008-03-05T14:48:00.000-08:002008-03-05T15:28:29.160-08:00Thing 14. LibraryThing<script type="text/javascript" src="http://www.librarything.com/ltsw/mySearchWidget.php?option_userid=radfo001&option_title=My%2520LibraryThing&option_width=238&option_height=300&option_title_color=%23FFFFFF&option_color=%23999999&option_border_color=%23555&option_searchsource=0&option_linkSocial=1&option_covers=1&option_linkAuthor=1&option_showRel=1&option_amazonAssocCode=&build=%C2%A0%C2%A0Rebuild%20this%20widget%C2%A0%C2%A0&option_searchboxText=Search%20group%20libraries"></script><br /><br />On this Thing, I've added a widget that allows LibraryThing searchability. I guess lots of libraries are embedding such into their sites. It's a great way to show patrons (er, customers, if one is want to use trendy, bookstore = library lingo) some upfront info about a book, including its cover. I can see usability in blogs, too, so folks can check out what's going in somebody's library, or get some insight on a book that's off the beaten track of the usual places such as BIP. And what a boon to home libraries. If you've got some time, this is a great way to catalog your whole collection, as we librarian-types may actually be prone to do.<br /><br />All in all, LibraryThing is pretty sweet: I love the way you can pull from Amazon, LOC, etc. And, of course, the tagging concept allows more complete searching and interaction with the LibraryThing/book/library community.da chilly librarianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01970374145471359790noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-715535549773970180.post-67422417601391105182008-02-27T14:48:00.000-08:002008-02-27T15:25:46.138-08:00Thing 13. Online productivity toolsFor a start page, iGoogle works best for me. I didn't see much difference with Pageflakes. Both sites allow you to add widgets that can be useful, but for the most part are time-wasting: poker? Bush-isms? C'mon. Not only is this stuff kinda silly, but look at what you have to do to get it on your page.<br /><br /><br />First off, it takes a while to go through the list of widgets, figuring what stuff would be coolest to have. Second, you gotta play with said widgets to see how they work. Third, you have to get 'em configured, allowing Active X controls, etc. Then you have to get all the widgets you've downloaded arranged on your page the way you like it. Productivity--I think not. So, for me, iGoogle gives me enough: a calendar (that works well, kinda ok), a to-do list, a news feed, weather info and a countdown 'til Bush is outta here--I need to have some fun, after all. Simple as that. I don't need to get a calendar or to-do prompt from other sites.<br /><br /><br />The problem I have with Google, nonetheless, is how nosy they are. I really dislike the 30-year tracking cookie; nor do I enjoy having my search results accessible for time enternal. I know you can turn off the tracking, but it bothers me that it's there in the first place. Unlike, say, Michael Stephens, I like to have some privacy when I'm online. If that's in any way possible anymore.da chilly librarianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01970374145471359790noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-715535549773970180.post-12500233448307509612008-02-23T14:35:00.000-08:002008-02-23T15:57:57.652-08:00Thing 12. Digg, etc.I can see the usefulness of some of these sites. It's great having news and information from multiple media sources and websites fed to you, broken down by categories. Currently, I get the Digg RSS tech feed, one of many resources I use to keep up with tech trends. StumbleUpon is particularly interesting, too, with its feature of letting a person's indicated interests direct the info flow your way. Still, while I joined up, I don't use it much.<br /><br />But the comments, reviews, whatever you want to call 'em on these sites!--face it, most of these folks are pretty lame. This often depends on the topic of course: there's a lot more yahoo-types posting on entertainment topics, then say, on those concerning business. But what good does it do me-- if the intent of these sites is to make information available along with 2.0 interaction--when the interaction is so S-T-O-O-P-I-D? Of course, this is a common criticism of 2.0 from those new dissers of the topic, like Andrew Keen and his <em>Cult of the Amateur,</em> who talks about the "superficial observations" and "shrill opinion(s)" of 2.0'ers--I'm not alone in making this point.<br /><br />Still, I guess, it's good to hear what other people think: you can learn from 'em, even if some (or a lot) of what's being said may seem, well, stupid.da chilly librarianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01970374145471359790noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-715535549773970180.post-29791046696624506722008-02-20T15:00:00.000-08:002008-02-20T15:40:22.541-08:00Thing 11. Tagging and Del.icio.usI've found Del.icio.us to to be a great way of logging, compiling and tracking websites. In fact, it's almost too easy to use--I "delicious" sites I find with great abandon, assign tags, save 'em--then vow to go back and check them out in more detail later. Which I hardly ever do. I'm also guilty of only bundling a few of my tags, so there's a long fornlorn trail of them dangling at the bottom of my tags list. One of these days, I'm just going to have to get organized....<br /><br />One of the cool things about doing "Stick" is the extra info I'm getting on Web 2.0 apps that I otherwise wouldn't have picked up. Like the whole sharing aspect of Del.icio.us--I'd never thought of using this. But it seems quite useful for projects, easily enabling folks to assign tags to websites they've found while doing their research and letting everybody share the wealth.da chilly librarianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01970374145471359790noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-715535549773970180.post-2925612438769868802008-02-19T13:32:00.000-08:002008-02-19T13:52:28.686-08:00Thing 10. WikisAh, wikis. Like blogs, they would seem a very handy communication tool. Especially for a physically large library like mine, with many people working in many areas on many projects, without much communication going on between them. Or with those of us in the big picture. Blogs, of course, would do the trick for letting folks in on what other folks are doing. The larger system we've just merged with has done just that, with tons of people blogging on various topics. We're just not there yet. But wikis seem to be another story--there's not much going on with them in the bigger shop, that I've discovered. I don't know why--I'll have to bring up the question with some of my new colleagues when I get the chance. Perhaps they're paranoid of losing control or something, the anarchy of letting anybody not only post, but make changes as well.<br /><br />I think wikis are an especially great tool for projects, allowing everybody involved to let others know of their progress, successes, problems, etc., and allowing folks to get in their own two-cents worth. Two-way communication, or three-way, or four-way, or more--what a concept.da chilly librarianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01970374145471359790noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-715535549773970180.post-79919599480456872832008-02-14T15:43:00.000-08:002008-02-14T16:07:36.707-08:00Thing 9 (b).Here's a link to a Google document. It's an example of the type of Word document I use a lot of time in managing serials.<br /><br /><a href="http://spreadsheets.google.com/pub?key=pTEBbuMRMkhV2WTi8fgOyLg">http://spreadsheets.google.com/pub?key=pTEBbuMRMkhV2WTi8fgOyLg</a>da chilly librarianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01970374145471359790noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-715535549773970180.post-21100021296850092722008-02-14T15:28:00.000-08:002008-02-14T15:40:55.637-08:00Thing 9. Online Collaboration ToolsI think Google Docs and Zoho are pretty handy resources. My wife is a librarian and her shop uses Zoho for collaboration on certain projects. It's a lot easier to have access to a document that way, instead of having to email it back and forth. I wonder, though, how hard it is to track changes that are made. It would seem that any online tool like Google Docs, etc., should offer a utility that would track changes mades, allow the original document to viewed, etc. Maybe something like Wikipedia, where you can view all the edits made to an entry, who did 'em and at what time/date. I'll have to explore a bit to find out just what Google and Zoho have along that line. Of course, there's also the issues of security and storage: how secure are documents sitting on servers somewhere and what would happen if a company were to go under?da chilly librarianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01970374145471359790noreply@blogger.com0