Archive | October, 2008
October 21, 2008 

Finding Corporate Knowledge

 

Deb Hunt runs the 23 Things for SLA and is on the SLA Board with Stephen so it was a logical progression from his in Track A (Enterprise Trends) on Tue to her presentation. Deb presented three case studies to illustrate how she has worked with organizations to upgrade their knowledge access. She urged librarians to become familiar with the 23 Things—so we can be prepared to lead our organizations.

Here’s Deb’s list of “universal challenges” faced by organizations:

  • Too many info silos
  • Dirty data
  • No metadata/classification nor taxonomy in place
  • Differing needs of different groups
  • Multiple physical locations
  • Loss of intellectual capital when people leave
  • No info pro present

The first case study was an environmental firm in the Sacramento, Calif. area. The company had a traditional library, both print and digital content, a diverse staff, and an Access database. Its project began in 2007 and is ongoing. Settled on SoftLink’s Liberty – the only vendor in her list that provided a hosted solution. The intranet now needs to be totally redesigned and marketed to staff. It will provide links to both internal and external sources that are searched frequently.

These are the sources she used to research solutions:
Captera’s software finder: www.capterra.com/library-automation-software
Marshall Breeding’s Library Technology Guides—http://tinyurl.com/4v3hrn
Computers in Libraries Oct feature: “Helping you Buy: Integrated Library Systems”

Her second case study was an architecture/design firm in the San Francisco area. Many were using Google to search for images (which weren’t usable when copyrighted) when the firm already had 40,000 images they could have used but weren’t. The company’s intranet was so badly designed that no one used it. Their Canto Cumulus image database couldn’t handle what they needed.

Her SLA colleagues warned her off using the Google Search Appliance. She looked at other enterprise search solutions, using Captera again. The first choice, among an initial group of 43 possibilities, was Newforma’s Project Center—www.newforma.com. It’s only a partial solution—it’s only for project management and offers an architectural focus. Rather than hiring an IT person she convinced the firm it needed to hire a librarian/info pro.

Her final study was of the Exploratorium (www.exploratorium.edu) in San Francisco, where she also works. The organization began thinking about KM back in 2003. The library had kind of “died”—only open a few hours a week. Internal content existed in many diverse formats, both digital and print. They chose Canto Cumulus and created an internal database for staff and an external Learning Commons resource for educators. She recommends using library science interns for staffing. She stressed that there is no one solution for enterprises—even though the vendors will tell you they have it.

Paula J. Hane
News Bureau Chief, Information Today, Inc.
 

October 21, 2008 

Tips for Making Podcasts and Videos

This afternoon in Track C, in a huge room that was crowded with people,  a few presenters gave some good tips for recording videos and podcasts:

  • If you’re recording your own face, be aware of what angle you’re facing in relation to the camera.
  • Invest in a good microphone.
  • Don’t position the mic directly in front of your mouth; it could capture lots of "heavy breathing."
  • Finding volunteers to appear on camera can be the hardest part of making a video.
  • Many computers come loaded with some free video-editing software.
  • Make sure to plan what to say or to have a prepared script.

And here are some cool ways to use video:

  • for staff training
  • to let patrons make tutorials
  • have the director record messages for staff or customers
  • to share things like strategic plans with staff
  • create library tours
  • show "a day in the life" of your department

What interesting ways has your library used video and podcasts??

~Kathy Dempsey

 

 

October 21, 2008 

Libraries of the Future

 

In Mary Auckland’s cybertour, she described the UK project of JISC that offers printed resources, events, podcasts, videoclips (including a debate on ebooks), and social networking. JISC works with the media to get coverage about libraries into the press (she showed a page from The Guardian) and provides information about designing spaces for effective learning. Just announced was that JISC will work with RLUK, Research Libraries UK, and with SCONUL, Society of College, National & University Libraries, on a 2-year horizon scan that will provide strategic leadership in higher education.

Marydee Ojala

 

October 21, 2008 

Solving Problems: The Reference Desk

Track D today is all about solving problems, and it featured how librarians in various environments have addressed some of the problems they have faced.  I sat in on the morning sessions on The Reference Desk, and (that perennial problem) Money (covered in a separate blog post).

The death of reference has been widely forecast for a while, but some libraries have found innovative ways to not only stave off its death, but to make it successful.  Yale University Library has begun using text messaging to deliver reference services and has found it to be quite successful.  According to Joe Murphy, General Science Librarian, text messaging is not just a communication service any more, but it’s a way to search for and share information.  It lets users get information wherever they are and thus allows remote users of the library to avail themselves of reference service.  The millennial generation has become addicted to text messaging because it is so easy and allows them to be constantly connected.  Murphy says that text messaging is perfect for reference because:

  • It is always at the point of need.
  • It enhances traditional services.
  • It extends the reach of services.
  • It opens up possibilities for new services.

Murphy has not found any viable web-based text messaging services yet, so he has produced an instruction book for librarians and users of the service.

Maui Community College faced a different problem:  the complete loss of library services because of building construction.  The librarians were moved to an office in an obscure campus building, so they used networking technologies such as Facebook, instant messaging, blogs, and contact widgets on their website to fill in the gap.  Ellen Peterson, Public Services Librarian, said that to be successful, technology must be scalable.  It must remove as many barriers to users as possible.  She thinks that text messaging is an increasingly important medium for information transfer and, because of the proliferation of mobile devices, is rapidly becoming the dominant point of access to the web.

View Ellen’s complete presentation here.

The new Darien, CT public library building (which opens in January) will not have any reference desks.  Instead, librarians will be roving around and using IM (instant messaging) to receive requests from users.  Kate Sheehan pointed out that in public libraries, people just want fast information and answers to questions.  The traditional model of the library as a gatekeeper is too far removed from people’s needs.  Kate suggested that the answer to keeping reference alive is to get into the user’s shoes and understand their needs.  Create a community, and then use the library to collaborate.

People are now using virtual reference in a different way than previously.  Now, they are browsing and doing more preliminary research.  Many of the questions are variations on the theme, "What do you have?"  Kate thinks that in the future, virtual reference will become like someone standing in front of you and will be one of the standard ways to communicate.

Don Hawkins
Columnist, Information Today and IL 2008 Blog Coordinator

October 21, 2008 

She’s From the Government and…

 Joking that she’s from the government and she’s here to help, Donna Scheeder, who’s at the Law Library at the Library of Congress, ran her Cybertour on government information from her iGoogle page. The government is blogging; the blogs are listed at usa.gov. GovGab (blog.usa.gov/roller) is written by librarians. Donna also recommends using the government’s widgets and gadgets on your library’s websites. Members of Congress are using Twitter. Capitol Tweets  follows who’s twittering. There’s a citywide data warehouse for DC . Other cities have this, too. The government has free ringtones. 2009 will see a government transition and the teams have set up a wiki to manage the process. Want to work for the government? Look at GovCentral. The Library of Congress puts podcasts on the web that you can download. MAPLight.org tracks money and politics. Opensecrets has information on money and politics. You can add this widget to your website. The Smithsonian also has blogs. They’ve also got a Smithsonian community. She’s ending the tour with the government’s main page, USA.gov.

Marydee Ojala
October 21, 2008 

IL08 Twitter & Flickr Fountain

Check out Jason Griffey’s

Twitter & Flickr Fountain

of Tweets from attendees at Internet Librarian 2008.  Awesome, thanks!  Jane Dysart, Conference Chair

 

October 21, 2008 

The Dutch Guys Are Back Tonight!

Everyone who was at last fall’s IL conference will remember the fun evening session done by Aaron Schmidt and some zany, innovative Dutch guys who were just finishing a trip they called the "ShanachieTour." Well… they’re baaa-aaack!!

Tonight’s evening session (7:30-9pm in the DeAnza suites) will feature Erik, Jaap, and Geert again, talking about their Shanachie (roving storyteller) adventures. This promises to be way too much fun, and you shouldn’t miss it!

As if seeing cool European rock stars isn’t enough, there will be coffee & cookies too. And you’ll be able to buy the Shanachies’ amazing new book (with DVD movie of last year’s road trip!) and uber-cool T-shirts. 

~Kathy Dempsey

October 21, 2008 

Teens Mashups at the Library

Fans of MultiMedia & Internet@Schools magazine are enjoying the Internet@Schools section of the conference here.

Below, Kelly Czarnecki from ImaginOn at PLCMC presents on Teen Mashups at the Library. She’s showing videos that teens created there.

~Kathy Dempsey

October 21, 2008 

Business Info Online

Mary Ellen Bates did a Cybertour in the Exhibit Hall this morning on Business Info Online: Super Searcher Strategies. It’s hard to be comprehensive when you only have 15 minutes, but Mary Ellen did it with ease. She talked about SEC EDGAR filings, market research reports, corporate blogs and podcasts, government agencies, LinkedIn, and CEO Express. She ended by recommending that searchers "look sideways." Ask who cares about your topic. View results in reverse chronological order rather than relevancy ranked to identify  future disruptive technologies. Use market research for forecasts, government sources for retrospective.

Marydee Ojala
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