ITI Bloggers July 16th, 2009

The person I heard quoted the most during ALA wasn’t even in Chicago. It was Clay Shirky, author of Here Comes Everybody. At least 3 different people quoted his comment about technology from page 105, “Communications tools don’t get socially interesting until they get technologically boring.”  (Or were they remembering his appearance last May on The Colbert Report? The quote is 1 minute and 16 seconds into the clip.)

Other people may also have quoted him, in one of the many sessions I wasn’t able to attend, given how spread out the conference was. I actually think the sentence that follows the one quoted is equally pertinent, “The invention of a tool doesn’t create change; it has to be around long enough that most of society is using it.” Librarians are talking about, and using, a wide range of new social media tools to communicate both within and outside the profession. They blog, Flickr, Facebook, FriendFeed, Twitter, receive and send RSS feeds, wiki, IM, podcast, vlog, tag, bookmark, and share like mad. Some librarians are beginning to find these tools boring, but others are just getting started with social technologies. Plus, most of society isn’t using them.

Issues surrounding the social media, 2.0-type tools, include measuring the impact, ROI, not getting too far ahead of library users, data ownership, loss of context, permanence versus ephemeral, and involving library staff and administration.

Marydee Ojala, Editor, ONLINE: Exploring Technology & Resources for Information Professionals

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ITI Bloggers July 15th, 2009

In February, ebrary celebrated a special milestone: a decade of industry innovation. Company CEO/CTO Christopher Warnock and president Kevin Sayar report that despite the ups and downs of a restless economy this year, ebrary is still thriving. “We’re growing consistently,” says Sayar. “Our growth this year has exceeded last year’s.” For Warnock, “We’ve experienced a continued momentum. The past 10 years have been amazing. ”

ebrary has long been ahead of the innovation curve in the marketplace, serving as pioneers of the subscription ebook market and adding value with

ebrary's first 10 years have been amazing, say Kevin Sayar, president, and Christopher Warnock, CEO/CTO.

rich, detailed usage reports. “We’re committed to getting the most value for libraries as budgets shift from print to electronic in a tight market,” says Sayar. “We’re providing a common platform for an integrated experience.”

At ALA, ebrary announced that its relationship with Baker & Taylor’s YBP Library Services has expanded. The two companies will be teaming up to provide libraries with new ways to acquire authoritative content from key publishers. By late summer, YBP is planning to integrate ebrary’s usage statistics with its e-preferred approval plan workflow so libraries will receive alerts about ebook titles that offer a potentially higher circulation.

“We’re unique in that we not only supply the content services but the technology (ebrary Reader and InfoTools) as well,” says Warnock. The ebrary collection has more than 170,000 digital books, handbooks, reports, maps, journals, and other content from 350-plus top global publishers. Plus, ebrary also offers epublishing services to customers so they can distribute their own PDF content online via ebrary’s servers or their own.

And ebrary isn’t solely fixed on the academic sector. There are also corporate product prospects in the works, says Sayar.

During the past 10 years, ebrary has weathered the industry’s ups and downs, but it still is set on delivering value to librarians. Sayar says ebrary keeps close tabs on what librarians want through focus and advisory groups, and feedback from its sales force. “What’s very surprising is how differently libraries with a common mission and a common experience think about providing solutions and just what those solutions should be,” says Sayar. Warnock says usage statistics provide part of the answer. “You’d think that by having 46,000 titles in 2,000 libraries worldwide, we’d see a common collection for academics, but there isn’t,” he says. “There are only 151 in common.” So whether libraries decide to subscribe, purchase, or host, ebrary is staying true to its mantra: “One e-content platform. Many ways to use it.”

Barbara Brynko
Editor-in-Chief
Information Today

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ITI Bloggers July 15th, 2009

 Unlimited Priorities Corporation, a company specializing in support for organizations within the information industry, announced the sale of AgeLine, an online bibliographic database produced by AARP and focused on the subject of aging and middle-aged and older adults, to EBSCO Publishing. EBSCO will take over the abstracting and indexing activities from AARP, continue to provide access to the geriatric community, and invest further in the database. I was a bit perplexed as to why there was no information about this at the EBSCO booth. Iris Hanney, CEO of Unlimited Priorities, just grinned. “Guess I just got my press release written more quickly,” she quipped.

Marydee Ojala, Editor, ONLINE: Exploring Technology & Resources for Information Professionals

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ITI Bloggers July 14th, 2009

The John Cotton Dana Library Public Relations Awards are the Holy Grail for PR librarians in the U.S. Winning one takes plenty of time, effort, talent, and planning. Some say that completing the award application is an experience unto itself. But it’s also a lesson in the way good public relations should be done.

Every winter, my Marketing Library Services newsletter announces the winners that have been chosen before it covers the summer ceremony. In the March/April 2009 issue’s Special Report on ALA’s Midwinter Meeting, there’s info on all of the winning projects (this article isn’t online), and I’ll name them again here:

• Baltimore County (Md.) Public Library’s (BCPL) Storyville, a new interactive creative learning center, was designed as a child-size village for preschoolers and their caregivers.
• Gwinnett County (Ga.) Public Library wowed its community with its Oct. 18, 2008, reading festival.
• Houston Public Library used a 2-year, $17 million renovation as the impetus for a strong public relations campaign centered on a “sense of identity.”
• The Library Foundation of the Multnomah (Ore.) Public Library developed and sustained an appropriate marketing strategy that conveyed the importance of the library in early childhood literacy.
• St. Paul (Minn.) Public Library took advantage of 2008 election fever by mounting a timely campaign called “St. Paul-itics.”
• Ypsilanti (Mich.) District Library scored a huge hit with a program targeting teens and men with a celebration of the area’s musical heritage.

The July 13 awards ceremony was at the Ritz Carlton, and it was as classy as ever. (Is that redundant?) Admist a spread of orchids, candles, and amazing hors d’ouevres, attentive waitstaff fussed over the well-dressed guests who nibbled while they enjoyed live piano music and waited for formal proceedings to begin. H.W. Wilson and its Foundation still sponsor the award, and as President Harry Regan commented when he opened the festivities, “Over the last 63 years, the John Cotton Dana Award has evolved into the one of the most coveted and prestigious awards” in libraryland.

Finally, the Big Moments began. For each of the six honored libraries, Regan read a bit that explained what was special about each project, then the recipients took the stage, got their certificates and $5,000 checks, and smiled for a very nice man with a very large camera lens before making a few brief remarks of their own. One of my favorites came from Sheree Savage of the St. Paul Public Library, who claimed that its “St. Paul-itics” political action campaign turned the library into “the community civic engagement living room.”

People studied the winning JCD notebooks.

This short formal part of the program was followed by more photos, handshakes, and piano music. Some attendees took advantage of the chance to see the notebooks of campaign info that are a big part of each entry. The notebooks are wonderful collections of data and promo material that chronical each project. (You can borrow them too if you’re interested in studying them in preparation for your own entry efforts.)

You can read more about the contest on Wilson’s website.

All in all, it was a grand afternoon at the Ritz, where well-deserved honors were bestowed by a committed corporation that continues to encourage and reward librarians who do the tough but essential work of planning great public relations projects that keep the people of American coming back to rediscover the wonders of their libraries year after year.

~Kathy Dempsey, editor, Marketing Library Services newsletter

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ITI Bloggers July 14th, 2009

SirsiDynes Execs (l-r) Rick Branham, Talin Bingham, and Christoper Collier

ILS vendor SirsiDynix executives talked me up yesterday about their new software release (currently slated for September), which they are dubbing Enterprise 3.0.  According to Talin Bingham, chief technology officer, the new release will include a toolkit for libraries to use in building out their library web site to aid in the discovery of all types of library assets.  Rick Branham, V.P., global accounts and alliances, said the toolkit, which is a hosted solution, will permit libraries to “completely control the user experience.”   Consult the press release for further details.

Dick Kaser,ITI VP, Content

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ITI Bloggers July 14th, 2009

Diane Smith digs into LN's Congressional Hearings for some local Chicago history.

You’d be amazed at what documents are included in the congressional hearings. During a recent briefing on LexisNexis’ new search solutions tools, Diane Smith, senior director of editorial products, tapped in the name of Chicago legend “Al Capone” into the Congressional Hearings Digital Collection search box. “I always like to search a bit of local history wherever I go,” says Smith. “And look at what I found.” She displayed a list of documents about organized crime in Chicago, including a floor map of Capone’s Montmartre (Greyhound) Restaurant & Club. Want to see even more granular documents? Smith found a document with a block-by-block map showing which kingpin controlled which sector of Chicago during Prohibition.

But there are plenty of academic applications here too. “For students, instructors, and social or business historians, the Congressional Hearings Digital Collection takes users into the depths of public policy through documents in the congressional committee hearings,” says Smith. Users can search original sources via any one of three search options: basic, advanced, or search by number. Search can get as granular as needed, whether by bill number, public law number, or witness and affiliation.

Smith says the LexisNexis product development team worked with an advisory group of academic librarians to fine-tune the Congressional Hearings Digital Collection for ease of use, no matter how what the search. Likewise, the Statistical Datasets, which is expected to launch in 2010, is now being redesigned for easier access to statistics produced by federal agencies, states, as well as business and research institutions.

Last but not least, the LexisNexis’ Serial Set Digital Collection Part II, which includes nearly 4,000 titles, has also been released, capturing key aspects of American life dating from 1970, including such documents as Heroin and Heroin Paraphernalia (history of drug abuse and addiction in the U.S. including smuggling and distribution) to antitrust lawsuits to the Iran-Contra depositions. “All of the published House and Senate documents and reports are valuable because they explain the legislative intent of bills under consideration,” says Smith.

In other LN news, the chiefs at LexisNexis paid top honors to a few outstanding librarians during the 39^th Annual LexisNexis Annual Breakfast for Documents and Reference Librarians on Monday. Daniel Cornwall from the Alaska State Library (hey, he gets big applause … I lived in Anchorage for almost seven years) won the GODORT ALA “Documents to the People” award;  Abby Clobridge and David Willson Del Testa from Bucknell University won the ACRL/IS award.  Once the awards presentations were completed, the ballroom brunchers received a crash course on economics from American economist Steven D. Levitt (OK, he threw in a lot of humor). The co-author of Freakonomics: A Rogue Economist Explores the Hidden Side of Everything provided a captivating twist on gathering statistics about drug lords, prostitution, gambling, and more. No wonder the book topped The New York Times Bestseller List, climbing over the 3-million mark worldwide. The latest edition has just been revised, expanded, and released. Working with statistics has never been more fun.

Barbara Brynko
Editor-in-Chief
Information Today

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ITI Bloggers July 14th, 2009

Yes, ALA is the acronym for the American Library Association, but this conference attracts librarians from around the world. ALA’s International Relations Round Table (IRRT) celebrates its 60th anniversary this year and maintains a central meeting place for international visitors right outside the exhibit hall where you can chat with colleagues, check email, and pick up literature about international programs. Attendees were also encouraged to show their home countries on the large wall map. Over 80 countries were represented this years, with the largest group being from Canada.

Programs on international topics included serving multicultural communities, libraries of Sub-Saharan Africa, sustainable library development, and funding for Africa’s cultural heritage. An international librarians reception at the Harold Washington public library was sold out.

I’m hoping that internationally-minded librarians will also think about attending Internet Librarian International in London this coming October!

Marydee Ojala, Editor, ONLINE: Exploring Technology & Resources

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ITI Bloggers July 14th, 2009

Demco Introduced a New 4-Player Game Station

Though the Gaming Pavilion at the ALA Expo was notably devoid of video game suppliers this year, Demco’s Anthony Diaz showed me the latest design in library gaming stations.  The moon-rover design features four distinct gaming stations in one compact space, with lots of lockable cubby holes for gaming devices and peripherals, including the guitar Diaz is playing.  Retail price on the unit is $3600.  Review the specs here.

Dick Kaser, ITI VP, Content

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ITI Bloggers July 14th, 2009

Cat in the Hat Hammed It Up for ALA Show-Goers

Library furnishing supplier Demco offered ALA exhibit goers a photo opp with Cat in the Hat of Dr. Seuss fame.  Green eggs and ham are one thing, of course.  Delegates who arrived in time for this morning’s complimentary show floor breakfast may have been a bit surprised at the fare, which featured cheese nachos and Chicago-style hot dogs.  I was a little skeptical at first, but actually it was not a bad way for my stomach to start the day.

Dick Kaser, ITI, VP, Content

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ITI Bloggers July 14th, 2009

Ian Reid, Director of Subscriber Services at Counting Opinions

Need help justifying your existence?  Who doesn’t these days.

You may find help from a company called Counting Opinions, one of the exhibitors at the ALA Expo this year.

According to the headline on its promotional brochure Counting Opinions offers “Evidence-based management for advocacy and continuous improvement” at your library.

I spoke with company representative Ian Reid yesterday, who outlined what the software package can do for you, including a module that supports the measurement of patron satisfaction via surveys and web form tools that you can customize.

The software can also help you track, monitor and assess core performance indicators, including tracking book circulation data and door counts to  produce metrics and  indices.

“It consolidates all performance information to get a 360-degree view of library operations,” Reid said.

The company has been in business a few years, but recently has made a special push toward helping academic libraries track and manage their performance.

Subscription prices are calibrated to the type of library, so you will  have to inquire for full details.  But, especially this year, it might be something worth looking into.  “Why settle for anecdotes when you can have hard evidence?,” Reid said.

Dick Kaser, ITI VP, Content

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