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Academic Library 2.0 : Getting buy-in April 17, 2008

Posted by Jenica Rogers in Libraries, Training, cil2008, conferences, work life.
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In the spirit of Better Late Than Not At All, I want to share my slides from our Academic Library 2.0 preconference at CiL.  I have wanted this for several days now, but am only now getting to it in an effective way. I’ve settled on sharing them as a .pdf file, because I am struggling mightily with using .pptx files (what PowerPoint 2007 produces) in many online sharing venues — they don’t handle the file format very well. So you’ll have to manually scroll rather than viewing a slideshow, but I think you’ll all survive.

Going beyond the great idea : Getting buy-in and doing effective training for 2.0 projects

CiL : Make your own conference April 12, 2008

Posted by Jenica Rogers in Libraries, Musings, Technology, cil2008, conferences.
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This year at CiL, while the sessions were interesting and on-point, I was underwhelmed by what I learned in formal conference contexts. And that is in no way the fault of the conference or the presenters; it’s all me. Jason Griffey and I were talking it through, expressing some of the same thoughts, and what I came down to is that I have a very specific set of interests as relate to technology in libraries — issues re: ILS development and deployment, search and discovery innovations (particularly as relate to ILS integration), and the practical application of emerging web technologies in libraries. I also have worked hard, over the past several years, to be certain that I’m taking responsibility for my own awareness of and currency on those issues. Therefore… when I come to CiL, and attend the conference tracks related to the issues that I’m interested in… no one’s saying much of anything I don’t already know. And as I said, that’s not their fault; they’re saying great things about interesting developments — which I already know about. Because I proactively educate myself on these topics.

So in one sense, I think Computers in Libraries is no longer the conference for my level of knowledge, awareness, and expertise. Griffey and Tim Spalding and I were talking briefly about that problem, and wishing there was a more mid-level, hands-on conference relating to similar content but with more of a “how do I make it work, how do I do it, how do we overcome these practical and theoretical positioning challenges” bent. Such a critter doesn’t seem to exist.

But that conversation is why, in another very real way, Computers in Libraries is exactly the conference for me for as long as the people who attend it are savvy, interesting, thoughtful, and engaging. Because that conversation with Tim and Jason in the hotel bar on Tuesday night was just as valuable and thought-provoking as any formal conference session could be, and until we enter a more fully-fledged virtual professional development environment, it’s the best resource I have for expanding my thoughts and understanding of our profession.

So here’s to the CiL Unconference experience. I’m all for it. And if someone wants to build that mid-level conference? You’ve got an audience.

CiL, afterthoughts April 10, 2008

Posted by Jenica Rogers in Libraries, Musings, cil2008, conferences.
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How many times can I say this before it gets boring to read? The day after I still believe that the best part of this conference is the people — the ones presenting, the ones listening, the ones in the lobby with laptops, the ones in restaurants eating calzones, the ones in bars sampling the world’s beer, the ones singing karaoke… So many interesting people who are all passionate about the communal work we do. (With many thanks to Cindi Trainor for the stunning portraits.)

It makes me proud to be part of this profession.

And on that note, and having handled all urgent work-related email and firmly put the “I can’t fix it from DC” issues out of my head for the day, I’m off to pester my friend Jonathan for a ride to the Metro, to go explore the National Mall for the afternoon.

Faculty 2.0 April 9, 2008

Posted by Jenica Rogers in Libraries, Technology, Training, Users, cil2008, conferences, scholarship.
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Sarah Cohen  :  How do we talk about technology to the uninitiated?

The irony of going last. We talk about technology, and we talk about technology, and we talk about technology, but we’re forgetting a big part of our user base: our faculty.  So this presentation ended up last, and that’s sort of the point — we’re leaving the faculty for last.  And that’s a flaw.

What can 2.0 do in our libraries, classrooms, and colleges? Opportunities:  Creation, Collaboration, Commenting, Commitment.  These are the things we like to focus on.  But we must acknowledge the challenges:  Distraction (hey, who’s twittering right now?!), Disruption, Disturbing (many people believe this.  We are not everyone.), Dumb (perhaps our job is to explain that it may not be?).

Who’s using technology?  We are. Libraries have embraced and adapted technology in a unique way.  Our students also are technology-engaged.  But what about the faculty?  Are they using technology?  Do we know the answer to this question?  What assumptions do we make about this question that then inform our actions?

Ideas about faculty technology use:  Faculty are wary of technology.  They don’t want to look stupid in the classroom.  They don’t want to waste valuable time.  They don’t think they have anything to learn or gain from it.  And many don’t see a middle ground – either they use technology or they don’t.

Why do we need to engage our faculty?  Because of student expectations.  Educause studies show that 61% of students agree or strongly agree that IT in courses improves learning.  “They agree that when used poorly IT detracts from” student learning.  (Thus, if faculty use the tech poorly… they look bad. Which they don’t want.)

A two-pronged approach to improvement:  Inclusion and personalization and then logistics.  We need to help faculty see that technology isn’t “not for” them.  And it’s not just for the classroom.  We also need to talk about the technology itself, and use language that makes sense (use CommonCraft, for example).  And we need to figure out where to start by figuring out what the faculty at our own institutions need.

Ways to start:

  • Facebook mentality.  We use Facebook because it’s where our students are.  So we also need to get out there and put ourselves where our faculty are.  Find them in their native habitats and listen to them about what they do there.
  • Celebrate their successes.  If there’s one small success, network it to another small success.  Build a community of technology users who can help other technology users.
  • Collaborate, don’t pontificate.  Faculty are often not a group who wants to be told.  Work together in gentle and easy ways.
  • Small steps.  Academia does not move quickly by nature.  So start small – “Maybe we don’t want to start with SecondLife.  Maybe we don’t want to start there, but instead with a wiki.”

Examples of faculty meaningfully using technology:

  • Student blogging.  Students set them up, faculty read them and grade them.  It’s inside the traditional “students do work for grades” paradigm, but it exposes both students and faculty to web 2.0 technology.
  • Digg.  Faculty do not like Digg.  Digg is a slap in the face to the peer-review scholarship process.  But it makes a great talking point for many classes, to allow discussion between faculty and students about new media, communication, scholarship, etc.
  • Flickr.  Current events, media, art, etc.
  • YouTube.  Tell stories.  Create media.  Tape presentations.  Share content.  But help!  Help them!

Faculty play many roles on campus.  They are our gateway to students, our partners in education, learners in their own rights, patrons and users of our libraries.  We must not forget them in our fervor to serve our other users.  Change to how we approach faculty and technology must happen in more ways than one.  We must share our successes and interests.  We need to get out there an interact with them.  We also need to do both of those things by sharing, presenting, and publishing in their venues as well as our own.

So what might go wrong?  We may get impatient.  Patience and Fortitude, outside NYPL, are not just symbols, they are perspectives that are important for us to remember when we start tackling the uphill road of educating faculty colleagues about technology issues.  We must make the time to be patient on the person-to-person level, and step way, way back to the level that anyone needs us to go to.

Online outreach tips from the Librarian in Black April 9, 2008

Posted by Jenica Rogers in Libraries, Technology, Users, cil2008, conferences.
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Sarah Houghton-Jan, Senior Librarian for Digital Futures, San Jose Public Library

Online marketing has been blossoming in libraries “which is great, because our other techniques sort of stink”.  (said fondly, of course.)  “Put out little teasers all over the web” to bring the users back to the services we provide and to connect users with staff.

When we are online, everybody’s patrons are our patrons — jurisdictional boundaries don’t apply on the internet, simply because you cannot identify only your users without putting onerous barriers in place.

  • Make sure you’re in the online ready reference sources.  Can your library be found through Google, Google Maps, Yahoo Local, AskCity?
  • Get listed in library directories — and be sure that your information stays current.  it’s worse to be inaccurate than to be hard to find.
  • Consider your search engine optimization.  Be sure that you’re the first search result for a search for you.
  • Do you have human-readable URLs?  If the answer is no, shame on you!  Fix that!  Domain names are really cheap, and really easy to use — point your junky URL to the good URL, and poof! people can remember your URL.  Also, try to buy the variations that users might randomly try (.org, .com, .net), to reduce confusion and maximize the success of the users in finding your site.
  • Use online calendars — not just yours, but the community-spawned ones.
  • Don’t forget the power of link love.  Find local sites where a library link would be valuable, and ask to put a link on their page.
  • Make sure you’re in Wikipedia. ‘Nuff said.
  • iGoogle Gadgets : create a search gadget for your catalog, and promote it on your website.
  • If you have a blog, get yourself into blog-specific search engines.
  • Use social review websites — to publicize, and to stay aware of what’s being said.
  • Social networking sites: not the work of demons, but of real people who might be your users.  Figure out where your users are, and go there.
  • Flickr!
  • IM, blogs, wikis, RSS feeds, email lists!  Whatever your users want.
  • Advertise everything you do, in all the places that could possibly seem relevant.  You MUST tell people what you do.
  • “Please be real.  Please?”  Wherever you are, be a person, not a library – but be a person who cares about the library.  (authenticity!)  Don’t be defensive, don’t be impersonal, don’t shut down the conversation.  Be real, be gentle, be fair.