Facebooking and other social networks...

It's the last week of the learning journey and it's social networks. I have to say up front: I am a Facebooker, albeit a slightly ambivalent one. I'm really not sure if it's a good thing or a bad thing. I'm 'Facebook friends' with many many more people than in real life, including people from school who I wouldn't necessarily be in contact with without Facebook. Is this good? Do I need regular updates on people I haven't thought about for 15 years, let alone spoken to? It is vicariously interesting though and quite addictive, to lurk on the outskirts of others' lives. (That sounds a bit stalker-ish, but you know what I mean.)
Anyway, I guess because so many people are like me and have made Facebook (and similar sites like MySpace) part of their daily lives, institutions and organisations who want to make contact with certain communities should be out there, in these virtual communities. This does not mean that we approach them in these spaces - that is scary commercial-like targetting of people! No, we are there, to be found, in a virtual way, in the same was as we are here, on Macquarie Street, to be found, by anyone who cares to look.

Penguin does it again

How do they do it? I have to say, Penguin has one of the best brands around. Their marketing is always spot-on. And I always, ALWAYS fall for it.

Office goes virtually free

I think I'm up to week 13 in my haphazard learning journey. Online applications and tools. We certainly don't need to be tied to a PC any more or even carry around all our electronic bits and bobs on a memory stick. The internet can store almost all our files for us and offer us all the software we need to create and manipulate our information. I imagine some of our clients using the internet are enjoying being able to create, access and use their documents without needing to access our network or even save copies onto a stick.
Computerworld recently compared the word processing, spreadsheet and presentation tools of three of the big names (Google Docs, Zoho and ThinkFree) to see if they are genuine competitors of MS Office. The results are interesting. It seems that these online applications 'have gotten good enough' to be of real use in comparison with MS Office. Guess we can all give Bill the flick now...

rare books and special collections in virginia

A deviation from the program - this week I've been in Charlottesville Virginia at Rare Book School. I took a course called 'Introduction to Special Collections Librarianship' which was taught by Alice Schreyer, Director of the Special Collections Research Center at the University of Chicago. Most of the students in the class were librarians or administrators of university special collections, which meant that the course naturally emphasised this area of SC librarianship. We discussed the theory and practice of SC librarianship, with a focus on rare book collections, although we did speak extensively about manuscript and archival collections. Among other things, we covered areas such as access, reservation, digitisation, using SCs in teaching and outreach (including exhibitions), the phenomenon of 'hidden collections', and the recently-drafted document outlining core competencies for SC professionals. It was a really interesting week and a great perspective on how the SC community in the US functions (actually, quite an eye-opener in some ways, especially in terms of funding and the positioning of the SC profession within the general library community). I've made copious notes, of course, but can I read them???

Mash it up

Well, this week was kind of fun (though it did take an awfully long time to be creative). A lot of what is on offer out there is a bit pointless, except for fun, but there are some exciting possiblities. Talis ran a library mashup comptetition a few years ago and some of the entries were intriguing. The winner was John Blyberg who created Go Go Google Gadgets, a suite of library gadgets which could be added to your personalised Google desktop. Blyberg is also the creator of the fabulous Catalog Card Generator.

Anyway, I spent a long time on Bighugelabs trying to choose a toy to use, then another very long time on Flickr, agonising over whether I could pinch someone's photo, despite my usual scruples about copyright (I did use it in the end - and I acknowledge a fine photo by The Kruger.) I'm not sure which value this illustrates - it covers all bases really. It is supposed to be a positive message by the way!

Pod on...

Podcasts are great! There is a lot of scope for us to be using them in LibraryLand, in fact many many libraries and cultural institutions have been offering them for years. They add another level of 'interactivity' to a website (although I dislike the word 'interactive' relating to websites - that's the whole point of the internet, isn't it?)
The Natural History Museum in London has a fantastic program called Nature Live Online. Every day at 12.30, there is an informal talk by one of the Museum's researchers or curators in the Nature Live studio in the Museum. The talks are also shown via live webcast and the onsite and live web audiences can participate in the discussions. The webcasts are then archived and are available online (currently Brilliant.
SLNSW could be podcasting lots of events which already occur here at the library - public talks, staff talks, training sessions for use internally, 'how to' guides for clients etc. I actually love the last idea. My concept of 'how to' guides for clients and potential clients could include short podcasts on how to apply for a reader's card, how to fill in a stack slip, how to use a locker, how to book a PC in the reading room, tours of resources in the reading rooms etc etc etc. It would go a long way to demystify the library for clients and familiarise them with procedures before they even get here! Let's go!

A rose by any other name ... might sound really silly

You know what I hate about 'Slam the boards'? The name. Why oh why are librarians continually trying to make themselves cool, or down with the kids by coming up with these ridiculous names? It's right up there with the continuous desperate attempts to make science or Christianity cool (no offence intended to anyone scientific or Christian). It's just a little bit embarrassing and you're mostly preaching to a converted audience already (no religious pun intended). If people want to use your services and you're providing a good one, they will! You're not going to get in a whole lot of newbies and convert them to the wonders of what can be provided by librarians/scientists/God by giving the service a hip and happening name. In fact, I'd argue it looks a bit desperate and dates really quickly.

However, having gotten that off my chest (deep breath) the idea is great. People are asking questions in these places anyway, so there may as well be people like us who make reference a business out there answering them. Just don't make me wear an 'Ask me anything!' name badge.

LibraryThing

This 'week' includes LibraryThing, which I'm happy about, because I'd forgotten that I signed up and started using it at the beginning of the year. I thought it would be a good way of keeping track of the book series I collect. So, I've entered my whole collection of King Penguin books, and I even had a comment from another collector! It is good fun and a great way for me to keep a record of my own collection, including where I bought the books and what I paid, but again, yet another website to keep on top of, log in to etc. Am I really this focussed and organised? I'm not sure yet, but I suspect not...
The image is pinched from a blog by Penguin Fancier.

Moving pictures

Well, a day has passed and it's time to move on to the next week's task (remember, I am playing catch up!) I've been playing with YouTube (and what a time waster that can be - talk about going off on tangents!) Anyway, I've found a scene from one of my top five favourite films, Desk Set. It's a 1957 library classic, starring Katharine Hepburn and Spencer Tracy and if you haven't seen it, I urge you to! It's also a brilliant early look at an ongoing theme in the library world - can computers replace librarians?
The clip is from the Christmas party section of the movie. The champagne has been flowing freely and Kate and Spence are getting to know each other...

Blogs, feeds and RSS

Well, there's been a little hiatus in my learning journey. I did the RSS task a while ago, but forgot to blog my experience. So, I now have a bloglines account and I've added several feeds to it, mostly on the themes of books and design.
I've also played around with Blogger and realised that you can now add feeds onto your own blog. This is a new feature, I think, and I love it. I'd much rather have one 'base' where I only need to log in once and can see everything I need. Obviously, being a rather shallow and self-absorbed person, I am very happy to regularly visit my own blog and read the feeds there, rather than logging into Bloglines.

It's a wiki, wiki world

It's wiki week - week 4. I've always been a bit of a fan of Wikipedia. I know that's a controversial thing to say in Library Land, but I find it extremely useful as a starting point. It often has a really easy-to-grasp overview of a particular subject and (which I find the most useful) almost all of the entries have references and/or links. And since there are so many eyes on it all the time, mistakes or inconsistencies are regularly picked up and biased information is usually noted.
Interestingly, the article in Stern comparing the online encyclopedia Brockhaus with Wikipedia pointed out that Brockhaus came out on top in one category, which was readability/clarity. Apparently the reviewers found Wikipedia too complicated for lay readers.
I think there is great potential for wiki use in libraries. Their collaborative potential is enormous. NLA started one which has all of the policies, rosters, emergency contacts etc for AskNow operators around Australia, NZ and Singapore, which is fantastic. A good use for us might be help sheets and 'Getting Started' guides which we currently hand out in paper format. A wiki could be quickly updated and (with moderation - i.e. a moderator) enable clients to input their experience and expertise. The genealogists have harnessed the new technology (no surprises there!) The world's largest genealogy wiki, produced in association with Allen County Library, Fort Wayne, Indiana, is apparently WeRelate. Very impressive. And free!

Flickring

Up to week 3 in two days now - catching up fast! I've looked for images on Flickr of SLNSW and have come to the conclusion that tagging and other folksonomies are great, but in the absence of controlled vocabularies, you really have to think laterally, or you'll miss some great results. Searching for 'State Library of NSW' gives one set of results, but you'll also find relevant images using 'SLNSW', 'libraries, sydney', 'state library, sydney', 'mitchell library, sydney' etc. I think that there is great scope for user tagging on library catalogues but they work best in conjunction with 'traditional' methods! A great example is the Powerhouse Museum catalogue - anyone can tag collection records, but the curators and registrars still apply traditional subject headings and descriptions. Anyway, the image I've posted is called 'I got a library card' by Jessamyn. I found it on Flickr's advanced search using the keywords 'library' and 'Sydney' and only looked for Creative Commons licensed content.

A library card and a good coffee! What more could you want?

Jeanette Winterson at writers' fest

Am inspired by the opening address of the Sydney Writers' Festival. Jeanette Winterson (picture from SWF site) spoke at the Opera House tonight about the importance of creativity to all of our lives. Some points I remember (I wasn't quite anal enough to take notes):

• That record-keeping is really art which creates history - the first histories were songs, poems, paintings, passed from generation to generation;


• That there is more to life than going to work and shopping - we need to remember to seek enjoyment in the art of nature;


• And how her mother always said, 'the thing about a book is, you never know what you're going to get until it's too late.'

She also said many, many more deep and meaningful things and said them with such passion, that she made me feel like I should go out and try to do something beautiful, like learn to paint, or write poetry or at least try to take more time to stop and smell the roses.
Is blogging art?

Aaargh

Aaargh. Have just attempted to list the blogs I read semi-regularly to someone of import and realised that I mixed up the names of two websites. Very unfortunate. I meant to say that I read the blog The Shifted Librarian (which is a really good one, all about new technologies in libraries and the 'shifts' in librarianship) and actually said confidently that I read The Modified Librarian (which, although it also has its merits, is actually a website about librarians with body modifications such as tattoos, piercings etc.)
An easy mistake to make, right?

Beginnings...

As predicted, the time taken to decide on a scathingly brilliant name for my blog far exceeded the time allotted for this learning journey this week. Oh, well. And since it is so scathingly brilliant, I probably need to explain it.
The kraken is a Scandinavian sea monster - a bit like a giant squid - which lives at the bottom of the sea. (Image from wikipedia.) Apparently they are very risky - if disturbed, they can grab a warship in one mighty tentacle and drag it to the bottom of the ocean. Unfortunately (though not surprisingly, given that this is a legend...) vast numbers of fish are found in the vicinity of the kraken and Norwegian fishermen would sometimes risk fishing above it in order to bring home an immense haul. When they arrived safely back at the village with their monumental catch, others would say 'Oh, you must have fished on kraken'.
I thought this might be a good metaphor for Libraries 2.0. We have to take a risk in order to succeed. Libraries traditionally 'play it safe'. We don't like to commit to new technologies, new procedures, new policies until they are perfect. Web 2.0 is full of risk. It's experimental. We don't know exactly where it's going or what we might be able to do with it. We might have to relinquish some control over areas which we've usually hung on to - subject headings and theasauri might be combined with user-added tags, policies and procedures might be 'wiki-ed' as clients add suggestions and comments. And don't get me started on copyright!
We can continue plodding safely along, with our traditional client bases and our usual risk-averse methods and polices, or we can 'fish on kraken' - go to where the action is, risk making mistakes, and possibly lose a boat every now and then in order to maximise our client numbers, our relevance and secure our future. I know it's obscure and a bit clumsy, but hey, I bet nobody else has used this metaphor!
So, let's get fishing!