tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-85255902024-02-18T22:46:49.974-06:00Grace NotesMusings on libraries, technology, Web 2.0, and life in general.Gracehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08574887952992379788noreply@blogger.comBlogger95125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8525590.post-36690398975450139202009-04-27T16:24:00.002-05:002009-04-27T16:28:58.306-05:00iHCPL #57: TextingWell, I have to say that I am not in love with <a href="http://ihcplnextgen.blogspot.com/2009/03/pot-luck-56-txt-u-l8r-texting.html">Texting</a>, but then I'm not really a phone person in general. I can text and have done so - I certainly find it easier with a QWERTY keyboard on my phone.<br /><br />1. Yes, I have sent a few text messages. I can do it on a standard phone as well as using a QWERTY keyboard.<br />2. During Ike, I did send and receive several text messages.<br />3. I use some text lingo - it is easier. I had one phone where I tried to text message and it tried to be overly helpful in "predicting" words I was going to use. I finally gave up because it wouldn't let me type what I wanted.<br />4. I have never texted while I was driving and don't plan to do so. I think it would be impossible to drive and text at the same time. I know there are people who do it, but frankly I think they're an accident waiting to happen.Gracehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08574887952992379788noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8525590.post-49018291470322679242009-04-27T16:12:00.002-05:002009-04-27T16:24:19.078-05:00iHCPL #56: TwitterTo Tweet or not to tweet, that is the <a href="http://ihcplnextgen.blogspot.com/2009/03/potluck-56-to-tweet-or-not-to.html">post</a>. I joined Twitter about a month ago. I'm still not sure how I feel about it. I am currently following about 8 or 9 people (actually, it's apparently 18 - LOL & I have 9 people following me, which is weird) including people I know as well as a couple of celebrities. I do like <a href="http://twitter.com/wilw">Wil Wheaton</a> and get a kick out of <a href="http://twitter.com/sockington">sockington </a>- a cat who twitters. I'm just not sure if I totally enjoy having yet another thing to follow. <br /><br />I mostly installed it as an easy way to update my Facebook status (I linked my Twitter to Facebook). I also installed the Add on for Firefox called <a href="http://twitterfox.net/">TwitterFox</a>. That certainly makes it easy to follow people as I have a little "T" at the bottom of my Firefox browser letting me know if there are any new Tweets.<br /><br />1. I don't know if I have a particular topic I want to tweet about. I generally just do a status update. I am still exploring how I am going to use Twitter.<br />2. I tried a couple of different searches - Vampire Fiction and Wood Turning and didn't really see anything that popped out. Right now, I will probably continue to find people I want to follow by looking for references from other people.Gracehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08574887952992379788noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8525590.post-71500314514974781242009-04-27T16:04:00.002-05:002009-04-27T16:11:56.790-05:00iHCPL #55: FacebookWell, since I wrote this <a href="http://ihcplnextgen.blogspot.com/2009/03/pot-luck-55-getting-most-out-of.html">post</a>, I'm just going to go through the exercises.<br /><br />1. I've had a Facebook account since we did social networking back in the original iHCPL.<br />2. At this point, I have 100+ friends. I actually just added a friend yesterday that someone had suggested to me. I do regularly review suggestions, although some of them can be odd (e.g. I have NO desire to be "friends" with Mayor Bill White)<br />3. I've become much more selective recently in adding applications. My favorites are: My Fairyland, Vampire Wars, Mousehunt, Pet Pupz, and Cute Catz. Since Facebook's redesign, I have come to hate applications that post multiple times to the home page. For example, Peeps was really bad about this.<br />4. I have recently reduced my use of Facebook. I used to be on all the time. Now, I am usually on for a little while when I get home to play with my favorite apps and check in with my friends. Then I'm off.<br /><br />Overall, I love Facebook. It's let me connect and reconnect with a variety of different people from all aspects of my life from Elementary School up through HCPL folks. Very cool.Gracehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08574887952992379788noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8525590.post-26909022144703575382009-02-24T22:23:00.002-06:002009-02-24T22:46:48.873-06:00iHCPL #54: Social Networking Through Books<a href="http://ihcplnextgen.blogspot.com/2009/02/books-readers-and-beyond-54-social.html">Post</a><br /><br />First, a disclaimer. I wrote most of this post, so I'm already very familiar with social networking with books.<br /><br />Exercise #1: I've never been a member of a book club - in person. I'm intrigued by the possibility of joining an in-person book club, I'm just not sure if I'd like "forced" reading of specific titles. On the other hand, it would probably be good for me to stretch my reading choices a bit.<br /><br />Exercise #2: Well, if I'm going to implement a book club, it's going to be online. From our experience with the teen book club online, I'm a bit cautious about starting one. However, I think if we try a general book discussion, that might be better. On The Gargoyle theme, I found a <a href="http://www.readinggroupchoices.com/search/details.cfm?id=809">discussion guide</a> on Reading Group Choices.<br /><br />Exercise #3: Well, we'll go ahead and end with The Gargoyle again. On <a href="http://www.librarything.com">LibraryThing</a> it has an average rating of 4.14/5 (with 716 members having it in their collection).<br />On Visual bookshelf on Facebook, the average rating is 4/5 with 539 reviews.<br />For good measure, I also checked Good Reads (4.05/5) and Shelfari (4/5 from the community). <br /><br />A point of interest, LibraryThing, Shelfari, and Visual Bookshelf all offered similar titles. LibraryThing and Shelfari both had excellent suggestions. Visual Bookshelf's suggestions weren't very good. I couldn't find anything on Good Reads that offered similar books.<br /><br />I'm personally a big fan of LibraryThing and Visual Bookshelf. I like the first to catalog my books (what can I say, I am a librarian) and have a lifetime membership. I like the second because I connect to my friends who read and can see what they're reading and it's a part of a service I actively use. I do have accounts at both Good Reads and Shelfari but don't use them very often, although I may have to do more with Shelfari after the suggestions I found.Gracehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08574887952992379788noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8525590.post-47787083459142432042009-02-24T22:09:00.002-06:002009-02-24T22:23:27.011-06:00iHCPL #53: Finding Books Online<a href="http://ihcplnextgen.blogspot.com/2009/02/books-readers-and-beyond-53-finding.html">Post</a><br /><br />Exercise #1: I wasn't overly impressed with the Houston.com search, so I went to my tried and true local search, <a href="http://maps.yahoo.com/">Yahoo Maps</a>. You can plug in your location and then search for nearby businesses. Searching around Admin doesn't bring up much - except for the Half Price Books warehouse nearby. The other stores are college oriented. When I expand the map out, I come up with more possibilities including <a href="http://www.halfpricebooks.com/">Half Price Books</a> in Rice Village. While they have an online presence, there really isn't an online search - there's a link to an Amazon search from the site.<br /><br />Exercise #2: Well, I went to Amazon and found <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Gargoyle-Andrew-Davidson/dp/0385524943/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1235535501&sr=1-1">The Gargoyle </a>in a variety of editions including for the Kindle and used editions. Having listened to this, I know it's available on CD and as a download from the <a href="http://hcpl.lib.overdrive.com/">Digital Media Catalog</a>.<br /><br />Exercise #3: I've tried eBooks, they just don't appeal to me. I look at the computer too much every day - at work and at home - to want to read a book online. I did find reading one on the Sony eReader was a bit more appealing and I'll be interested to see what it's like on the Kindle. The screens are not as tiring.Gracehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08574887952992379788noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8525590.post-73412552191562305982009-02-24T21:05:00.002-06:002009-02-24T22:07:23.433-06:00iHCPL #52: What to Read<a href="http://ihcplnextgen.blogspot.com/2009/02/books-readers-and-beyond-52-what-to.html">Post</a><br /><br />Exercise #1 - I'm using <span style="font-style: italic;">The Gargoyle</span> by Andrew Davidson, a recent favorite for my search.<br /><br />In Novelist Plus, I did the find similar books search using all of the subject terms. The first four suggestions are:<br />- A Road through the Mountains by Elizabeth McGregor<br />- Lost in the Forest by Sue Miller<br />- The Truth of the Matter by Robb Forman Dew<br />- Dante's Daughter by Kimberley Heuston<br /><br />Of the four, the last one sounds somewhat promising, but none of the descriptions really stood out as being what I liked from the book.<br /><br />I next tried <a href="http://whatshouldireadnext.com/search">What Should I Read Next?</a>. The first four suggestions here are:<br />- Dead and Gone - Charlaine Harris<br />- The Reluctant Widow - Georgette Heyer<br />- Lucia Victrix: Mapp and Lucia; Lucia's Progress; Trouble for Lucia - E.F. Benson<br />- The Clothes They Stood Up In and The Lady in the Van - Alan Bennett<br /><br />Again, none of these really strikes me as terribly similar in plot, theme, or feel to The Gargoyle, although from the Amazon.com description of The Clothes They Stoop Up In, that is probably the most likely similar title.<br /><br />I didn't have any luck with either Fiction_L or Library Booklists as there was nothing specific to the author or title. So, I decided to try a tried and true method for me - a Google search on the title (or author) and readalike (or read-a-like). Through this, I found a <a href="https://www.bookbrowse.com/reading_guides/detail/index.cfm?book_number=2153">Book Discussion Guide </a>that included further reading. The first four suggestions are:<br /><i>- The Name of the Rose</i>, Umberto Eco<br /><i>- The Shadow of the Wind</i>, Carlos Ruiz Zafón<br /><i>- The Time Traveler’s Wife</i>, Audrey Niffenegger<br /><i>- Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell</i>, Susanna Clarke<br /><br />Of the four, I have only read (listened) to Jonathan Strange. I have seen the movie of The Name of the Rose and know of The Time Traveler's Wife. All three of these strike me as similar to The Gargoyle.<br /><br />Exercise # 2: I'm trying Library Booklists for this one, specifically the <a href="http://librarybooklists.org/fiction/children/jindex.htm">Children's Lists</a>. For our fourth grade girl:<br /><ul><li>I first go to Books Featuring Animals</li><li>Next, because I don't know if she wants a particular animal, I choose Animals (General)</li><li>There are a number of book lists to choose from, but the first one looks very promising as it breaks the books down by grade level, so I go to YouthLink - <a href="http://www.fergusonlibrary.org/youth_link/kidol/booklists/animalbooklist.htm#GRADES%203%20AND%204">Animal Booklist for Grades 3 & 4</a>. I especially like that the list includes both fiction and nonfiction titles. The two I'll choose are: Wackiest White House Pets by Kathryn Davis & Diary of a Killer Cat by Anne Fine. <br /></li></ul>For her brother, since he's going to be more likely to read in the YA, I went to the <a href="http://librarybooklists.org/fiction/ya/yaindex.htm">YA Booklists</a><br /><ul><li>So, I clicked on Horror Fiction/Scary Stories</li><li>I scrolled through them and found a couple that had ghost stories.</li><li>The first I clicked on was a broken link, as was the second - and third. So, I moved on to Novelist.</li><li>In Novelist, I clicked on Recommended Reads under Teens</li><li>Then clicked on Horror, then Ghosts. I pick: Kit's Wilderness by David Almond (this sounds perfect as the protagonist is 13) and Storm Catchers by Tim Bowler.</li></ul>Exercise #3: Well I love Dean Koontz, so this is a good one for me.<br />From Novelist (Since I'm there from the previous exercise):<br />I go to Author Read-a-Likes under Adult, as I've used this before and it's a great resource. I like that they are choosy about who they recommend as a read-a-like and it's centered on the author, not just a specific title.<br /><ul><li>Robert McCammon (specifically Boy's Life) - I really agree with this recommendation.</li><li>Dan Simmons</li><li>Greg Bear (specifically Darwin's Radio & Vitals)</li></ul>I then tried Library Booklists, which pointed me to <a href="http://www.wakegov.com/libraries/reading/lists/favorites/deankoontz.htm">If You Like Dean Koontz</a><br />They had the above author's listed as well as several others including Peter Straub and Relic by Lincoln/Child<br /><br />Exercise #4: The Alanna Series in Order using the <a href="http://ww2.kdl.org/libcat/WhatsNextNEW.asp">What's Next Database</a><br /><ol><li>Alanna: The First Adventure</li><li>In the Hand of the Goddess</li><li>The Woman Who Rides Like a Man</li><li>Lioness Rampant</li></ol>Gracehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08574887952992379788noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8525590.post-69492644475932210502008-10-31T16:32:00.002-05:002008-10-31T16:33:39.405-05:00iHCPL #48 - Check it Out!I don't know that there's much to say about this one. As the eBranch, we tend to be the posters of the videos rather than producers. I would like to see more videos produced as I think it's a good promotional tool.Gracehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08574887952992379788noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8525590.post-84045799343113657212008-10-15T17:12:00.000-05:002008-10-15T17:14:13.584-05:00iHCPL #47 - Video ChallengeTa Da...my very cute dogs star in a romance<br /><br /><object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/hJy34_pOfug&hl=en&fs=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/hJy34_pOfug&hl=en&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object>Gracehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08574887952992379788noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8525590.post-17163671818313873822008-10-15T12:01:00.003-05:002008-10-15T16:23:00.644-05:00iHCPL #46 - Movie Maker BasicsOK, so we've gotten an overview of making a video - and I even made a music video with <a href="http://animoto.com/">Animoto</a>, now on to (Windows) <a href="http://ihcplnextgen.blogspot.com/2008/10/46-movie-maker-basics-you-oughta-be-in.html">Movie Maker Basics</a>.<br /><br />So, I found so videos of my dogs I shot when we were doing one of the videos for iHCPL. Beth's video is <a href="http://ihcpl.blogspot.com/2007/10/week-8-18-social-networking-making.html">here</a>. I'm going to see what I can create from the raw footage, since it's available, and I love my dogs!<br /><br />So, it wasn't too bad creating the video. I used several pieces of footage that we shot for the original iHCPL, added my transitions, found some music on <a href="http://music.download.com/">CNET</a>, and saved my file. The hardest part was finding music that worked with my video. I suspect that for a library oriented video - of say a program - it wouldn't be quite so hard, but I just couldn't find something I liked. I just don't think that video is my medium for creativity.<br /><br />Now to figure out uploading to YouTube!Gracehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08574887952992379788noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8525590.post-19339552440045127132008-10-15T10:55:00.004-05:002008-10-15T12:40:48.519-05:00iHCPL #45 - Making a VideoSo, I'm going to do the video module. This is the first post on <a href="http://ihcplnextgen.blogspot.com/2008/10/45-making-video-overview.html">Making a Video</a>. OK, this is a nice easy start. I've used Windows Movie Maker a bit in doing stuff for the eBranch. It's pretty easy to use, but not super easy. Animoto we used during the original <a href="http://ihcpl.blogspot.com/">iHCPL </a>for one of the "computer's down - we need a break" free exercises and that was LOTS of fun.<br /><br />The Flip camera's are easy to use, although I don't like that they add an ad for the Flip at the end of your video. I've used a regular camera to film a video and that's probably the easiest. I haven't tried one of the newer digital camcorders, but hope to sometime soon.<br /><br />Just for fun, I also did an Animoto video - of some of my wedding photos. It's a fun and easy way to create a short music video - plus I can share it with my friends and family, even though they've seen the pictures already.<br /><br /><script type="text/javascript" src="http://widgets.clearspring.com/o/46928cc51133af17/48f62af85a6b5418/46928cc5788deb29/de5422c3/-cpid/90b4e939cd6c96e1/autostart/false/repeat/false/widget.js"></script>Gracehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08574887952992379788noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8525590.post-26174178243337918602008-05-30T10:25:00.003-05:002008-05-30T10:31:06.646-05:00Another Library Takes Learning 2.0 to the PeopleIn a recent post on <a href="http://tametheweb.com/2008/05/29/arlington-heights-takes-learning-20-to-the-people/">Tame the Web</a>, Michael Stephens talks about a new series of online programs at Arlington Heights Memorial Library to help the public understand Web 2.0.<br /><br />At <a href="http://www.hcpl.net/index.htm">HCPL</a>, when we did our <a href="http://ihcpl.blogspot.com/">iHCPL </a>program last fall, we ran a <a href="http://ihcpl2.blogspot.com/">simultaneous version</a> of the program for customers. When we did the original program we staggered the customer posts three weeks behind staff posts - in case customers had questions, staff would be a bit ahead. It ended up not being very necessary, so when we started <a href="http://ihcplnextgen.blogspot.com/">iHCPL: The Next Generation</a> in February, we offered it up at the same time to the public. Both are offered on the front of our website.Gracehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08574887952992379788noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8525590.post-10345114452183944292008-05-02T14:13:00.002-05:002008-05-02T14:14:44.011-05:00Facebook Actualized<object height="355" width="425"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/nrlSkU0TFLs&hl=en"><param name="wmode" value="transparent"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/nrlSkU0TFLs&hl=en" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" height="355" width="425"></embed></object><br /><br />I feel this way about <a href="http://www.facebook.com">Facebook </a>a lot of the time. It's a love/hate relationship. <br /><br />Link via <a href="http://librarygarden.blogspot.com/2008/05/friday-facebook-fun.html">Library Garden</a>.Gracehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08574887952992379788noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8525590.post-14581134201357455532008-04-16T17:09:00.002-05:002008-04-16T17:16:19.480-05:00iHCPL - Next Gen Spring Cleaning #30 Take a Load OffClean up those files - we're overloaded. That's the basic message of <a href="http://ihcplnextgen.blogspot.com/2008/03/spring-cleaning-30-take-load-off-our.html">item #30</a>. <br /><br />Hi, my name is Grace - <span style="font-style: italic;">Hi Grace!</span> - and I have a LOT of files. File management is a never ending journey for me. Because I work with a lot of images, I tend to have really BIG files, which causes all sort of problems. So, I have a multi-tiered approach to file management. I keep active files in my Z drive and stuff I need to get to frequently. The eBranch has a shared drive for files we all use, for example the various logo files and the banners we create for the front of the website. I don't use the S drive much, only if I'm getting or receiving a big file, although lately much of that is done through <a href="http://www.yousendit.com/">YouSendIt</a>, which is easier.<br /><br />When I'm done with files, for example posters, I burn the original files to a CD and get it off my computer. So, I also have a lot of CDs. Finally, I do actually use my C drive; I have to, that's where the GIS (Graphical Information System, i.e. mapping) files are, which are absolutely HUGE.<br /><br />I do have a pretty good filing system and go through my files on a fairly regular basis. If I didn't, I'd never find anything.Gracehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08574887952992379788noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8525590.post-10231716892814794412008-04-16T17:01:00.002-05:002008-04-16T17:05:37.370-05:00iHCPL - Next Gen Spring Cleaning #29 EmailSo, we're looking at <a href="http://ihcplnextgen.blogspot.com/2008/03/spring-cleaning-29-email.html">email </a>in this exercise. I'm actually pretty good about keeping my email box clean. I have a good folder system set up. I subscribe to several mailing lists and they go directly into folders where I can quickly scan for topics I want to read and delete the rest. I do this in my work and personal accounts (I have one on Yahoo and one on Gmail). Several weeks back - I'm just writing this up now - I went through my folders and deleted stuff that I didn't need.<br /><br />One thing I've found really useful in Outlook and in Yahoo (my primary personal account) is to use the flagging system for emails I need to get back to.Gracehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08574887952992379788noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8525590.post-77587508636857856902008-04-16T15:20:00.002-05:002008-04-16T15:25:06.381-05:0010 Questions Every Blogger Should Ask Before PostingGreat post at <a href="http://www.copyblogger.com/10-blogging-questions/">CopyBlogger </a>that every blogger should read. I particularly have problems with #5 "Does my content speak to people on a human level," especially when I'm writing a post for the library blog. This is the exact point that <a href="http://www.typepad.com/t/trackback/12541/27560298">LibrarianInBlack </a>mentions in her link to this post.<span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; color: black;"></span>Gracehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08574887952992379788noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8525590.post-16095285383094875922008-04-16T11:58:00.002-05:002008-04-16T12:00:34.692-05:00Make Your Own BiosphereI have looked at little biospheres in catalogs for several years now and thought how cool it would be to have one, but they're really expensive. So today, <a href="http://www.boingboing.net/2008/04/15/howto-make-a-desktop.html">Boing Boing</a> had a post linking to this video on how to make your own - how cool is that?<br /><br /><iframe src="http://www.kqed.org/quest/television/embed/844" border="0" height="205" scrolling="no" width="320"></iframe>Gracehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08574887952992379788noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8525590.post-31369148835544402772008-04-10T21:36:00.002-05:002008-04-10T22:09:14.204-05:00CIL2008: Final ThoughtsOverall, what a great conference. I really like the Information Today conferences - they do a great job of putting on something that is useful and practical. I'm still processing all of the stuff I heard, but I already have some thoughts and ideas and some tools to try.<br /><ul><li>Our website need to be interactive and have staff and user input. Let our users market the library and give them and our staff a voice. People WANT to contribute.</li><li>We need to explore social tools for our website.</li><li>We need to take the website to the user on Facebook, Flickr, YouTube. Also give them widgets, toolbars, etc.<br /></li><li>Drupal looks like the right way to go.</li><li>Need to see about getting some folks together to brainstorm about the website. <br /></li><li>Gaming is changing the way people view things. It's possible to bring the virtual and real worlds together - if you work at it.</li><li>There are a lot of tools to help make it easier to put content on your website (I already knew this, but it was reiterated.</li><li>I went to the Gaming and Gadgets petting zoo Sunday night. I want Guitar Hero!</li></ul>Top tools to try:<br /><ul><li>I signed up for <a href="https://www.google.com/webmasters/tools/">Google Webmaster Tools</a>, now to explore.</li><li><a style="font-weight: bold;" href="http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Main_Page">Commons.wikimedia.org</a><span style="font-weight: bold;"> - </span><a style="font-weight: bold;" href="http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Icons">icons</a></li><li><a style="font-weight: bold;" href="http://kuler.adobe.com/">Kuler</a><span style="font-weight: bold;"> (see also: </span><a style="font-weight: bold;" href="http://www.cssjuice.com/25-popular-color-scheme-and-palette-generators/">25 Online Color Generators</a></li><li><a style="font-weight: bold;" href="http://www.conduit.com/">Conduit.com</a><span style="font-weight: bold;"> (see also: </span><a style="font-weight: bold;" href="http://www.libx.org/">LibX</a><span style="font-weight: bold;">)</span></li><li><a href="http://pipes.yahoo.com/pipes/">Yahoo Pipes</a> </li></ul>I'm sure I'm forgetting something, but while it's not a big list of ideas and tools, it'll be a lot to work with. <br /><br />This is the first time I've blogged my notes (I take written notes at the conference) from a conference. I've found it very useful - for me - as a way to process the sessions I've attended and to share the information with colleagues. As I've been doing this, I've realized that we aren't always great about sharing the information we get at a conference. Obviously, it doesn't always apply to everyone, but I wonder how we could improve on that?Gracehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08574887952992379788noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8525590.post-24857281943748340042008-04-10T19:47:00.003-05:002008-04-10T21:34:19.209-05:00CIL2008: Web Manager's Academy PreconferenceI'm just getting around to posting about the great pre-conference I attended on Sunday presented by Darlene Fichter, Frank Cervone, Jeff Wisniewski, & Marshall Breeding. In 6 hours we learned about a variety of topics relating to redesign, which is what we're about to do at HCPL, so this was a great refresher. <br /><br />One of the first things they asked us to do was write down as a table what we wanted to learn. Darlene Fichter put it up as a <a href="http://library2.usask.ca/%7Efichter/blog_on_the_side/2008/04/web-managers-academy-what-do-people.html">tag cloud</a> - what a great use of web 2.0.<br /><br />To Ponder: 25 Questions to Ask Your Leadership Team & Yourself - Are We Ready for the Web 2.0 Digital Age? - Based on a post on <a href="http://tametheweb.com/2007/12/more_questions_to_ask.html">Tame The Web</a>.<br /><br />Main points:<br /><ul><li>The library web presence is bigger than your website</li><li>Make sure you're looking at your usage statistics to see what people want</li><li>When planning a redesign, use SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats)</li><li>Set up a redesign committee - While I think it's helpful to get input, I like what <a href="http://sethgodin.typepad.com/seths_blog/2007/10/how-to-create-1.html">Seth Godin</a> had to say about creating a great website - #1 Fire the Committee</li><li>To maximize web 2.0, blogs have to embrace participation by: writing in a conversational tone, inviting participation, accepting comments, participating in the conversation in a timely fashion</li><li>We're great at content, but web users are fairly superficial. Websites need to be aesthetically pleasing. It's hard, if not impossible to recover from a negative impression.</li><li>Most users come to a site to perform specific tasks, so emphasize the highest priority tasks so that users have a clear starting point.</li><li>Generally, you should only have 7 +/- 2 categories at the top.</li><li>Use a flexible vs. a fixed design, where possible.</li><li>The web safe palette is dead - be as colorful as you want</li><li>Don't look at library sites for ideas, look at where your users are going - Amazon, Home Depot...</li><li>Rather than a revolutionary change, build for evolution. Try A/B testing - Amazon.com does this a lot.</li><li>Accessibility is critical for core content, BUT value added content doesn't HAVE to be supported by all browsers.</li></ul><blockquote>People have a tendency to never look at a slim rectangular area that's above the page's main headline - Jacob Nielsen</blockquote><ul><li></li><li>While important content still needs to be above the fold, users will scroll to the bottom. <br /></li><li>Jakob's Law: "Users spend most of their time on other sites that your site" - Jakob Nielsen<br /></li><ul><li>What are they experiencing?</li><ul><li>Highly visual</li><li>Highly personalized<br /></li><li>Highly interactive</li><li>User generated</li></ul></ul><li>Simpler is NOT always better. Amazon experiments using A/B testing. They tested a page by removing extra features. They added them back when sales went down.</li><li>Design for scent. Users will drill down if they feel like they're getting somewhere. You don't have to stick to the 3 click rule anymore.<br /></li></ul><br />A few cool tools:<br /><ul><li><a href="http://frogreview.com/">Frogreview.com</a> - Hysterical usability videos</li><li><a href="http://www.cmsmatrix.org/matrix">CMS Matrix</a> - Find a CMS by function</li><li><a href="http://www.google.com/analytics/indexu.html">Google Analytics</a> - Install code on site to track (for free) usage and other web analytics.</li><li><a href="http://developer.yahoo.com/ypatterns/">Yahoo User Pattern Library</a> - Optimal solutions to common problems.</li><li><a href="https://www.google.com/webmasters/tools/">Google Webmaster Tools</a> - OMG! Why haven't I seen this before.</li><li><a href="http://www.sitemaps.org/">Sitemap.org</a> - Info on creating site maps.<br /></li></ul>Some ideas:<br /><ul><li>Add a Flickr group for HCPL to let customers submit photos</li><li>Google has suggestions by drop down. Use in search boxes for electronic journals, etc.<br /></li></ul>Gracehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08574887952992379788noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8525590.post-9579439757808809262008-04-10T19:12:00.003-05:002008-04-10T19:21:58.039-05:00CIL2008: What's Hot in RSS & Social Software?Presented by Steven M. Cohen<br /><br />Links up at <a href="http://stevenmcohen.pbwiki.com/CIL2008">PBwiki</a>, so I'm only going to highlight the sites I found particularly interesting:<br /><br /><a href="http://www.google.com/reader/view/">Google Reader</a> lets you share items to which people can subscribe & has a <a href="http://www.google.com/reader/m/view/">mobile version</a>.<br /><a href="http://www.libworm.com/">Libworm.com</a> - Search the Library blogosphere<br /><a href="http://www.aiderss.com/">Aiderss.com</a> - Gives statistics on your blog, can analyze your .opm file to show you which of your feeds is most popular.<br /><a href="http://www.citebite.com/">Citebite.com</a>- Link directly to quotes in websites. A similar service is <a href="http://fleck.com/">Fleck.com</a>.Gracehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08574887952992379788noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8525590.post-13146603916459754352008-04-10T18:51:00.004-05:002008-04-12T17:55:09.636-05:00CIL2008: Giving Your Marketing & Advocacy a Second LifePresented by Nancy Dowd & Paula Battakas<br /><br />The presentation <strike>will be posted on Dowd's blog at some point</strike> is now available. Unfortunately, while very stylish, the PowerPoint was extremely difficult to follow due to a small font and the use of red on black background. The presenters also went through the presentation quickly.<br /><br />Added:<br /><div style="width: 425px; text-align: left;" id="__ss_348583"><object style="margin: 0px;" height="355" width="425"><param name="movie" value="http://static.slideshare.net/swf/ssplayer2.swf?doc=cil2008ppt-1207949663648935-8"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowScriptAccess" value="always"><embed src="http://static.slideshare.net/swf/ssplayer2.swf?doc=cil2008ppt-1207949663648935-8" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" height="355" width="425"></embed></object><div style="font-size: 11px; font-family: tahoma,arial; height: 26px; padding-top: 2px;"><a href="http://www.slideshare.net/?src=embed"><img src="http://static.slideshare.net/swf/logo_embd.png" style="border: 0px none ; margin-bottom: -5px;" alt="SlideShare" /></a> | <a href="http://www.slideshare.net/ndowd/giving-your-marketing-a-second-life?src=embed" title="View 'Giving Your Marketing a Second Life' on SlideShare">View</a> | <a href="http://www.slideshare.net/upload?src=embed">Upload your own</a></div></div><br /><br />A few points:<br />Old school is afraid of transparency.<br />New media demands transparency<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Cool example - </span><a style="font-weight: bold;" href="http://labs.nypl.org/">NYPL Labs</a><span style="font-weight: bold;"> - Public lab of new technologies they're testing. LOVE THIS. One of their ideas is a </span><a style="font-weight: bold;" href="http://labs.nypl.org/suggestion-box/">suggestion box</a><span style="font-weight: bold;">, a la </span><a style="font-weight: bold;" href="http://mystarbucksidea.force.com/home/home.jsp">My Starbucks Idea</a><span style="font-weight: bold;"> (Dell now has </span><a style="font-weight: bold;" href="http://ideastorm.com/">Ideastorm.com</a><span style="font-weight: bold;">)</span><br /><br />Photoshop Express has great language: Tell us what you like, dispise, what put you to sleep<br /><br />Make your own Got Milk Poster (can't find the example) - What can we do like this?<br /><br />Mid York Public Library's <a href="http://www.midyork.org/regionalread/">Regional Read</a> blog discussions were lead by community members!Gracehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08574887952992379788noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8525590.post-16714686558794597442008-04-10T18:24:00.003-05:002008-04-12T23:36:30.621-05:00CIL2008: Innovative Marketing Using 2.0 ToolsPresented by Michael Porter & Helene Blowers<br /><div style="width:425px;text-align:left" id="__ss_331553"><object style="margin:0px" width="425" height="355"><param name="movie" value="http://static.slideshare.net/swf/ssplayer2.swf?doc=from-avatars-to-advocacy-1207107842466872-2"/><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"/><param name="allowScriptAccess" value="always"/><embed src="http://static.slideshare.net/swf/ssplayer2.swf?doc=from-avatars-to-advocacy-1207107842466872-2" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="355"></embed></object><div style="font-size:11px;font-family:tahoma,arial;height:26px;padding-top:2px;"><a href="http://www.slideshare.net/?src=embed"><img src="http://static.slideshare.net/swf/logo_embd.png" style="border:0px none;margin-bottom:-5px" alt="SlideShare"/></a> | <a href="http://www.slideshare.net/hblowers/from-avatars-to-advocacy?src=embed" title="View 'From Avatars to Advocacy' on SlideShare">View</a> | <a href="http://www.slideshare.net/upload?src=embed">Upload your own</a></div></div><br /><br /><strike>This looks like an earlier version of the presentation, but looks it has most of the content.</strike> Updated to correct slide show. Some of the main points:<br /><br />The old paradigm was to control the look and feel of the brand.<br /><br />The n ew paradigm is to influence the character and portability of the brand. An example was Chick-fil-a's <a href="http://www.showusthecow.com/">Show Us the Cow</a> promotion. <span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">Could we do something like this - show us the iStar?</span><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Turn the marketing over to the people.</span><br /><br />Examples:<br /><ul><li>Allen County Public Library - Community album, participated in <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/michaelsphotos/434085021/">A Day in the Life of Allen County</a>. Could we do something like this - a day in the life of Harris County?</li><li><a href="http://www.flickr.com/groups/librariesandlibrarians/">Libraries & Librarians</a> Flickr group; <a href="http://www.flickr.com/groups/365libs/">365 library days</a> project - great place to get marketing ideas.</li><li><a href="http://www.smcl.org/flash.html">San Mateo County Library</a> - ads across the top for Flickr & MySpace</li><li>Hennepin County Bookspace - <a href="http://www.hclib.org/pub/bookspace/hpphotos.cfm">Submit a Photo of yourself reading Harry Potter</a></li><ul><li>Use the Flickr API to upload photos to Flickr. Note included disclaimer that the user agrees to when submitting the photo.</li></ul><li><a href="http://www.plcmc.org/fotofun/">PLCMC Foto Fun</a> - Used Big Huge Labs Flickr Fun application to get users to submit motivational posters.</li><li><a href="http://teens.denverlibrary.org/media/youtube.html">Denver PL How I had Fun in the Library YouTube contest</a></li><li>Louisville PL - <a href="http://www.lfpl.org/champions.htm">A Library Champion Lives Here</a> - Real & virtual meet<br /></li></ul>Take whatever tools work for you and market your library.<br />It's not about us, it's about the community<br />We're about stories, but we're terrible at telling ours<br />When you showcase public contributions THEY spread the word<br /><br />8 Steps to Marketing 2.0<br /><ol><li>Educate - Learn about social media</li><li>Experience - participate & join the conversation</li><li>Envision - Develop a 2.0 marketing plan</li><li>Engage - Create social celebrations; focus on customer/community</li><li>Enable - Help your library brand & content to travel (widgets, toolbars)</li><li>Expand - Play with multimedia</li><li>Explore - Learn as you go & track success</li><li>EXPERIMENT</li></ol><blockquote>Always remember, the best way to get customers to market your brand is to let them market themselves</blockquote>Gracehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08574887952992379788noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8525590.post-47178674516311319222008-04-09T20:39:00.004-05:002008-04-10T22:02:13.012-05:00CIL2008: Tech Tools for Effectively Managing InformationSpeakers: Roger Skalbeck & Barbara Fullerton<br /><br />Interesting experimental presentation style. Rather than a PowerPoint, the presenters had several plain slides with links to screencasts of the sites/software they were discussing. While there were some technical glitches, overall it was an interesting way of presenting. Biggest issue is they started running short on time.<br /><br />All the links are on the <a href="http://cil2008.pbwiki.com/Roger">CIL2008 Wiki</a>, so I'll only highlight the ones I thought looked especially interesting.<br /><ul><li><a href="http://www.sendmerss.com/">SendMeRss</a> - Get RSS feeds by email. Has a widget that can be added to a site. Interesting</li><li><a style="font-weight: bold;" href="http://kuler.adobe.com/">Kuler</a><span style="font-weight: bold;"> (see also: </span><a style="font-weight: bold;" href="http://www.cssjuice.com/25-popular-color-scheme-and-palette-generators/">25 Online Color Generators</a><span style="font-weight: bold;">) - Get color inspiration from Adobe. Has a desktop application as well. Use to create palettes. Can download swatch file for Dreamweaver.</span><br /></li><li><a style="font-weight: bold;" href="http://www.conduit.com/">Conduit.com</a><span style="font-weight: bold;"> (see also: </span><a style="font-weight: bold;" href="http://www.libx.org/">LibX</a><span style="font-weight: bold;">) - Use to create a toolbar. Might be worth checking out as a replacement for HCPL toolbar, which has some issues with anti-virus software. Gives statistics on use. Automatic updates.</span><br /></li><li><a href="http://www.ponyfish.com/">PonyFish</a> - Create feeds for a site that doesn't have RSS. limited to 5 sites for free.</li><li><a href="http://www.getfirebug.com/">Firebug</a> - Firefox extension that lets you test different colors and fonts on your website.</li><li><a href="http://www.scribefire.com/">Scribefire</a> (see also: <a href="http://get.live.com/writer/overview">WIndows LiveWriter</a>, <a href="http://www.qumana.com/">Qumana</a>) - Firefox extension that lets you publish to multiple blogs.</li><li><a href="http://www.gifup.com/">GifUP</a> - They didn't get a chance to say much about this. The site say it's a GIF animator and Avatar generator. Something to look at more.</li><li><a href="http://www.techcrunch.com/get-youtube-movie/">TechCrunch</a> and <a href="http://labs.adobe.com/technologies/mediaplayer/">Adobe Media Player</a> (see also: <a href="http://www.videolan.org/">VLC Media Player</a>) - Watch YouTube videos offline<br /></li></ul>Gracehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08574887952992379788noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8525590.post-60748927226357184582008-04-09T20:16:00.002-05:002008-04-09T20:38:33.278-05:00CIL2008: Gaming, Learning & the Information WorldDay 3 keynote by Elizabeth Lane Lawley<br /><br />Keys to Happiness<br /><ul><li>Satisfying Work to do</li><li>Experience of being good at something</li><li>Time spent with people we like</li><li>The chance to be part of something bigger</li></ul><br />Are you in the happiness business?<br />Maybe not yet, but you will be<br /><br />In terms of perceived quality of life - virtuality is beating reality<br /><br />Showed a clip of "A Spoon Full of Sugar" from <span style="font-style: italic;">Mary Poppins</span>. Make it fun<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">In gaming, people willingly do repetitive tasks because they get rewarded through points, recognition, etc.</span><br /><br />Putting the Fun in Functional<br /><ol><li>Collecting</li><li>Points</li><li>Feedback</li><li>Exchanges</li><li>Customization</li></ol>New term - Productive Play<br /><br />How can we harness the power of gaming?<br /><br />Games that blur the boundaries:<br /><ul><li><a href="http://www.chorewars.com/">Chore wars</a> - do chores in real life to get points online for look in the real world</li><li><a href="http://www.seriosity.com/products.html">Seriosity's Attent</a> - Company gives each person "money" called Serios that they can spend on email. Makes people think before sending email.</li><li><a href="http://itp.nyu.edu/%7Eraf275/icm/matchgame1-3/">Social Genius</a> (URL not working) - Matching game to help people learn to recognize the people they work with. Get points for the more people you know. - <span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">This could be great for branches and the system as a whole to learn who they work with.</span></li><li><a href="http://pmog.com/">Passively Multiplayer Online Gaming</a> - Currently in beta, users download a Firefox extension that gets them points as they surf the web. They can use the points for armor, etc. How can library's use? - Users can create missions (i.e. PATHFINDERS!) to guide people through the web. <span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">Something to watch and maybe try out.</span></li></ul>Games as gateway drugs (good thing)<br /><ul><li>Guitar Hero is encouraging many people to learn the guitar - for real</li><li>Online Rebound - People going from real to virtual and back again. E.g. - Taking picture, uploading to <a href="http://www.flickr.com">Flickr</a>, then ordering cards from <a href="http://www.moo.com">moo.com</a></li><li><a href="http://www.etsy.com">Etsy.com</a> - People selling handcrafts online</li></ul><blockquote>How does your library make people feel happy, playful & productive?</blockquote><blockquote>Bring the virtual back intot he real and make tangible connections.</blockquote>Libraries as happiness engines.Gracehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08574887952992379788noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8525590.post-90272382990722013662008-04-08T22:00:00.003-05:002008-04-08T22:11:16.233-05:00CIL2008: Leading Technology in LibrariesPresented by Gina Millsap, Executive Director & David Lee King, Digital Branch Manager of Topeka & Shawnee County Public Library<br /><br />Barriers:<br /><ul><li>Money</li><li>Don't Know</li><li>Fad</li><li>No Time</li><li>No Staff</li><li>Overwhelmed</li><li>Afraid</li><li>Questions</li></ul><br />Need to be sure we're not one of the barriers. Are you walking the talk?<br /><br />Library Director 2.0<br /><ul><li>Less hierarchy</li><li>Trust staff</li><li>Transparancy</li><li>Involve all levels of staff</li><li>Explain decisions</li></ul><br />Organization is structured for quick decisions & implementation<br />Train staff<br />Allow play time<br />Listen<br />Offer structures for feedback<br /><br />Library Director 2.1<br />(10% of Gina's time is spent on fund raising)<br /><ul><li>Make Customer Service Job 1</li><li>Don't assume you know what's important to customers</li><li>If money isn't there, seek other resources</li><li>Organize around the work - define tasks then organize around them; avoid one size fits all</li><li>Experiment - do pilot projects</li><li>Treat staff as customers; they'll then treat the customers well</li><li>Build your leadership team</li><li>Understand the context</li><li>Data based decision making</li></ul>Two NOs<br /><ul><li>No Turf</li><li>No passive aggressive behavior - handled by holding feat to fire; talk to the person you have the problem with</li></ul>It's about people NOT stuff<br /><br />Ask the right questions:<br />When Gina came in she met with all senior management individually (~24 people) & focus groups of staff (staff ~ 250) and asked for input, then aggregated information into organizational priorities<br /><ul><li>What are the top 5 things we need to preserve & why?</li><li>Top 3 things to change & why?</li><li>What makes you feel valued?</li><li>What do you want me to do as director?</li><li>What are you concerned I'll do?</li></ul>need to reprioritize what staff are doing<br />May require scheduling<br />If it's fundamental - treat it that way<br /><br />Making Time for Web 2.0<br /><br />Why make time?<br /><ol><li>Be relevant to the next generation</li><li>Teach the current generation</li><li style="font-weight: bold;">Teach them how to subscribe to your library</li><li>Save time</li><li><span style="font-weight: bold;">Patrons want to participate</span><br /></li><li>Be a community leader</li><li>Land a cool job</li></ol>How do I make time for 2.0?<br /><ul><li>Change focus</li><li>Schedule your time</li><li>Remember to play</li><li>Grant time to staff</li><li style="font-weight: bold;">Don't ask staff for input if you're not going to use it</li></ul><span style="font-weight: bold;">Job descriptions for all staff now say they will participate in the digital branch through blogging (librarians only) although it's open to all staff. </span><br /><br />As an aside, David said that he went out and asked staff how they want to participate in web 2.0 and that was used to add new options (blogging, flickr, etc.), which has now been incorporated into job descriptions<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Kouzes & Posner's leadership practices have been incorporated into performance reviews </span>Gracehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08574887952992379788noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8525590.post-52868851201111141482008-04-08T21:46:00.002-05:002008-04-08T21:54:31.374-05:00CIL2008: Libraries as Laboratories for InnovationPresenters:: Matt Gullett (PLCMC) & Greg Schwartz (Louisville Public Library)<br /><br />Virtual Village @ PLCMC<br /><ul><li>Create rich & different atmosphere</li><li>Play music & run content on screens</li><ul><li>videos</li><li>Flickr slides</li><li>Patron spotlight - photo/image/avatar & customer's favorites<br /></li></ul><li>Create new experiences for people at the library</li><li>The library being more</li><li>Discovery Service Desk</li><ul><li>Sit on stools to be at eye level</li><li>Main service area has 80-100 computers</li><li>Plasma screens with content</li></ul><li>Try to be more interactive with folks coming into space</li><li>Play background music to help control volume in area</li><li style="font-weight: bold;">Discovery desk is round. One side will be used for informal instruction</li><li>Experimental Game lab</li><li>Learning Lab</li><li>Media lab</li></ul>Greg @ Louisville<br /><br /><ul><li><span style="font-weight: bold;">Library think tank developed new design ideas - </span><a style="font-weight: bold;" href="http://www.lfpl.org/charrette/">The Louisville Project: A Design Charrette</a></li><li>Four people were selected to "do great things"</li><ul><li>not where they want to be</li></ul><ul><li>Rather than broad thinking right now they're focusing on efficiency due to budget cuts</li></ul><li>They are doing beta testing - handing out new technologies to customers who apply for testing & a conversation</li><li>LFPL University using open courseware</li></ul>How to make it work:<br /><ul><li>Need talent - use it in creative & thoughtful ways</li><li>Time & space - hard to be creative amongst day to day activities</li><li>Support from admin - resources, space to operate, organizational architecture, commitment: willingness to say yes or at least maybe</li></ul>Gracehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08574887952992379788noreply@blogger.com0