AboutAnnotations is the place to read about issues, trends, and uses for new technologies for all libraries, especially public libraries. NSLS staff member Anna Yackle is a librarian with many years of experience who has worked in all types of libraries, but maintains a special fondness for public libraries. CategoriesNSLS BlogsRecent Entries
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AnnotationsAnnotations« June 2006 | Main | August 2006 » July 31, 2006 Great Spoof of Wikipedia from the OnionI just got this from one of the lists I belong to and wanted to share. The Onion , a satirical newspaper circulated widely on college campuses, reported about the Wikipedia July 25, 750th anniversary of the founding of the United States.
NEW YORK—Wikipedia, the online, reader-edited encyclopedia, honored the 750th anniversary of American independence on July 25 with a special featured section on its main page Tuesday. Three girls march toward the White House on Elm St. in Washington, DC, as part of the Inderpendance Day Parade. Posted by anna at 9:41 AM | Comments (0) July 26, 2006 LibraryThing.Com? Have YOU used it?I was just reading a post that mentioned something called LibraryThing.com. I had heard about this several months ago and meant to find out more about it. Now seemed like a good time, I had to investigate and this is what I found: *It is basically a self-selected group of individuals adding basic information about books to this entity called Library Thing to create their own online catalog.In the words of the Christian Science Monitor"LibraryThing appears poised to turn the cataloging of books into a form of communal recreation." Helping people find books, offering reading recommendations, providing access to rare materials, and providing a place for social groups to network have all been traditional library services. What is it that LibraryThing.com has to offer to indidviduals that makes it so attractive to some and that libraries aren't providing? I think it is the feeling of power individuals get by customizing a resource to fit their needs and being able to actively shape and share a tool that serves as a "container" of knowledge. Can libraries invite this kind of participation and involvement from their own members? Probably. Would it be messy? Yes! It would probably send several librarians to rest homes. Would it be more meaningful to the participants? Definitely. Would it be cool? Yes! I know as a librarian, I tend to think of the library as mine and to take pride in its collections and resources. A public library is not the librarians but the community that it serves. Maybe it is time we remembered that and experimented with loosening up the controls? Just a thought. Posted by anna at 3:20 PM | Comments (0) July 19, 2006 Great Thinkers WantedIn my never-ending effort to boost my nerd factor, I travel around with a folder full of photocopied articles from a variety of sources. It comes in handy when, horror of horrors, I am stranded somewhere without something to read. I pull out a professional article that I wanted to read but didn't have the time for. Sorry, I know you all had fantasies of me making lots of money sitting around all day reading magazines, newsletters, blogs, etc. Oh wait, that's my fantasy, not yours. Seriously, I feel it is an important part of my job to do a constant information scan and bring the gems to your attention. My latest find is a really interesting article by Susan Sarfati in the July 2006 issue of the journal Associations Now, entitled "What Great Thinkers Think About Associations." It discusses a summit of great thinkers from "the fields of leadership, technology, management, and organizational development." They got these individuals thinking about non-profits and the social sector and their role in society. Basically their thinking came down to this quote, "It is not business. It is not government. It is the social sector that may yet save this society." I know public libraries are units of government, but we also serve the role as social agent. I think libraries have been told too frequently to be more like a business or the corporate sector. We serve a very important function in our society and democracy. Let's not lose sight of that or abdicate this role to the bookstores. Libraries do a lot of things well. Can we improve? Of course! Here are the seven major ideas that came out of the summit: 1. "Do we serve the needs that members define for us, or do we take a leadership role in providing a vision for the future?" I think this applies to the juggling act libraries perform everyday: giving the user what he or she wants while trying to anticipate their future needs. I thought the best line in this discussion was "Are we hospicing the death of the current association or midwifing new forms?" 2. Meetings. How often are they about "personal agendas and ego inflation, political drama and turf battles, and other issues that have nothing to do with the organization's mission." Need I say more? We have all seen this at department meetings, department head meetings, and board meetings. Just think what could be accomplished by focusing on the mission. 3. Operating in parallel universes. Libraries have been doing this for years. Ms. Sarfati puts it this way, "Offer a suite of services for traditional members and at the same time seek out the radical thinkers... encourage them to invent the future." Forget about that bible quote that says you can't serve two masters; in this day and age, it seems to be the standard state of being for libraries. 4. Aggregating the collective wisdom. Librarians have always been great about sharing ideas and programs. We need to let the world know how we have been successfully doing this for at least the last several decades. I think we could be models for business and non-profits. 5. Change is hard. Ms. Sarfati says this so well. "Innovation means doing things that are difficult and that causes a disruptive or uncomfortable environment. However, [we] seem to go to great lengths to insulate [ourselves] from uncomfortable situations. In reality are we avoiding the uncomfortable conversations that allow innovation to happen?" Let us pause a moment for some serious soul searching.... Okay we all know this is true! 6. Metrics. "Often the things that make the most difference in organizations are those things that are impossible to measure, yet we insist on metrics, mistakenly believing that such tools alone will show us how to enhance our value." Great food for thought. While we are trying to prove the library's return on investment, I think it is vital to prove ourselves as a source of entertainment, a balm to the soul, and a good place to hang out. 7. Globalization. "Future organizations are surely going to be bounded by the global community, with technology being the great equalizer." Through e-mail, IM, and VR librarians are already serving individuals beyond their community. How do we take advantage of this and market our skills and collections to a broader market? Think about these things. Who are the great thinkers you would like to bring together? I have a strong desire to organize a summit and put librarians at the head of the table. We have a great pool of knowledge and need to respect that and help others to respect it. We could play a vital role in the development of new technologies and services. Posted by anna at 10:34 AM | Comments (0) July 18, 2006 Librarians Are SOOOO COOOL!Continuing to secure my place in the Geek/Nerd Hall of Fame, I must confess that I enjoy reading all of the public libraries' newsletters. It is part of my job. I also read board minutes. The thing that always jumps out at me is what innovative, interesting people librarians can be. The Summer Reading Program "Voyage to Book Island" is perfect with its pirate tie-in theme. I loved the Park Ridge newsletter with all of it 'swashbuckling' action photos. I was also impressed by the photo of Gail Borden's Book Island Pond with appropriately attired staff manning the bridge. I regret that I missed out on my chance to meet Captain Jack Sparrow at the Vernon Area Library. I am sure that each of you did wonderfully original things that entertained and delighted your patrons. Tell me about them and send me photos. This is part of why I bacame a public librarian, I love this kind of stuff. Some other interesting things I noticed was that the Evanston Public Library proudly reported a new falcon hatchling sharing the exterior of their library with them. How neat is that? I also know that the Vernon Area Library has started a community blog. I will look forward to finding out more about that . I also know that Vernon worked with 44 local business partners and that Wauconda always does a bang-up job of contacting their local merchants and promoting library cards. What other partnerships with businesses are going on out there? Let me know what you are up to at your library. I really do love this stuff and I marvel at how creative, inventive and joyful library staff are when they are excited about a project. Now if only librarians ruled the world! Posted by anna at 9:59 AM | Comments (0) July 12, 2006 "The Corruptibles" or more about limiting accessI have been looking at alternative ways to market lilbrary products and services. One of the really popular spots with teens is YouTube.com. I just wanted to share this funny and informative clip with all of you... Posted by anna at 4:42 PM | Comments (0) Small "Niche" Search EnginesIn the Technology column of CNN.Com appears an article about small search engines that are powered by people and have some of the big boys watching closely... Tiny search engines look for a niche Tuesday, July 11, 2006; Posted: 9:04 a.m. EDT (13:04 GMT) Manage Alerts | What Is This? LEXINGTON, Kentucky (AP) -- Steve Mansfield operates his own Internet search engine from a place he calls a "secret hideout" -- a small office surrounded by low-rent apartments on the outskirts of this college town known for its horse farms. Mansfield conceived Prefound.com a few years ago on the premise that humans, from pretty much anywhere, can collectively provide better intelligence than a computer program developed out of the Silicon Valley. (more) Posted by anna at 4:08 PM | Comments (0) "How Washington Will Shape the Internet"On MSNBC in Michael Rogers column "The Practical Futurist" appears this item that provides much food for thought... How Washington will shape the Internet The most potent force shaping the future of the Internet is neither Mountain View's Googleplex nor the Microsoft campus in Redmond. It's rather a small army of Gucci-shod lobbyists on Washington's K Street and the powerful legislators whose favor they curry. ( More) Posted by anna at 3:57 PM | Comments (0) July 11, 2006 "My Space is America's Top Site"Love it or hate kids are using it. Now if we can only get all these users to way in on the Net Neutrality issue... This article appears on CNN Money.ComMySpace is America's top site
Posted by anna at 3:04 PM | Comments (0) Voting Rights Act and the LibrarianI was just introduced to a really great blog called Librarian at the Kitchen Table. A particualr post on the renewal of the Voting Rights Act caught my attention and I would like to share it with you. ALA doesn't seem to be taking an official stand on this topic but we can all take a personal stand and lend support. Posted by anna at 2:38 PM | Comments (0) Library Services in the NewsAn Associated Press article dated July 10, 2006 appeared in the Chicago Tribune and extolled the virtues of the services a group of libraries offer entreprenuers. I know many of your libraries offer similar services. Seems to me that the Trib owes area libraries equal time. Read the article below and hopefully this will help provide you with some marketing ideas. -------------------- By Joyce M. Rosenberg July 10, 2006 A small-business owner in Iowa or Missouri who needs help putting together a business plan can find it in states such as New York and Pennsylvania at libraries that are dedicated to serving entrepreneurs with their traditional catalogs of books and with extensive online resources. At the Chester County Library System Web site (http://business.ccls.org), small-business owners can find lists of books on business broken down by topics, including "Starting a Small Business" and "Running a Small Business." They'll also find a long list of links to a variety of business-related sites, and they can access business databases that the library subscribes to. And, if they live near the Exton, Pa.-based system, they can attend programs for business owners and entrepreneurs. The Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh also has a big section devoted to business on its Web site (www.carnegielibrary.org/locations/downtown), with similar resources. The site also has a section dealing solely with business plans, a topic that sends many small-business owners in search of help. Leslie Burger, president of the American Library Association, said many librarians have come to recognize the need to better serve businesses, largely because they are getting more requests for help from people who own small companies. "Libraries are tailoring a lot of what they do specifically to what's going on in their geographic areas in terms of economic development," said Burger, who's also the director of the Princeton Public Library in New Jersey. "What we find very often is when we talk to people, they want to know not only about running [for example] a bakery, but how many bakers are in the area, how to develop a business plan, where they would go to get financing, can we put them in touch with people with similar experiences," she said. But Burger noted that the help is available well beyond a given library's service area. The Internet means a library can serve business owners almost anywhere. There are also online libraries such as the Internet Public Library at www.ipl.org, or the Small Business Administration library at www.sba.gov/lib/library.html. These tend to contain articles and primers that provide helpful overviews on a variety of topics that interest small-business owners, but they don't offer a comprehensive collection like the more traditional library sites. But online resources are just one part of what libraries have to offer. Burger noted that many business owners prefer to ask a librarian directly for help. She noted that if a business owner found a book in a library that was hundreds or thousands of miles away, distance isn't necessarily an impediment to borrowing the book. It's possible to get an interlibrary loan, in which libraries ask each other if they have a certain book available. When they find the book, it can be mailed to a borrower. However, don't ask for a photocopy of a book, as the library is forbidden by copyright laws to do that.
Posted by anna at 1:20 PM | Comments (0) July 7, 2006 HBR Dahling!Sorry, I took a few days off and am just getting back to the blog. After giving so much space to Inc. I figure it is only fair to put in plugs for the Harvard Business Review and Wired. I love these two journals also. Okay, okay, I admit it! I am an infomaniac! The HBR has great articles about leadership, management, and marketing. In this issue July-August 2006 starting on page 58, they have a great article "How Right Should the Customer Be?" It really has some great applications for the library world. Read it and let me know what you think. Wired is always good at expanding your brain capacity and telling you what is next on the horizon. I have been looking at some book reviews and I see a new book coming out by Chris Anderson that adresses the end of mass cultural and the emergence of niche inhabitants. In the reviews they make reference to an article that appeared in Wired in 2005. The article is titled "The Long Tail" and offers ten pages of reading goodness and should help all of us to prepare libraries for the future. Posted by anna at 3:13 PM | Comments (0) |
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