Alice in InfoLand

Check out All Together Now: Learning 2.0, led by Michael Stephens and sponsored by SLJ. It’s an opportunity to work with SLs all over the world, as we — jointly — explore 12 “Read/Write” web tools and figure out how to use them with(in) our library communities.
I’m signing up: I may be retired, but I’m never too old to learn…and play with some new toys!

*Breaking News: All Online Data Lost After Internet Crash* — a news report from The Onion.
(found via The Committed Sardine)

What did I learn at the Computers in Libraries / Internet@Schools East conference on March 22-24?
I’ve been mulling the notes I took and the impressions floating in my head, the CIL-tagged posts in the biblioblogosphere, comments sent to me by other ISE attendees, and the assorted handouts and publications provided at and after the events.

I go to professional conferences for three reasons:

1. Information: What are the new concepts/resources/techniques I need to know about?
2. Application: How can I use these new ideas and strategies in my own programs & services?
3. Discussion: Who will I get a chance to talk with, for both personal and professional connections?

According to Information Today, Inc., the conference sponsor, this is ‘the most comprehensive North American conference and exhibition on all aspects of library & information delivery technology.’
I tried to attend programs in both the CIL and ISE tracks (Actually, ISE wasn’t even considered a track, just a "co-located" sub-conference under the CIL umbrella).
So what did I discover?

Computers in Libraries attendees:
* 2500+, mostly from academic/college or special/corporate libraries; lots of laptops and handhelds used for note-taking, blogging, etc.
* library clientele preselected by user choice (enrollment, profession, etc.)
* funding for new technologies and resources not a big issue
* looking for new digital resources and applications to use, to expand services to clients
* obstacles to implementation of new technologies: reluctant staff, lack of client interest
* enthralled by the ‘millenials’: ooh, a new species requiring new/different handling.
* geek-factor: use of social-networking software: variable
* see social networking sites like myspace, etc. as possible venues for connecting with clients.
* acknowledgement of K-12 issues and concerns: none
* awareness, interest in ISE programs/topics: little or none
* interaction with ISE attendees: little to none

Internet @ Schools attendees:
* less than 100 total; mostly paper-based note-taking, almost no blogging
* library clientele preselected by geographic proximity (students, teachers)
* funding for basic library programs & services a major issue; just keeping the job is a big concern !
* looking for ways to maintain and enrich current programs & services, to validate library/librarian as part of educational infrastructure
* obstacles to implementation of new technologies: administrative attitudes, lack of support staff, lack of time, lack of funding, lack of training opportunities
* about those ‘millenials’: we’ve been watching these kids evolve for years now. We’ve been adapting to their needs all along.
* geek-factor: use of social-networking software: minimal
* do not see social networking sites as where we need to be; our role is as adult/authority, not friend
* acknowledgement of broader library/educational/practical concerns: lots
* awareness, interest in CIL programs/topics: some
* interaction with CIL attendees: moderate

While I appreciated the opportunity to see/hear CIL’s array of pundits present their visions of what is and what should be, I was disheartened by how many of the CIL presenters totally ignored any impact that K-12 school libraries and librarians might have on the larger issues of lifetime learning and library use. I heard lots of talk about integration and collaboration, but I didn’t see a whole lot of it among the different audiences here.

Some valuable "takeaways" (info/ideas I could USE, rather than just descriptions of what other folks have done):
* We need to be available where our users are; school libraries can no longer be defined by our physical collections and boundaries. Online connections can be used to HELP our clientele at point of need. (email, etc. after school hours)
* We need to find ways to make it EASIER for our clientele to use our resources. (Federated searching? why are we asking our users to search multiple databases, one at a time?)
* Library websites need to offer both access to resources AND instructions (intervention?) on how to best use those resources.
* Blogs can be used for book discussion groups. Wikis can be used for group projects, to collect resource links and develop co-constructed knowledge. Wikis can also be used as internal info-sharing formats, eliminating some of the email overload.
* Look at new ways to use technology to promote the library programs & services, both overtly and through guerrilla marketing techniques.
* Today’s kids are visual learners. For some wonderful examples of ways to combine technology and imagination, see Johanna Riddle’s article on Visual Literacy applications.

Some onsite issues that really irked me:

1. Conference organizers need to pay more attention to room set-up. Podiums should be next to the screens, not at the opposite end of the dais. I want to be able to look at the speaker and the visuals without having to scan across other, irrelevant objects in between the two.
2. Presenters at this kind of conference should know — and be able to define — any terminology they use. Presenters who don’t know what ICT or Web 2.0 means immediately lose their credibility.
   
3. Infotoday’s own conference blog had NO coverage of any of the ISE programs. If the program’s sponsor doesn’t even notice the K-12 presence, what does that say to those attendees?
   

Bottom line: would I go to this conference again? Probably not, based on the ROI.
Our state conferences usually cost less to attend, have better exhibits and offer many more programs that address the full range of our professional needs and responsibilities.
My suggestion to Infotoday: sponsor presentations by your big thinkers at the already-established conferences for school librarians, rather than expect us to attend yours.

tags: ISE2006 CIL2006

Oh, the choices…
Why would I want to , when there are so many other wonderful speakers there?

Lee Rainie, Director, Pew Internet and American Life Project will be giving his keynote speech about The Internet: Enhancing Digital Work & Play, in the International Ballroom at 9am on Friday, March 24,
at the very same time that I’m scheduled to present
Using RSS for Really Savvy “Resourcery,” or How Bloglines Made Me Look Brilliant in the Lincoln West room.

I suppose it’s too late (and too tacky) to put together/set up a video of my presentation so that I can see/hear Lee Rainie instead?

Still, I will get to see — and maybe even meet — some of the big names in the biblioblogosphere (see the list at CIL2006 Conference Wiki . FWIW, I’m only at the top of that list of bloggers because it’s alphabetical!).

Meanwhile, I’ll be able to read all the blog-reports from the Public Library Association’s conference in Boston, after I get home from DC on Saturday.

tags: CIL2006 , ISE2006 , biblioblogosphere , edubiblioblogosphere

For my upcoming presentations and hands-on workshops on “how to use Bloglines to look brilliant to your faculty” I’ve put together a set of instructions… using the create a blog capabilities of Bloglines itself.

These are only introductory instructions; I cover more details and advanced strategies during the actual workshops.
The demo blog is at http://www.bloglines.com/blog/Aliceinfoshow2rss

Comments and suggestions gratefully accepted here, since the Bloglines blog doesn’t have any comments capability.

I’m still gathering examples of school library bloggers. Check out an extended list on the TeacherLibrarianWiki that Joyce Valenza has created for us to use as a collaborative courtyard.

tags: RSS, web 2.0, school library, teacher-librarian, CIL2006, ISE2006

In preparation for the workshop I’m doing at the
conference on Mar 24 on
Really Savvy reSourcery, aka How Bloglines Make Me Look Brilliant To My Faculty, I’ve been scanning the blogosphere for examples of school and/or library-related blogs to include in my presentation blogroll.

Since my personal Bloglines subscription already has over 150 feeds, I’m struggling to stay afloat in a swirl of information flotsam and jetsam.

Now I truly understand the 6th grader who — in the midst of a oceanography research project — discovered the word vortex: noun. A whirling current, usually spiraling in toward a center and tending to drag things with it.
“That’s what this feels like!” he exclaimed. “I’m caught in an information vortex with all these things to take notes from. Quick, Mrs. Y — grab me and pull me out to safety.”

OK, this is the perfect example of technology-gone-bad:

the Hog Wild Motorized Ice Cream Cone (in your choice of dishwasher-safe plastic colors, yet) for the sloth who’s worried about getting a charliehorse in their tongue.
Ye. Gods.

(found via Popgadget)

Judith Siess is the One Person Library (aka OPL) guru.

Her latest blog post addresses the Not Enough Time to Blog comments I hear too often from school librarians.  Here are some of her compelling reasons why you should have a library blog:

Even if you do have some ‘help,’ you’ll find Judith Siess’ books, newsletter, and blog worthwhile reading.

There’s been a lot of talk in the biblioblogosphere about “Web 2.0” (I’m using quotes because it’s still just a label, and not yet an official descriptor), aka the interactive or Read/Write Web, and how that might effect “Library 2.0” programs and services. I’ve been reading various viewpoints on the topic, while keeping in mind the reality that many school libraries are still on that other, unconnected side of the digital divide.

For the best summation of all the biblioblathering about “Library 2.0,” check out Walt Crawford’s latest Cites and Insights (also available in pdf format). As Walt points out,

The name is new. Some of the concepts are decades old. Some of the tools and techniques have been around for years (or decades), while some are new. Not all that new, to be sure… “Everything old is new again” is one of those phrases that regains relevance every few years, in one sphere or another. Combining old concepts with new tools is automatically new, to be sure; it’s one of the ways civilization progresses.

And how will all of this impact school library programs and services? I’m still chewing on that. Stay tuned while I digest.

Update: Christopher Harris IS ruminating on the implications for School Library 2.0, and he’s posting some excellent insights over at http://www.schoolof.info/infomancy/.

learned in the biblioblogosphere: 

from the LITA blog report on Karen Schneider’s presentation on Currency, Convenience and Access:

From the user’s point of view, installing an RSS aggregator or using a service like Bloglines

• Saves time — don’t have to check multiple websites to find updates
• Gets to the point — only presents content that’s actually updated
• Lets me compare — find out which sources actually provide updates

From the RSS4LIB blog, following a link on the LITA blog:

how libraries are Integrating Blogs and Subject Guides to offer a variety of static links to other web and library resources.

School librarians need to learn how to use these technologies to help their students do research both within and beyond the library’s walls!!

 

—Doug Johnson’s great acronym for happy, productive, library-using kids, aka the best evidence that effective school library programs are an integral part of the educational experience.



On his new Blue Skunk blog, Doug praises the PR-savvy school librarians in his district who use digital photography

- to illustrate presentations to the school board, PTOs, and community groups with pictures of happy, productive, library-using
kids (HPLUKs)

- to illustrate their parent newsletters with pictures of HPLUKs

- to promote reading by creating personalized “READ” posters of both
kids and the role model adults in the buildings hold favorite reads

Meanwhile, Marylaine Block asks What’s on your website? in her article about how to create an inviting and useful online presence for your library.


I’m always surprised at how many school library websites show empty rooms;
nice furniture may look good, but it’s no indicator of how the space is
actually used!  Show your library the way you want it to be
perceived — as an active, user-friendly place where students are busy
learning.



Years ago I had a district administrator who complained that the
library never looked “neat — you know, with all the shelves all
straightened up, the chairs pushed in, and nothing lying around on the
tables.”  In other words, unused. 

I told him that he should be delighted that the library looked “messy”
so often; it meant that the district was getting an effective ROI for
the funds they’d allocated for library materials.  “See that chaos
over in there, in the 900’s? That’s because the 8th graders are getting
ready for their Renaissance Faire.  And that ‘mess’ over in the
600’s?  That’s the health classes, researching communicable
diseases.  When all the shelves are neat and tidy for too long, it
means the library isn’t being used enough.”

He finally understood, but I know that he still begged the custodians
to “do something” whenever the Board of Ed was scheduled to meet in the (heavily-used) library.

Google Maps has a new gimmick: find an address (or even get a set of directions), and then click the “Satellite” link on the upper right side of the page for a view-from-space! You can even zoom in, for more details, and see the topography of the route you plan to travel.   (Small caveat — I did notice that the map ‘pinpointed’ our house on the wrong side of the street.)

Ranganathan’s Five Laws of Library Science:

1. Books are for use.
2. Every reader, his book.
3. Every book, its reader.
4. Save the time of the reader.
5. A library is a growing organism.

was the definitive text of my library-school education.  Over the years those precepts have certainly been bent and stretched to meet the needs of the changing information environment, but the basic principles are still as valid as ever.  A fascinating article, Ranganathan Online, in the 4/1/05 issue of Library Journal, asks do digital libraries violate Ranganathan’s third law?

The authors’ charts and recommendations should be required reading for all library managers.  After all: if resource-provision is our goal, we must make access to those resources as easy (even transparent, to use a current term) as possible!

Salon | 21st: Are we ready for the library of the future?
(found while Googling for images of ‘computers AND books’) — an article written almost 10 years ago addresses an issue that continues to bedevil us:  “Far from becoming keepers of the keys to the Grand Database of Universal Knowledge, today’s librarians are increasingly finding themselves in an unexpected, overloaded role: They have become the general public’s last-resort providers of tech support.”

From Jakob Nielsen’s Alertbox column on Web usability, two important considerations for folks designing school / library websites:

1.  Low-Literacy Users “…exhibit very different reading behaviors than higher-literacy users: they plow text rather than scan it, and they miss page elements due to a narrower field of view.”

2.  Usability of Websites for Teenagers “…poor performance is caused by three factors: insufficient reading skills, less sophisticated research strategies, and a dramatically lower patience level. [snip] rated the highest for subjective satisfaction were sites with a relatively modest, clean design. They typically marked down overly glitzy sites as too difficult to use. Teenagers like to do stuff on the Web, and dislike sites that are slow or that look fancy but behave clumsily.”

In other words, do NOT assume that your local geek is the “average” teen-user!
Design your sites to make them user-friendly for the slower learners, not the (seemingly) techno-gifted. 

• Eliminate distracting elements (like fancy backgrounds, animated graphics, etc.).
• Keep the most important stuff at the top of the page.
• Make navigation easy to figure out.
  
• Increase white space for better readability, and
  
• Reduce the need to scroll through long blocks of text.

Now if we could only get the subscription database producers to use those guidelines, too!

(thanks to Deb for the Alertbox reminder!)