LibrarianInBlack

What would make your work easier?

Michael Stephens Lee LeBlanc recently wrote a thought-provoking post on Tame the Web, asking us all a question with its title: What would make the work you do easier?  As he admits in his introduction, "This is a whole can of worms."  He posts anonymous responses from several people who talk about some of the common time-wasters and work-impediments to library work: inefficient procedures, silo-ed information, unexpected IT upgrades, and endless meetings.  They also talk about what would help: creative coworkers, competent leadership, more training, etc. 

I second Michael's encouragement to take a moment, stop, and think about those things that are barriers and then follow up with some hard thinking about what could remove them. 

I always keep a "stuff I'd like to change" list, and go back to it when I have the needed go-gettery attitude and want to feel like I'm making a difference.  Most of these things are changeable to a point, but just require some thoughtful planning as to procedure and a people-centered political approach.  Gah...politics.  My least favorite part of the job.  But when you want to change something, knowing how to walk over those hot coals is necessary, as is knowing how to get other people to follow you.

So stop, think about three things that would make your own work easier (usually starting with something that's wrong and what the "right way" would be), and write them down.  Come back to them another day, one at a time, and think about how you can get from where you are to where you want to be.  That, my friends, is how the world gets better.

Pixelated Posey Necklace

Here's a good gift for the necklace-wearing tech-lover in your life: the Pixelated Posey.  Doesn't it just make you smile?   The necklace was available at ModCloth, but they are all sold out.  I hate to taunt you with something you can't have right away, but this was just too cool.  Keep an eye out though--I have a feeling it will be returning.

found via Popgadget

Ergo: information literacy website

The State Library of Victoria (Australia) has a new information literacy site for students and teachers at the high school level: Ergo.   The site offers some great resources that anyone could use:

• research, essay, and study skills guides
• history pathfinders with numerous State Library digitized resources
• video author, artist, and historian interviews
• teacher and student resources and learning guides

I encourage anyone engaged in info lit teaching to take a look and see what kind of information you can gather.  And, if nothing else, it's a good pointer to the Library's impressive digitized collections.

found via Stephen's Lighthouse

Turning the Paige: young readers' book reviews

Check out Turning the Paige, a new young readers' book review blog.  This site is written by Paige Turner (teen?  adult?), who reads and reviews the books.  Each entry has information about individual books, including a cover image, synopsis, age level, discussion of the book, and a rating (given a grade like a B-).  You can view lists of books by age level, series, grade, or genre.  The genres include items like Adventure, Fantasy, Realistic Fiction, and even "Books for Boys."  You can also search for a specific book or author.  The site is still in its infancy (only 4 months old) and there are not a load of reviews there yet.  But what is there seemed great to me, and definitely worth bookmarking.  Plus, you can suggest a new book to Paige for reading.

A small disclaimer: there are ads on the site, but most young people (like us older ones) have learned to tune those out to a degree.

found via eHub

e-learning webcast from Frank Cervone

There is an upcoming SirsiDynix Institute that many of you readers may be interested in:

Trends in e-learning: What does it mean for libraries?
May 21, 2008, 11am-noon EST
presented by Frank Cervone, Professor of Education and Director of the Library, Information, and Media Studies program at Chicago State University

Read more on the SirsiDynix Institute website where you can also register.

Virtual Library Legislative Day: May 14th

I am not a good lobbyist.  I always placed last in my Girl Scout Troop trying to sell cookies (emphasis on "trying"), I don't do a good job fundraising for anything, and I hate begging people for anything--even something I really believe in.  I don't do it well and don't get good results because of it.  As a result, I have learned over time to avoid "Library Leg Days" like the plague.  Until this year.

This year there is a virtual version of Library Leg Day.  Along with the hundreds of people in D.C. to support libraries, there will be thousands more participating virtually through a Virtual Library Legislative Day on May 14th.  It's nothing fancy, actually, and very simple.  Just phone, fax, and/or email members of Congress to tell them about the issues facing libraries and why supporting libraries is crucial.  You can read more and find links to email or fax legislators on the ALA webpage about Virtual Library Legislative Day.  There's even a nifty flier, though it would have been cool to create supporting web graphics as well, what with the emphasis on "virtual" (I had to screenshot this image).

Super Cheap Flash Drives as Giveaways

I would like to see more libraries paying attention to the wonderful site Free After Rebate.  Amidst all of the somewhat useless "free Norton upgrades" there are a lot of great hardware deals.  Usually you only have to pay shipping, and sometimes even that is free.  I have gotten nearly-free or free flash drives, MP3 players, keyboards, mice, USB extension cables, and more. 

A lot of these things would make great giveaways in raffles, summer reading prizes, and anything else you can think of. 

Right now there are two nearly-free flash drives available:

• Crucial Gizmo 1GB Flash Drive: $2.40+ shipping (requires rebate form, expires May 18th)
• Lexar 512MB Flash Drive: $4.97 + shipping (no rebate to redeem, expiration unknown)

There are also frequently great deals at the brick-and-mortar stores.  If your library has a credit card (and most do) or if you can get reimbursed from petty cash, just nip on over to a store and grab up as many items as you need.  I've seen 10GB flash drives going for $2 in the circulars for stores near me...there are probably similar deals near you! 

My Online Marketing Webcast Available

Today I gave a 90-minute webcast for OPAL: Online Marketing for Libraries.  Tom Peters, OPAL's coordinator, has already archived the presentation on OPAL's archive site.  You have three choices: you can listen to the audio while viewing the slides and text chat, or just listen to the audio file, or simply view the slides. 

While you're there, you might want to check out some of the other recently archived presentations, like "Discover Your LibraryThing" with Tim Spalding and Cindy Hart or "Virtual Worlds for Kids, Tweens and Teens," a panel discussion with Cliff Zintgraff, Kelly Czarnecki, and Tom Peters.  There's a lot more too! 

I have another presentation for OPAL coming up about technology training and competencies on Thursday, May 15th at 1pm PST.

Live Mesh - bring your data with you

If you haven't read about Live Mesh from Microsoft yet, it's an idea to bring together various computing experiences and make them uniform based on user, not on location.  In other words, you bring your preferences and your files with you wherever you go.  Lorcan Dempsey does a fabulous job of describing Live Mesh on his blog. 

Live Mesh is now available in "Tech Preview" mode if you want to try it out.  Early reviews have been mediocre at best.  But hey...try it out yourself and see what you think!  I have written about this concept before, and really believe that this is the next big breakthrough in personal computing.  This is something you absolutely need to watch!

IPL collection on web apps

The Internet Public Library has a special collection of links dedicated to Web Applications.  It's a couple of years old, so a lot of the "hot new stuff" isn't there, but the solid stand-bys are here, and I was able to use this site a few times to answer user questions in the last year.  I recommend bookmarking it as a potential research tool.  You never know!  Note to IPL: please update this!  We'd love you to pieces if you did.