Connecting Librarian

Big Stuff - Library Challenges - Stephen Abram - Sirsi-Dynix Institute

We need to tell good stories - tell each other about the good things that happen, not the bad, which is what we usually do.

Stephen said that our stuff is awesome, we are in good standing amongst the libraries of the world. We need to let go of the nostalgia. Change has been really slow relatively speaking, especially compared to the baby busters. Big changes coming, which will be fun if you like riding a roller coaster.

What are we going to do to get good results for our users - how can we negate the skewed results of search engine optimisation - where anyone can make sure their content, true or not, lists high in results.

Some people have 40 year careers. Ensure it is 40 years of incrementally better years, not just the same thing year after year. Choose to make the difference. You need to put your meat in the game = professionals commit.

Libraries matter - the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation grants is just one example. Stephen gave a long list of examples where librarians are making a real difference, doing things that get people connected to the net and to the information they need, saving money, saving lives, saving our culture and our history and so much more. We need to tell our government about the competitive edge that libraries give Australia. Who do you think built Yahoo - librarians were pulled in to make it work.

What is the competitive advantage we have in our environment? The difference between us the internet is us - sensitive, intelligent, helpful - we are not a list. Put ourselves out there, with photo and social networking profile. Show who we are as well as what we can do.

DREAM BIG - start small, but dream big.

We dont know every little moment of truth that happens in the library. We can be the human touch for people. We may never know the difference we make to each individual.

Democracies persist because of libraries. Its not coincidence that libraries are often the first casualty of war. Librarians protect freedom of information, giving access to all, regardless of what our opinion of it is - we are truly bipartisan.

We have to learn the things that are making a difference, improving service to our users. If you dont want to learn, then get out of the profession.

We are a global profession, a bottomless network. Every librarian has hundreds of moments of truth, where we fight for our freedom, save lives, cure disease, challenge poverty and ignorance. Not dreaming 08, but dreaming big. Say yes every chance you get, encourage others and dont get discouraged. Those who say it cant be done, get out of the way of those who are already doing the impossible.

We are about books, we dont have to advertise that, what we do need to advertise is that we have people who can help you with just about anything. Show who we are and what we can do.

Web 2.0 is about things you can do and people you know. When you go online do you see people you know. You need to be where your users are, otherwise you are on a march to irrelevance.

Stuff will change faster now - by 2020, all content ever created will fit on an iPod. Video games outsell most content combined, ringtones are huge! Pocket size devices will dominate, the devices coming out are about having ubiquitous access on your person.

New? Semantic web, the cloud, no choice search engines, GIS oriented search, virtually unlimited fulltext books, streaming media and spoken word search, personalisation 3.0, microblogging, registries and so much more.

Normal now is RSS, blogs, YouTube, social networks tagging, wikis, SEO and GIS. If libraries arent involved in that, then they are behind. Resist the library culture of poverty, victimisation, risk aversion and passive resistance. We have to pass the chasm of early adopters and into the space of early majority. We have a technology lifecycle, we have to get on the curve early and stay there.

If we dont get into social networking, then we are going to miss it when they progress to the next stage - this is just the tip of the iceberg.

So what should libraries be paying attention to? The user-centred universe, be more open to users paths. A few things to do right away - the time is now! Need to play, pilot, trial, experiment. Mobile is important, confirm your presence, be where your users are, how your presence appear - personal,, professional; get good at the cloud (where users are going), play at e-books, get serious at literacy (dont use that term for users) and check out XML, get serious about e-learning, care about our cultures, just expand, know that most physical objects are dead, get real about influence, the next generation content.

Humans are our competitive edge. Be open to lifelong learning, our careers have seasons, need to have reciprocal mentoring - peers, be important, we can invent the future and make a difference. Just have some fun! Dream big!

Its been a while since I did a meme and I don’t have anything else ready to post yet, so why not.  This one has been doing the rounds a bit and has been interesting to read, with Kathryn Greenhill being the one who tipped me over to do this, with her Meme: What’s a librarian’s day like? So its all your fault Kathryn!

Background to my Thursdays - I work on virtual services in an office in the workroom of our largest branch, which is at Narre Warren.   I do a desk shift for an hour over lunch, between 1 and 2pm and again over dinner break between 5 and 6pm.  So here’s my Thursday, not totally typical, but not far off it either.

Arrive at 9.30am for a 10am start - as usual.  Clock in, start my computer, check with staff getting branch ready for opening at 10am, return my due books etc, etc.

Login to my email and to the information email for any email enquiries.  Spend the next half hour answering these queries and sorting out my own email.

Before morning tea do some quick website updates and check if staff still doing Learning 2.0 have posted anything on their blogs since Monday - nada.

Fred Camino

After morning tea, help out on desk so that other staff can have theirs.  Didn’t plan this, just went out to the shelves to check on a book I found on a catalogue search and stepped in to help.

Back to my desk where I listened to last weeks Uncontrolled Vocabulary podcast whilst I create an online book list of the 50 titles in the Books Alive 2008 campaign, with live links to our catalogue.  Update our social software logins list and post an entry from our CEO on developments in the new building for one of our branches on the library blog.  Test the links and upload the booklist.  Make a note of 2 blog posts to do in the next week.

Go on desk to cover the lunch shift.  Usual catching up with returns, clearing the courier delivery from some of our other branches and serving the people in front of us.

Lunch - shopping and eating.

After lunch, I help one of the librarians to post an entry on our teen blog.  Write a quick note on behalf of a colleague , all the while checking on and responding to email on 2 accounts.

Use an old version of Cam Studio to record, edit and create three screencasts on our library catalogue, on the topics of changing your PIN, changing your address and submitting a suggestion for purchase - the last on our series of what you can do online through the catalogue.   The last ones to do, all finished now.  Phew! Stop for a late afternoon tea.

After tea, upload the screencasts and add them to our catalogue help page.  Write a memo for staff, letting them know about these new resources and make a note to do a new blog post on them next week. (I don’t work Fridays).

Tidy up some loose ends, write some notes for this blog post and for other things I will chase up at home (because I always take work home - after all I love what I do!).  Head back to do the 5-6pm desk shift where I help more people, do more tidying, enter memberships and more.

6.05pm - clock out and head home.

So that’s a nearly typical Thursday for me.  Not always screencasts in the afternoon, but usually some type of project.  Its been screencasts for a month or so.  Thursdays are very different to my Mondays and alternate Tuesdays.  One day I might post about them too.

Its Australian Library and Information Week and there are many events going on in libraries around the country (although its also Education Week, so that’s fun for the school libraries!).

One of those fun things is from Libraries Interact. We are pulling together articles for a Carnival of the Infosciences and need your assistance. This could be the last Carnival, so lets make it a great one.

We are looking for people to contribute recent (or near recent) blog posts, online articles etc - it can be yours or someone elses, it doesn’t matter. “This LIW is an Australian event, but submissions from all over are welcome. The theme of LIW is libraries are for everyone, so posts on that theme are particularly welcome.” (Libraries Interact)

As we are already well into Library Week, submissions would be appreciated as soon as possible. Submission details are available at Libraries Interact.

Image by busymommy Some rights reserved.

On a more personal note, I have been overwhelmingly busy of late with no inclination to blog, but I have a few blog posts in my head, which I will start bringing to fruition soon, so stay tuned.

I’ve been thinking about this for quite a couple of months, probably since I started getting queries from other librarians about virtual services after doing my study tour. Its been further churning away in the back of my mind since not long before the VALA conference, as besides the showcase session I did there, I have another 3 presentations coming up on Libraries and Web 2.0 - one of them a day long workshop!

So how did I come to get these ‘gigs’ - what makes me the expert?

In my case its a combination of things. First off, I know a bit about Web 2.0 and libraries. After all, I have been reading about, immersing myself in it and blogging about it for over 2 years. Which is more than most people in libraries. So my expert status comes from having a degree more knowledge than my audience.

But there are many librarians who know more than me on this subject, so what else is there? Another important consideration is geography. Two of the upcoming presentations are in Melbourne, the city I live in. Always easier to get a local - cheaper too.

However, the workshop I am doing is in Sydney - so that limits geography a little. I say a little, because there are some great Library 2.0 experts in the US - I read their blogs regularly - but again there are limits to what people and organisations will spend, especially if expertise can be found more locally. (and Sydney is only an hour’s flight away).

So, I know a little more than my potential audience, I have geography on my side - the more local the better. Then there is another issue altogether. Availability. The Sydney thing again - I was not the first person asked. From what I can gather, I was at least the fifth person asked (if not further down the list than that). So even considering all that’s come before, you have to be willing and available to be that expert.

Now that’s a personal decision. I don’t know why the others asked before me didn’t take up the invitation - could be many reasons: time, priorities, not interested, etc, etc - it doesn’t matter really. The opportunity came to me and I decided to take it - which makes me the expert in this particular situation, regardless of how far down the list I was.

And how did my name come up to be asked (even down the list) - somebody was kind enough to recommend me. I don’t know who, but I thank them for this opportunity.

Its been an interesting journey already this year for me, as I have never considered myself to be a public speaker - in fact the only other presentation I did before all this was at a conference in 1999 and I was so nervous - got through it by will alone I’m sure. But I have done 2 presentations since my study tour, (and 1 before) with 3 still to go and I am getting more confident each time. Maybe its because I am older, know my stuff a bit better, know myself a lot better and have a real passion for the subject. Maybe I’m just a late bloomer.

Whatever it is, I think it finds its roots in something that Kathryn at Librarians Matter blogged on not long ago in “My raucous week of putting my meat in the game” - its about putting yourself out there. I have been blogging about these things for going on 3 years, have been initiating them in my library and have been encouraging others to look at them for their libraries. I haven’t been worried about putting my name to any of this, but neither have I been seeking anything, except the chance to share my experience.

So what makes an expert? Someone who has learnt more than most about a subject dear to them (its easier when you have a passion for it), in a good location, who’s available, recommended and putting themselves out there.

But an expert is not what I planned to be - all I planned to be was a librarian loving what she is doing - which happens to be Web 2.0 and Libraries. If people want to hear what I have to say - then I am happy to go and share that with them - not for my benefit, but for theirs. I have learnt a lot from other people’s experiences, so its only fair that others may be able to learn from mine.

Next Space (OCLC) magazine includes a social networking article featuring Stuart Weibel.

Where is the Library as a brand?
Perceptions of libraries and information resources - OCLC report (available online)
3300 respondents to questions on library use, awareness and use of library electronic resources, internet search engine the library and the librarian, free vs for-fee information, the brand itself.
Libraries are trusted sources of information, search engines are trusted about the same, people care about quality and quantity of info they find, but speed is less important (not believable). However, convenience is very important.
Do not view paid infomration as more accurate than free info.
The overwhelming brand image of libraries is BOOKS!

Library Brand Equity - we need a strong visible brand on the web.  Libraries currently are a black and white presence in a colorful, flashy web world.
How do we build the brand?  Build on the trust of our patrons. Build on our business model - making info look free to our end-users.  Build on the scale that libraries represent - presence in every community, global scope and reach.  Improve awareness of library resources.  Make libraires a part of the new electronic environments that dominate social, educational and work environments.  We need to be there!

Social netowrking software!  Its not new, just the technical manifestation is. Deliver library services into the emerging social networks. Motivate people to participate: tagging, book reviews, emergent relationships that are evident from data about what people borrow, like and dislike, link to the people as well.  Need to build our own systems into the social structures that are so quickly developing.

Numbers of content creators and contributors are changing - increasing.  More people are wanting to get their content out on the web.  Their are great innovative approaches to attract that content to the library community.

Social Networking is not just for games: Facebook, MySpace, Second Life and Twitter.  All are flawed as service delivery models - business models are closed or obscure, features are rudimentary or overbearing. But they foretell a digital future in both their virtues and faults. Stuart Weibel has both Twitter and Facebook accounts and will be your friend.  They teach us about what people are doing out there - think of it as a professional investment.  They are all goofy because they are all new.  They will develop and some of that development will be interesting.

Libraries must compare favourably with experiences that our patrons expect: discovery and recommender services, web 2.0 social network capabilities, experiences of comparable commerical services, last-mile delivery capability, bookstore social experiences.  We are offering an experience as well as a service.  Save the user time.

Can Libraries compete in this space?  Should they?
Social software movement is fueled by (dollar denominated) entrepreneurial fervor.  Rate of innovation (and failure) is rapid. Distinguish between trends and the trendy and don’t get wrapped on the latter, especially when they fail.

Future of library catalogues?
Evolving towards network level. Collections linked to people, organisations, global location, concepts, context, metadata and social networking benefits.  Fit into the workflow and social lives of patrons. Help create a scaffolding for past knowledge and future productivity.

Web or Scaffolding?  We want more conherence and context, durable environments that help us preserve and fix resources in the context of culture, librarianship embedded in the emerging technologies of a social web.

Our catalogues need to be wholistic, treating not only works, but also people, concepts, works and objects (FRBR).  In addition we need book reviews, lists, services, commentary, other?  Book reviews are part of social bibliography, user created content.  All these things should be First Class Objects which have to ahve a persistent identity on the web, accessible by anyone or any applicaation, stand alone (attribution, clear IP rights), curated (not left alone). Allow the user to enter and tranverse the catalogue from any point.

WorldCat Identities - Beta product from OCLC - Another piece of the puzzle?
Tag cloud shows the top 100 identities.  Uses bibliographic data and mining it from other sources at OCLC.

Complicated puzzle - where ya gonna turn?
People, information, resources, places, terminologies, user generated content, FRBR (explain it to your patrons).  We need to better mine and utilise the data that we have.  Hook everything together with the right sort of identifiers.  A coherent identifier infrastructure is essential. Broad dissemination of identifiers serves the library collaborative and is the single most compelling means of making library assets persistent and visible on the web.

Persistence: not technological but rather a function of the commitment of organisations.  Libraries and other cultural memory organisations do this well.  Harder to do in the digital era, but the community is up to the task.
Universal access and global scoping: open to all, public identifiers in a public Web. Should work everywhere. WorldCat is the first globally-scoped identifier architecture for library assets in which the global surrogate is mapped to locality.  But we’re not quite done yet.
SEO and canonical identifiers - visibility of assets in the global library is diluted by the multiplicity of identifiers, agreement is needed on a canonical identifier.  Lack of it is a dilution of our brand and a lack of visibility on the web.
Branding is an important component of URIs - every URI is a micro-billboard branding library content in a crowded and largely commercial Web landscape. URIs need to be designed for people as well as machines, should be speakable, should be as short can be as managed, should have a predictable pattern that makes them hackable and truncatable.

FRBR is an important ocintrubtion to resource organisation on the web, but it is a challenge to explain to users.

World Cat - Mid 2006. Globally unique, freely available, citable and resolvable, independent of location, but not quite canonical.  Falls short because of duplicates, either mistaken or functional, not always resolvable to content and only sort of canonical.

NEWS!!!   Pilot project by OCLC - GLIMIR - Global Library Manifestation Identifier which is global in scope, canonical, business neutral, provides the URL equity necessary to support the library brand, fits comfortably with the FRBR model.  If its going to work, it can’t be an OCLC product, but it will be managed by them. It will require participation, buy in and support, all of which will be very tricky to achieve.  Can a global community agree and adopt this when there are already so many identifiers - eg. ISBN.  OCLC is launching this pilot to identify functional requirements and practicalities solicited review from technical specialists,moving forward will require a careful balance of use cases, business issue and more.

Identifiers are key to fulfilling the mission of libraries in a digital future, to compete ont he open web for recognition of our brand, to integrate our traditional bibliographic values with social networking content, to provides services and access to the digital tribe - our future constituency.

weibel-lines.typepad.com.
twitter - stuartweibel
flickr - weibel-lines

I have finally caught up on all my reading, amongst which was a very thought provoking post by John Blyberg entitled “Library 2.0 Debased“, which in turn was inspired by Kate Sheehan’s post “Are librarians culturally self-aware“. I recommend you check out both posts as well as the comments, there is some interesting reading there.

Anyway, the biblioblogosphere was buzzing over John’s post and I had read quite a few posts about it before I actually read the original. Normally I wouldn’t necessarily blog about the same thing, especially when there are so many others who have already done so, but after reading the post for a second time, then on reading some indirectly related content and mulling over it a bit more, I felt I had something more to contribute to the discussion.

Just as I was getting started, more came in that added to the mix - The essence of Library 2.0 from Meredith Farkas at Information Wants to be Free, Web 2.0 and Library 2.0: Its’ all about the stuff from Philip Bradley at Phil Bradley’s Weblog and Nobody ever said from Walt Crawford at Walt at Random. Again, I recommend you check them all out.

As a result, I am rethinking my whole attitude to Library 2.0. There has been a lot of difficulty in defining it, mainly because the term and the attitude it is supposed to define (user-centric, meeting them where they are at, etc) has come at the same time as the tools and many have been unable to separate the two or see that there has been any distinction between them. My overriding thought is whose fault is it that the message got lost? I know that I have been leading that bandwagon from my small perch and so I have some responsibility in that blame.

It has become cool, hip, its cutting edge, so if you are a happening library, you are doing Library 2.0. Understandable. The tools are ubiquitous, easy to use, are being used by our users and are mostly free. How can you not want to be all over them?

A lot of talk in the above mentioned blog posts is about vendors jumping on the bandwagon - which is understandable from their viewpoint - they’re giving libraries what they are asking for, whether they really know what they want or not. Is this a bad thing?

John Blyberg talked about how SOPAC hasn’t worked as he planned, but that’s part of being in libraries and in cutting edge stuff. As he says, we have to take risks and try things, some will work, some won’t and we will learn and move on to other things. Doesn’t mean we stop experimenting. As Meredith points out, just because it doesn’t work in one library, doesn’t mean it won’t work in another. Unfortunately, it usually takes time and resources which are in short supply in most libraries, making them reluctant to allocate them to things that may not work. Which makes me think that is why library vendors have such interest in their new Library 2.0 services - pay someone else to do all the work, cheaper and quicker. (questionable, but I am sure there are people out there who would think that way).

Which brings me back to the heading of this post. Ryan Deschamps at The Other Librarian posted We asked for Library 2. 0 and got Librarians 2.0. At the time I posted on it - Library 2.0 - its far from over, but now I think Ryan was right, to a certain extent it is, even here in Australia where it is still relatively new. If we want to stop the bandwagon leading our libraries astray and see them focussed on users and services, then maybe as individuals we need to drop the Library 2.0 and focus on being Librarian 2.0’s - at work and outside of it and just help our libraries to utilise and adapt the Web 2.0 tools that are appropriate for our users and our services. Our libraries should always have that focus anyway - regardless of what tools are available - its not one size fits all.

So my part will be to drop Library 2.0, but continue to be a Librarian 2.0, instituting Web 2.0 tools in my library as our users needs are assessed and I find that Web 2.0 is the best option. If Web 2.0 tools are not the best option, then we wont’ go there - at least I will try to make sure that doesn’t happen. As Phil Bradley said, they’re just stuff.

These are exciting times, with exciting new tools to play with. So I will continue having fun with them, inside and outside of work. However, I will also keep my focus on our users and do my best as a public librarian to provide them with best service possible - whatever means that will require - Web 2.0 or not.

There’s more in this discussion, but can’t get my head around it all at this time. Would love to hear your thoughts on it. For those of you going to VALA, hope to see you there!

Blogging has been light lately, but I couldn’t resist sharing this.

“After all, if a library’s reach cannot exceed its grasp, then what’s a website for?”
editec
http://www.childrensbooksonline.org/

Its a nice little reminder of what the virtual side of libraries is all about and the importance of all the work I do that’s not always so visible.

I have been so busy with getting my report finalised (yay, its done), getting two presentations and other things started, as well as my daughter’s birthday, that I haven’t had much time to ponder all things library. However, to start our school holiday break here, I thought I would point to something that is both thought provoking and entertaining.

Unshelved is a daily comic following Dewey and the library staff at Mallville Public Library. I have subscribed to the RSS feed so that I can get my daily fix. Working in a public library myself, it comes very close to home at times and is even more amusing as a result.

Anyway, this week’s comic strips were based on the Hi I’m a PC and I’m a Mac ads, with the substitution of Hi I’m the Internet and I’m the Library and as I said, they have all been very amusing - so check them out!

Monday - Beyond Google
Tuesday - Copyright
Wednesday - Information authority
Thursday - Novels
Friday - Censorship

Enjoy!

PS. And now Saturday’s comic which sums it all up!

Dr R David Lankes from the Information Institute of Syracuse delivered the afternoon keynote on the Changing face of service. We are integrated library services - youth, cataloguing, reference, preservation, IT, instruction etc. We don’t necessarily fit together well, but we know we are a profession.

Service is more than reference and far from the only public service. Cataloguing is public, the website is the new branch and every part of the library must be customer focussed. The library is not the building and we are only half the library, the other half is our users - its a partnership. Most users see our systems, not necessarily us. Our websites are our newest branches and need to be staffed and resourced appropriately, providing the same services as the physical library.

Need to be a nimble and agile organisation, have to be innovative and do it quickly because information is changing so quickly. We need to be leading the information industry.

Amazon presents more useful data than our catalogues and they contain a lot more information on each item than our catalogues do. Their largest fields are pathfinders, open reviews, recommendations, disucssion tools, marketing and reviews. They have a finding aid, our catalogues are inventory systems. We need inventory systems, but thats not what we should be putting in front of our users. The new model for libraries needs to be as information collector and enhancer of the website (more relevant to academic than public libraries here).

Libraries need to be part of the conversations going on in our communities. Getting in the grassroots level of creating creating knowledge. Catalogues also need to be 2 ways, allowing comments, tagging, reviews etc. Need to build systems to access any data point. Don’t have a book? Let the user suggest pruchase, ask a question or link to another title. CHANGE INNOVATE PARTICIPATE. Our purpose should be as stewards, facilitators and guides. We need to experiment and if we fail, learn and move on, until we get it right.

Amanda Spinks spoke on Web search trends. She has been gathering search engine data since 99 many search engines, excepting the 3 giants - Google, Yahoo and MSN. However, when one of these released some of their data for research, it only confirmed her findings.

Challenges - search will soon outstrip email as primary use of the internet
- web search is a social issue, how many people know how to search effectively?
- this becomes a productivity issue - wasting work time.

Reminded that no search engine covers the entire web and with differing crawling policies etc, there is only a 3% overlap in results.

How people search - use slightly more terms now than in 99, average of 2.8 now against 1.9 then. Boolean use is still very low - 2.1% in 2006. 56.6% of users spend less than a minute on a search results page, 69% only view the first page. Once they do reach a site from a search, 14% stay for less than 30 seconds. Searching on sex related topics was only 4%, top uses were commerce/travel/employment/economy - 30.4%, people/places/things - 16%, computers/internet - 13%. Biggest increase is in searches for online games.
Advanced features on web sites are poorly used and bad spelling is still a major problem.

Search is still a long way from being perfect, even with easy to use search engines.

Christine MacKenzie gave an overview of Yarra Plenty’s use of the Learning 2.0 program from Charlotte Mecklenburg. It was incorporated as part of their strategic plan to find information, enable learning, create content and celebrate culture. This is what their 2007 training program is based on. The outcomes expected from this is informed, connected, inclusive communities.

Managers need to provide tools for staff to learn. They needed another way to facilitate that - inspired by Stephen Abrams 43 things, it became about learning, not training. YPRL went ahead with this program because libraries are changing - participating, interaction, content creation and social networking are becoming the norm. Technology is not the story, what people are doing with it is. YPRL are moving to RFID in July, staff will be moving out from the desk to be with the users, carrying Tablet PCs.

23 Things was encouraged by Helen Blowers from Charlotte. Motivation was a USB drive and into the draw for a laptop for all those who successfully completed the program. Fun and engaging, for the 90 staff who completed it. Opened them up to opportunities, shows they can be life long learners - they also learned much about themselves.

It is now the start and basis of a module based training system, which will take YPRL on from here. Very inspiring stuff.

Just when I thought my first life was diverse enough, I am now getting a Second Life. Second Life is a virtual world, but its way beyond a game. Many businesses including Reuters, Disney, Sun, Toyota and others have conducted business there, even ALA has office space there.

I got interested because of the creation of Info Island, which is run by the Alliance Library System. They have a virtual library, where anyone can walk in and look at e-books, try out databases, ask questions and much more. With the recent establishment of an Australian Libraries building, things are getting even more intriguing.

For those of you with an avatar in Second Life, watch for me next time you’re there - I’m Alexandria Bourne. Here I am in front of the Australian Libraries Building.

If you are in Second Life, let me know your SL name and I will watch for you too. In the meantime, I have to practice flying and teleporting. Good thing my avatar has a hard head and can breathe underwater!

If you want to know more about Second Life, check out the Wikipedia entry, or visit the Virtual Libraries Interact blog for the view from Australian Librarians.