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Library Blog Basics

I think we can probably agree that libraries are no longer exclusively geographical locations that our users come to: patrons also visit virtually. Many of their tasks at a library’s website are pragmatic — renewing books, checking their records, searching the online catalog and placing holds — but, increasingly, libraries are beginning to think of their online spaces as destinations for patrons; as communities of web denizens. Victoria recently discussed social media planning for libraries. Another way librarians can create community in the library’s virtual space is by designing and sustaining blogs. Last year, my library decided to expand our blog, from a repository of new titles lists and the occasional notice of a change in policy, to a content-rich space for library users to get to know staff, learn more about services, find topical book reviews, read about recent developments, and, yes, also to find the new titles lists…

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Isn't it great to be in the library… wherever that is?

President’s Program: Isn’t it great to be in the library… wherever that is? Sunday June 29th, 2008, 4:00pm – 5:30pm (I apologize in advance for the level of detail here. I wasn’t able to get online and post right away and so I’m working from my handwritten notes – which are difficult to read at times and a bit cryptic at others. So, while I think a few statements are worth providing, I can’t recall the exact context of them. Rather than trying to guess, I’m simply providing them as-is.) Joseph Janes, from the University of Washington and columnist for American Libraries, kicked off this session with a presentation about the evolution of libraries and how we can define what they are, followed by a panel discussion by the It’s All Good blogging team. Joseph Janes presentation: The evolution of libraries isn’t necessarily tied to technology. Instead, it relates to…

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LITA Top Technology Trends

This is going to have to be more of an experiential post than a factual one, I’m afraid… I attended the Top Tech Trends session and it held my attention throughout the whole thing – everything did. From the larger than life images of Karen Coombs and Sarah Houghton-Jan on one screen that flanked the live panel to the scrolling meebo chat room on the other screen, there was a lot to pay attention to! Karen and Sarah have already written up their trends on this very blog, so I see no point in duplicating their efforts – they can say it much better than I can anyway!

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The Open Library: Realizing the Promise and Mitigating the Peril

Cindy Gibbon, Access Services Coordinator of Multnomah County Library (MCL), Oregon, opened the discussion about privacy and intellectual freedom in a web 2.0 world by sharing the results of a study of MCL’s users. Some things MCL users said they want: Notification when requested items are added to the catalog Public comments and recommendations of books read Blogs, podcasts, reference via instant messaging Text message alerts Saved lists of titles checked out or of interest RSS feeds Ability to communicate online with other library patrons She then shared some compelling data from the December 2007 Pew Internet & American Life Project Survey about the ubiquity of mobile communications technologies. The bottom line: MCL patrons want a 2.0 library experience. Some library patrons indicated that it is important to them that their library records remain private, and some did not. Cindy pointed out that it is librarians’ responsibility to protect patrons’…

2008

Top Technology Trends from Sarah Houghton-Jan, ALA 2008

I had a lovely time presenting virtually, despite the sound issues on all ends. It still was a rather successful demonstration of virtual participation, and I think that was wonderful. Big thanks to Maurice York for organizing this for myself and Karen. I have 5 Trends I’d like to throw out there. I was able to cover three of them (#s 1-3) in the live presentation, but apparently the echo in the room made parts of what I said difficult to hear. So, here’s what I said verbatim, near as I can remember (plus the bonuses of #s 4 and 5). Let’s hit it. #1: Bandwidth Every library complains about bandwidth. Many people have faster access at home than at the library, which is a reversal of what we used to see when people came into the library to use our connections. The problem is multimedia, which is wonderful, but…

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Survey from the Task Force on Electronic Membership Participation (TFOEMP)

The ALA Task Force on Electronic Membership Participation (TFOEMP) has been charged with evaluating ALA policy as it relates to members’ ability to engage with and interact with the work of the association through committees and other working groups. A survey of members’ practice and attitudes toward serving on Association committees, task forces, and interests groups at a distance is being undertaken. Through this survey, the TFOEMP hopes to gauge member familiarity, interest, and comfort with various means of participating both synchronously and asynchronously. Please visit this link to respond to the survey. You will be asked to provide your ALA Membership ID. The survey will take 10 minutes and offers both structured and open responses. Member ID numbers will be collected in order to correlate responses in the aggregate to membership participation in divisions, round tables, and committees, as well as by geographic regions and type of library or…

BIGWIG

Your BIGWIG

The LITA Blogs, Interactive Groupware and Wikis Interest Group (otherwise known by the sobriquet BIGWIG) is pleased to announce a new online presence for the group: www.yourbigwig.com What is YourBIGWIG? Straight from the site itself: BIGWIG has created this website in order to facilitate communication between BIGWIG members, potential members and interested parties. We hope to use this site to enable BIGWIG to be more efficient and effective in the work we do, allow for virtual participation, and solicit feedback and commentary on our activities. So: head on over and check us out. Sign up for an account, and make yourself part of the process of making LITA a more efficient, effective, and forward-thinking division of ALA.

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LITABlog upgrade update

As an effort towards transparency, here’s the latest on the LITABlog updates: we’re done! 🙂 Over the course of the last few hours, I just finished the last touches on the backend upgrades to LITABlog. These included: ensuring we are at the latest WordPress release (currently 2.3.3), making sure that all of our plugins are current and functional, moving from an older tagging plugin to the native WordPress tag support, upgrading our Podcasting abilities, making sure all of the existing media is still in place and functional, and generally cleaning under the hood. Result: a shiny, up-to-date LITABlog! Thanks for everyone’s patience. There will still likely be small changes as we implement a few things (tags, mainly) but overall LITABlog is back to business.