Ridiculously Digitally Ubiquitous

Twitter RSS Feed Cheat Sheet (Redux)

2012-01-25T14:37:00.000-05:00

Some notes on constructing searches that I've learned the hard way, but you don't have to:

Find a handy url-encoding cheat-sheet, like this one: http://www.blooberry.com/indexdot/html/topics/urlencoding.htm. You will have to replace special characters (@, #, :, etc.) with their url-encoded version.

+ and %20 (a url-encoded space) seem to be interchangeable when constructing complex search queries. If one doesn't work in between each search parameter, try the other. (Replace the "+" with OR for searches that return any of the keywords/search parameters, as opposed to all the keywords/search parameters.)

To see how Twitter itself is constructing a query, do the search in their advanced search (https://twitter.com/#!/search-advanced), then follow this formula to construct your feed:

Take the url that is produced from your search and replace the first part (https://twitter.com/#!/search/) with the rss version (http://search.twitter.com/search.atom?q=).

You will go from this: https://twitter.com/#!/search/librarian%20tattoo
to this:
http://search.twitter.com/search.atom?q= librarian%20tattoo

You can probably replace the ".atom" with ".rss" if you prefer. (As pointed out by @calimae.)

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Here are some pre-constructed feeds, where you just replace the bold info with the info you want to use:

Hashtag search: http://search.twitter.com/search.atom?q=%23library

User mention search: http://search.twitter.com/search.atom?q=%40val_forrestal

Specific user's entire timeline: http://search.twitter.com/search.atom?q=from%3Aval_forrestal

Keyword search: http://search.twitter.com/search.atom?q=research+paper

Location + keyword search: http://search.twitter.com/search.atom?geocode=40.744544%2C-74.027593%2C5.0mi&q=+research+paper+near%3A%22hoboken%2C+nj%22+within%3A5mi

User mention + hashtag: http://search.twitter.com/search.atom?q=%40val_forrestal+%23library

User + hashtag: http://search.twitter.com/search.atom?q=from%3Aval_forrestal+%23library

Hashtag + date: http://search.twitter.com/search.atom?q=%23library%20since%3A2012-01-24%20until%3A2012-01-25

*For the original version of this post, with more details, see: http://theinfobabe.blogspot.com/2011/06/twitter-rss-feed-creation-cheat-sheet.html

Getting our foot in the door to Moodle(Rooms)

2011-09-02T17:50:00.000-04:00

My awesome co-worker and frequent co-conspirator Barbara Arnett has whipped up a little library resource search box that can be added to courses in our course management software (we just switched to Moodle.) We're currently working on convincing them to add it to the school's course shell template, so it will appear by default in every single course (where each prof will have the option to remove it, if they so desire.)

We're running into some trouble because we're using MoodleRooms to host the CMS, and apparently they charge extra for this sort of thing, but I have to imagine that this would really be useful for students. In the past, the course shells included a link to the library's homepage, with no explanation of how to use the site once they got there. We never really analyzed click-throughs from Blackboard (our old CMS), but the link was fairly buried (as opposed to having the search box prominently located on the side of every screen, as would be the case in Moodle.)

Is anyone else working on something like this? Did you have any trouble getting your school to add it to the template? Do you think it will increase online resource usage?

SCREENSHOTS (click to embiggen):


library link in Blackboard, located only under "Course Content"

library search box in Moodle, located in right-hand column of every page

Marketing with donated books

2011-08-04T16:21:00.007-04:00

So I had this fun little idea the other day. I tend to stick to reading "classics", because I'm book-snobby like that, but every once in awhile I get talked into reading this-or-that best-seller. Because I hate throwing books away, and anyone who works in libraries knows that donations are not always looked so kindly upon by poor, over-worked, underpaid cataloging and acquisitions librarians, I have a collection of popular reading that I don't really want. Now, I do marketing and outreach for an academic library, but if I was at a public library, I think this would make a fun little promotion:

Hand-write a little note in the front of the book saying something to the effect of: "Enjoy this free book, courtesy of *** Public Library! When you're done reading it, please leave it someplace for someone else to read and enjoy!" Get stickers or stamps made with your website/facebook/twitter/blog on them, and put that under the note. In the back of the book, make a space for people to sign/date/leave a note. Leave the book on a bench outside the library (or even in a public park.)

You can then create a blog, where there's a post for each book, with a little book review. Invite users to post comments about the book, and where they found it/left it. Perhaps even have the sticker/stamp you put in the book say: "Read reviews and track this book's journey here!", with a link to the blog.

If you're worried about your constituents being mad that you're "just giving books away! with taxpayer money!" You can head the blog with a post detailing the program, and explaining it only uses *donated* books.

I don't know if the program would get any traction, but if you've got donated books (or your own unwanted books) laying around, it would be pretty easy to give it a try...

Twitter RSS feed creation cheat sheet

2011-06-02T15:15:00.004-04:00

Ok, so apparently Twitter is no longer supporting RSS?
I tried doing an advanced search, and, sure enough, the "Feed for this query" button was gone. Then, when I mentioned it on Twitter, @shelitwits said it was still there for her, and when I checked again, it was back...
So... Yes, perhaps I'm going crazy and I just imagined it went away, but now I'm nervous. For now, search feeds are still working for me, whether the button is there or not, so I created a quick cheat sheet for myself, should I need to create a feed from a Twitter search without the handy button. I figured I'd post it here, for my own, and your, handy reference, should you need it. (Obviously, replace the bold text in the search strings with your own search terms/parameters.)

Hashtag search: http://search.twitter.com/search.atom?q=%23CiL2009

User mention search: http://search.twitter.com/search.atom?q=%40scwLibrary

Keyword search: http://search.twitter.com/search.atom?q=research+paper (replace the "+" with OR for searches that return any of the keywords, as opposed to all the keywords.)

Location + keyword search: http://search.twitter.com/search.atom?geocode=40.744544%2C-74.027593%2C5.0mi&q=+research+paper+near%3A%22hoboken%2C+nj%22+within%3A5mi

You can get the location code from location-tagged tweets in your search results, or from your profile page if you've enabled location-aware tagging on Twitter. You can also change the proximity parameter, set here to pick up tweets within 5 miles.

Also, I know it's redundant having the location & proximity twice, but this is how the feed generator creates the feed. I tried adding it to Google reader with only one or the other, and for me it worked with just the location code part intact, but did not work when I tried it just using the city and state part (which would have made life easier, since you could just plug that info in without having to look up a complicated location code, but hey, that figures, right?!)

Now, I realize that if Twitter completely stops supporting RSS, these feeds will probably no longer work, so let's just hope they don't do that. I tried using an RSS feed creator to make a feed out of the search results page (as recommended by @bibrarian,) but it didn't want to work for me (it said the page couldn't be found...)

I really hope Twitter rescinds its no-RSS stance, because I can't imagine administrating an institutional page without it. If I can't regularly monitor certain searches, that really cuts down on Twitter's usefulness as an outreach tool.

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UPDATE: Cynthia at LearningLibTech posted some additional details on creating an RSS feed from a specific user's timeline. Check it out here: http://cynng.wordpress.com/2011/07/05/twitter-search-rss-feed/ (and thanks to Desirae for sharing the link!)

UPDATE2: Thanks to ProfHacker for also linking to this post. I also hope my linking to posts that link to this post doesn't trigger infinite recursion and break the internet.

UPDATE3: the Sociable has created a feed generator for Twitter lists: http://sociable.co/2011/05/05/as-twitter-protects-its-ecosystem-heres-how-to-create-an-rss-feed-of-a-twitter-list/ (Thanks to Paul for sharing the link in the comments!)

UPDATE4: In response to a request by Twitter user @filip_struharik, I figured out how to combine user mention and user searches with hashtag searches. They work as follows:

User mention + hashtag: http://search.twitter.com/search.atom?q=%40val_forrestal+%23library
User + hashtag: http://search.twitter.com/search.atom?q=from%3Aval_forrestal+%23library

The difference between the two is that the first feed returns all results where the user @val_forrestal *and* the hashtag library appear. The second returns only results where the user @val_forrestal *uses* the hashtag library in one of her tweets (aka only tweets with the keyword "library" from that specific user's timeline.)

UPDATE5: Here's how to do searches that are restricted to a date or set of dates (or just since or up to a certain date).

http://search.twitter.com/search.atom?q=%23KEYWORD%20since%3A2012-01-24%20until%3A2012-01-25

...where KEYWORD = your hashtag, and the since/until are your start/end dates. You can leave out the "%23" before KEYWORD if you want it to be a simple keyword search, instead of a hashtag search.

Search Bookmarklet Code Files

2011-04-29T14:50:00.004-04:00

In case you've been meaning to play around with creating your own library search bookmarklet, but needed a little "push", I've created a compressed folder of all the code files you'll need to do it, along with a ReadMe.txt with the directions. I tried to make it as simple as possible, so let me know if you try and it it works!

oneSearch bookmarklet @ LibTech 2011

2011-03-14T17:03:00.025-04:00

On March 17th (this Thursday,) I'll be presenting at the Library Technology Conference on the oneSearch bookmarklet tool created by Barbara Arnett and I.

Barbara won't be able to make it out to Minnesota (she'll be presenting the bookmarklet to the NJLA 2011 Technology Innovation Award committee,) but because we want to be as practical as possible in our presentations, she put together a quick reference for the three parts of the bookmarklet (you don't actually need the third piece, it just creates a nice button for users to drag and drop into their browser, as opposed to a simple link.)

Below is the code you'd need to get started working on your own browser-based search bookmarklet:

(1)HTML, (2)Javascript & (3)CSS:

1 - HTML to display bookmarlet on your webpage:

(edit this line: {document.body.appendChild(document.createElement('script')).src='http://www.stevens.edu/library/js/search.js';}
so that the red text links to the JavaScript file you place on your server)

2 - Javascript to sit on your server (sits in search.js, referenced in bookmarklet HTML)

(edit this line: _gaq.push(['_setAccount', 'UA-XXXXXXX-1']);
so that the red text reflects your own Google Analytics account number (you can also find this complete code within GA, in actions->edit->check status,)
and this line: var searchString='http://ezproxy.stevens.edu/form?qurl=http://XXXXXXXX.cs....&field=title&term='+(Ti);
so that the red text reflects your own search URL, which you can get from your catalog, database or federated search vendor)

(Note: if you don't want to use Google Analytics, just remove all the code before the line: var Ti=document.title.replace('- Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia','');)

3 - CSS needed for the button:

(You can do this as inline CSS or a separate stylesheet. Just replace the background image with your own image file.)

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***OR, if you'd rather just download all the files, edit them, and place move them to the appropriate locations on your server, you can download the file packet (with instructions in a ReadMe.txt file.)***
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Presentation slides:

Bridging the gap from Wikipedia to scholarly sources: a simple discovery solution

One note: when we developed the bookmarklet, we were beta-testing Ebsco Discovery Service. We have since switched to Serial Solutions' Summon, but while that's being configured, the bookmarklet used our integrated search (also a Serial Solutions product.)

On the down-side, this has caused some inconsistency in our screenshots (the slides feature EDS screenshots, since we don't have full access to Summon yet.) However, this does emphasize the importance of having the full code reside on your server, as we've been able to make the required adjustments to the code without users having to re-install the tool.

QR Codes: an Overview

2010-10-11T14:37:00.007-04:00

Since QR codes seem to be one of the hot new technologies in the library and museum world, I decided to do a little research on them (I am a librarian after all!) Here's a brief introduction into the world of 2D code technology:

QR (quick response) codes are two-dimensional images used to represent data, similar to a barcode. They were originally developed by Japanese auto parts manufacturer Denso-Wave in 1994, for tracking parts. Denso-Wave still owns the patent on the technology (which has its own published ISO standard) but allows for their license-free use.

QR codes are an improvement over barcodes mostly because of the amount of data they can encode. While barcodes can only hold 20 digits worth of data, QR codes can hold up to 7000 digits and 4300 alpha-numeric characters and can be as small as 2 centimeters square (although the more data encoded, the larger the resulting image will be).

Originally QR codes required dedicated scanners to read them, but the advent of smart phones with built-in cameras have recently brought the technology into much greater usage. Currently, they are commonly used to link print and broadcast media to online content (usually by encoding a URL), but can also be used to share simple text data such as a phone number or text-only message, or more complex information like a command that can play a song automatically if you have it on your computer, or bring you to a site that prompts you to purchase the song if you do not already own it.

Similar technologies to QR codes include open source Data Matrix codes, used by the U.S. Department of Defense, and the proprietary Microsoft Tag (which features color codes that can store more than the other, black-and-white ones.)

Although non-Asian countries have been slow in adopting QR code technology (Pepsi launched what is now acknowledged as the first large-scale QR code marketing campaign in 2008), it has recently gone mainstream, with companies such as HBO and Fox launching QR campaigns. The museum and library world have also found use for the technology, linking their physical collections with their expanding online offerings.

Also helping to launch the tech into the mainstream was Google’s recent launch of a URL shortening service which also provides users a simple way to create QR codes from any URL.

References
“UKOLN | Briefing Documents | An Introduction to QR Codes.” (http://www.ukoln.ac.uk/cultural-heritage/documents/briefing-61/html/)

ISO - International Organization for Standardization, and ISO. "ISO/IEC 18004:2006." 01 Sept. 2006. (http://www.iso.org/iso/iso_catalogue/catalogue_tc/catalogue_detail.htm?csnumber=43655)

Lardinois, Frederic. “Microsoft Tag: The CueCat Returns on Your Mobile Phone.” ReadWriteWeb 8 Jan. 2009. (http://www.readwriteweb.com/archives/microsoft_tag_the_return_of_the_cuecat.php)

Milliot, Jim. "QR Codes Tie Print, Online Marketing." Publishers Weekly 256.38 (2009): 4. (http://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/childrens/childrens-book-news/article/71-qr-codes-tie-print-online-marketing-.html)

Nguyen, Maria. "What you need to know about QR codes." Sydney Morning Herald, The 05 July 2008: 2. (http://www.drive.com.au/Editorial/ArticleDetail.aspx?ArticleId=56159)

Perez, Sarah. “The Scannable World, Part 3: Barcode Scanning In The Real World.” ReadWriteWeb 26 Sept. 2008. (http://www.readwriteweb.com/archives/the_scannable_world_barcodes_scanning_in_the_real_world.php)

Perez, Sarah. “iCandy: Make QR Codes That Play Music.” ReadWriteWeb 16 Jan. 2009. (http://www.readwriteweb.com/archives/icandy_make_qr_codes_that_play_music.php)

Siegler, MG. “Goo.gl’s Awesome Easter Egg To Instantly Turn Any Link Into A QR Code.” TechCrunch 30 Sept. 2010. (http://techcrunch.com/2010/09/30/googl-easter-egg/)

Bridging the gap from Wikipedia to scholarly sources: a simple library bookmarklet

2010-10-05T16:18:00.006-04:00

So I know I have been alluding to a fancy-shmancy "project" for awhile now, and it's finally at a point that I can show it off! Barbara Arnett and I (mostly Barbara, but I set the project in motion, so that counts for something I guess) have created a javascript bookmarklet that can be used in any browser to execute a search in Ebsco Discovery Service from any web page.

The impetus for this project was a tendency for novice researchers to rely on internet sources that may not be up to the standards required by their professors for college-level research (read: Google & Wikipedia). Unfortunately, those users were not only beginning, but ending their search with those websites, without ever trying the library’s subscription databases, or even making it to the library’s website.

Stevens is currently undergoing a trial of Ebsco Discovery Service (EDS), a federated search tool which includes the library catalog data. To make it easier for students to search the library resources, we decided to create a bookmarket that eliminates the step of having to go to the library website first before searching library resources.

The bookmarket provides an important bridge between common search behaviors (especially among undergraduates), and the "deep web" content located in library-funded, proprietary databases, thus easing their transition into scholarly research. You just drag-and-drop it into any browser, after which a search can then be initiated from any webpage the user visits. When the bookmarklet is clicked, the search terms default to the title of the page (so it works especially well with Wikipedia articles), and a prompt is displayed that allows the user to edit the terms, if so desired. When they press the OK button, the search is automatically executed in the Discovery tool and the results are displayed in a new browser window.

The bookmarklet is written in simple Javascript code, which resides on the library’s server, so it can be edited or updated without the user having to reinstall it. It works on all major browsers, and can also be edited to work with various search tools, such as specific databases, library catalogs or competing federated search tools (such as Serial Solutions’ Summon.)

A short demo:

Barbara and I will be participating in a webinar for the Metro New York Library Council in December, demonstrating various tech tools for libraries. See here for details: http://bit.ly/aYud4Q

11/19/10 - NOTE:

Ken Varnum at the University of Michigan has used our code to create an ArticlesPlus bookmarklet for their users. To make it easier for other developers to adapt our code for their projects, here it is, in its entirety. You'll have to edit it to use whatever search tool you want it to run, and change it to link to your own Google Analytics account (or just take that part out if you're not using GA), and we ask that you keep the attribution statement in there.

Thanks!

~val

Google Instant: an early review (with references!)

2010-09-13T17:29:00.006-04:00

In the spirit of full disclosure, I had to write a journal entry for my Engineering of Enterprise Software Systems class, and I figured, hey, I wrote the damn thing, why not post it as a blog entry, since it's about search(-ing), and thus relevant to libraries? And yes, leave it to a librarian to have 8 reference for a page-and-a-half long paper.

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This week, Google (NASDAQ:GOOG) announced “Google Instant”, featuring predictive, real-time search results, meaning you can see your search results update according to each character you type in the search box, as you type it. The company claims this speeds up searches by an average of 2 to 5 seconds per query.

Based on what I understand about databases and search technology, this would require a database call for each character typed, which, given the millions of people using Google’s search at any given moment (they recently reached 1 billion users a week, according to USA Today), would place a huge load on their servers/system.

Google’s new real-time search functionality uses AJAX (Asynchronous JavaScript and XML). This technology (or really, groups of technologies, including JavaScript, XML or JSON, XHTML, among others) allows web applications to run independently of a web page, so data can be retrieved from the server while the rest of the page loads (asynchronously). In other words, it allows different portions of a page to load/update separately, or asynchronously.

Apparently, the underlying technology is so simple, users have begun creating imitation real-time search applications for popular sites such as YouTube and Twitter (15-year-old web developer Stephen Ou built “iTunes Instant” in just three hours.)

Although it’s still pretty new, users have begun weighing in on Google Instant. Reactions range from love to hate, as is usual with any new technology. In an opinion piece in The Guardian, Charlie Brooker laments:

I'm starting to feel like an unwitting test subject in a global experiment conducted by Google, in which it attempts to discover how much raw information it can inject directly into my hippocampus before I crumple to the floor and start fitting uncontrollably.

In general though, people seem to like the speed, but are unsure if a faster search was really necessary, especially at the cost of some well-liked features that Google has dropped with this launch, including the search box that used to be located at the bottom of any page of search results, and the retention and auto-suggest feature for recently-completed searches.

Although some people may be underwhelmed by this new search feature, they are voicing concerns about some aspects of it.

The company is apparently filtering search results, and not returning items from queries that are deemed “offensive”. This not only brings up censoring issues, but can have unintended consequences, like in the case of Irina Slutsky, a reporter for Advertising Age, who complained that results related to her were being blocked because of the first four letters of her last name.

There is also concern over how Google is choosing results, and the affect that this, along with quickly appearing (and disappearing) will have on sponsored search results and ads. IBM’s Todd Watson was quoted as saying:

Let me explain: go to www.google.com and just type in the letter "A." What comes up first in the listing? "Amazon." Followed by "AOL." Followed by "ATT." I skipped on over to "I," thinking that IBM might come up first. But no, it was "IKEA." ... what in the world is IKEA doing coming up when I search for the letter "I"??

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References:

Brooker, Charlie. 2010. “Google Instant is trying to kill me”. The Guardian. September 13. http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2010/sep/13/charlie-brooker-google-instant. (accessed September 13, 2010).
Hachman, Mark. 2010 “Google Launches Google Instant: Predictive, Real-Time Search.” PCMag.com. http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2368861,00.asp. (accessed September 13, 2010).
Holdener, Anthony T. 2008. "Ajax: the definitive guide." STEVENS INST OF TECHNOLOGY's Catalog, EBSCOhost (accessed September 13, 2010).
Jefferson, Graham. 2010. "Google starts searching before you finish typing; New Instant tool could change business strategy." USA TODAY (Arlington, VA), September 08. NewsBank, EBSCOhost (accessed September 13, 2010).
Jeffries, Adrianne. 2010. “Google Instant Search Inspires Mashups Across the Web.” ReadWriteWeb. September 12. http://www.readwriteweb.com/archives/google_instant_search_inspires_mashups_across_the.php. (accessed September 13, 2010).
Jennings, Richi. 2010. “Google Instant results: reaction roundup.” Computerworld. September 10. http://blogs.computerworld.com/16922/google_instant_results_reaction_roundup?source=t3. (accessed September 13, 2010).
Metz, Cade. 2010. “Google Instant 'invented by Yahoo! in 2005'”. The Register. September 10. http://www.theregister.co.uk/2010/09/10/google_instant_v_yahoo_live_search/. (accessed September 13, 2010).
Paul, Ian. 2010. “Google Instant: Criticisms and Controversies”. PCWorld. September 10. http://www.pcworld.com/article/205241/google_instant_criticisms_and_controversies.html?tk=hp_new. (accessed September 13, 2010).

This is an important post.

2010-08-03T11:37:00.013-04:00

art by Know Hope

A girl that I graduated high school with killed herself this weekend. She was not a friend, just a distant acquaintance, but the event resonated very deeply in me. It's no secret to people who are close to me that I've gone through some very dark times in my past. I have a history of depression, and it runs pretty deep in my family (my uncle committed suicide when I was about 9, and I have a whole slew of close relatives with various addictions, probably at least partially due to depression.)

Currently, I am doing great. I have learned that depression is an illness, and not to be ashamed of it. I've learned that by being open about it helps me cope, and whenever I feel the symptoms descend on me, I seek treatment. This means that about ever two years or so, I need to go on antidepressants, for about 8-12 months, until the symptoms run their course. Currently I take Lexapro, but I've been on Anafranil, Effexor, Paxil, Prozac & Wellbutrin in the past.

Why am I telling you all this? Because I know, from experience, that depression is a lonely disease. Everyone's symptoms are a little different, and when you go through them, you think no one quite understands. If you or someone you know is dealing with depression, I'm putting myself out there. Get in touch with me. I will freely share my phone number, and I will gladly talk about it with you or them (even if you just want to ask about side affects of meds.)

More importantly though, I want to share a story. When I was in the trenches of the worst of my dark days, I had a friend (he knows who he is) who made a deal with me. He said, if I ever was thinking of doing anything stupid, or drastic, to call him - anytime, day or night. He told me he wouldn't judge (and this is important: he really didn't judge. Not even a little bit;) and he wouldn't try to talk me out of anything. We didn't even have to talk about what was bothering me. He just made me promise to call. Afterwards, when I got off the phone with him, I was free to do whatever I wanted. He wouldn't yell, or call me names, or get angry.

I'm sure I'm not exaggerating when I say that that deal saved my life. Not on any specific, dramatic occasion (that I can remember anyway). But self-injury is a moment. Just one, sad, stupid, desperate, hopeless moment, and any one of them that I experienced could have led to something drastic. Sometimes (most of the time, I think) if you can just get a person past that moment(s), just distract them through it, you can save their life.

I'm urging you: please, if you know someone that you've worried about in the past, for any reason, make this deal with them. Make it absolutely clear that you won't judge them. Make it clear that you won't try to talk them out of it. That it's their life, and they are free to do what they want with it. Just ask them to give you one minute; one phone call before they hurt themselves in any way (for me it was cutting, just like an after-school special starring Tori Spelling or Kurt Cameron.) Make them promise.

*A caveat: suicide is a decision made by one person. It's not anyone else's fault, and you cannot take on the weight of saving another person. You can maybe talk them through a bad situation or two, but you can't be there 24/7; you can't be inside their head. I don't want anyone to ever think they are to blame for not saving someone's life if they decide to commit suicide. That's their decision in the end and you can only do your best for them.

Viewing e-books on an iPad

2010-06-11T16:16:00.005-04:00

This month, my library purchased an iPad for the staff to try out. We were contemplating initiating an iPad lending program for students, and wanted to play around with one ourselves before committing to such a large purchase. A large part of the discussion about whether or not to invest in the program was if the device would work well as an e-reader for the electronic books in our collection.

With this in mind, the Web Services Librarian, Barbara Arnett, and I decided to make a little video demonstrating how various e-books in our collection display on the iPad. (This was also inspired by conversations with iPad owners on Twitter and Facebook, who did not seem to quite believe me that PDF files did not always display well within a browser.)

The following is the video we made. It's not fancy, and by no means comprehensive, but was just the best way we could find to truly convey an actual user experience with the device. Neither of us had ever used an iPad before this one, however Barbara had taken it home for the weekend, so she had a (very) little experience with it, and I have had an iPhone for over a year now, so I am familiar with Apple's touchscreen techniques.

Our findings: For most of the e-book databases, the books displayed fairly well, but the PDFs lost most, if not all, of their functionality. As far as we could tell, you could not search within them, jump to different sections or download them. For the Knovel and ProQuest databases, the PDFs did not work at all (they just opened the first page of the document, and you not view the rest of it...)

We found that you could get around this problem by going onto a regular computer or laptop, accessing the PDF through the database there, then downloading it and adding it to the Bookman app in iTunes. You then need to sync your iPad to iTunes on the computer, and you can access the full PDF through the iPad's Bookman app. This is a somewhat cumbersome process, especially since most of our e-book databases break the book into sections, so you would have to download multiple PDFs for each book (up to 20 or 30 for an entire book.)

The iPad's native e-reader app, iBooks, has a very nice display, but I'm not sure how practical it would be to build an academic e-book collection in a propriety, device-locked format...

So there you have it. I know that there's no love lost between Apple and Adobe, but it would seem to me that if you work at an academic library that licenses most of its electronic content through databases, where that content is available mainly as PDF files, Apple is going to have to work on a better browser-based PDF reader, or it pretty much kills it's usefulness for us. (Or, on the other hand, perhaps publishers will need to change how the make e-content available...)

Either way, we will not be making any large iPad purchases at this time...

A rant on institutional Facebook pages...

2010-03-02T17:57:00.005-05:00

Something just set me off. It's not that rare that that happens, but it is rare that it annoys me enough to post here (not that I've abandoned this blog, I just use it mainly as a place to occasionally weigh in on topics of interest to me, not a regular publication.)

There is a hullabaloo going on at MPOW. The school has hired a firm to redesign our school logo, and put up a Facebook poll to allow students, faculty and staff to vote on the designs. I'm not going to put the pics up here, because this post is not about the redesign, the vote, or the wisdom of paying for a design firm to come in and do something you could have had your students do for next to nothing while simultaneously freezing/cutting the budget of almost every other department on campus. ::ahem:: Nope, not about that.

What it's about is this comment from the institution, posted on their Facebook wall, in response to the widely negative comments and criticism from users:

"We’re pleased to receive so much feedback – that’s why we’ve engaged you in this process. But this is a serious process, and an important institutional initiative. Please engage in your feedback in a constructive and professional manner."

This entire logo campaign is being run on Facebook. The poll is only available there (it's also flash-based and requires you to authorize an app to vote, but let's leave that alone for now...) I feel like we, as an institution, are coming into a place originally built for students, asking for their attention, asking for their patronage, asking to be allowed into their online space, and then telling them how they should interact with us there. That's not fair, imho.

If we, as institutions and companies, want to go out and "be where the users are", we have to accept that we can't always define the rules of interaction there. One of the first things I learned about online communities is that they all have their own (though often unspoken) codes of conduct. You don't get to communicate with people in what is generally an informal space, and then ask them to be formal. If you want to reach them there, you have to accept that there may be unfortunate consequences. People may be immature and unproductive. (Seriously, if you post a video on YouTube, people will say stupid and immature things about it eventually. Get over it. If you don't want to deal with that, don't use these platforms.)

Ok, I'm done ranting. For now.

Rumors of our death have been greatly exaggerated -or- Librarian shushes self

2009-09-08T14:21:00.006-04:00

Just back from my lovely three day weekend, and I have to see this in my feeds? Really people? Here I am, sitting at my desk, just trying to do my job, and the internet is already on my back. Well, maybe not my back per se, but our backs, we humble librarians (or information scientists, or information professionals, or... whatever.) Outside of lawyers, whose salaries I consider balm for the irritation their mockery might cause them, are there any professions so abused as librarians? Ok, that's whiny, and probably not true, but still, I am very, very, very tired of justifying the existence of my profession. We still exist, so, society, there's your proof. And as long as my job is here for me, in the "real world" or the digital one (you have to read the article to get that one) I'm done justifying it. Seriously. Because we can't win. People say books are obsolete, so we learn all about new technology, and try make ourselves useful in that way. Then they say we should focus on books. But libraries are getting rid of books, oh no! Then we rally against librarian stereotypes, and there's backlash for that too (check out the comments if you want to know how people really see us, it will warm the cockles of your "plump, white [and] humorless" heart.)

So you know what? I give up. I'm just trying to do my job here people. I look for ways I can be useful to my community, and then try to go in that direction. I have tattoos, not to buck a stereotype, but because I want them. In fact, I got one in college, before I even thought of becoming a librarian, so there! I'm not so sure about this whole 'any press is good press' idea anymore, and I'm wondering if we should all just shut the frak up. Seriously. Stop giving interviews, stop writing fluff articles for the general press. Because no matter what we say, they're gonna pick on us. We can't win this one with words. You know how we can win? By just continuing to be useful. By assessing our communities and being what they need us to be, not what the press wants us to be. I know there are times when we need the press, like to rally support for libraries in need, but otherwise let's just lay low and be helpful. After all, we're not the only industry struggling with obsolescence, right? Maybe they're just trying to create a diversion...

(Oh, and as the assertion in the original article that all the content in paid databases will be available for free in a few years, I snickered at that. Better not tell Elsevier!)

Libraries kick ass

2009-08-31T10:59:00.011-04:00

Do you love your library? No? What are you, a communist?! Oh wait, libraries are kinda socialistic in nature, so don't answer that question. Still, whether or not you're a communist (I'm not judging), libraries are very cool. They have books, and computers, and helpful people, and those are all nice things, no?

And exactly where is this going, you ask? Well, way back in the beginning of August, Louisville, Kentucky got a lot of rain, (like a ridiculous amount of rain) and their main library was flooded. And when I say flooded, I don't mean a few inches, I mean this:

(Picture from www.louisvilleky.gov, click to enlarge.)

So that sucks, right? And just to ensure the maximum amount of suckage, they were storing $50,000 worth of brand new computers there for a branch that hadn't opened yet.

So, because this whole thing sucks a lot, and because libraries are awesome, you must make a decision. Are you on the side of suckiness, or the side of awesome? Because if you are on the side of awesome, you should make a small (or large, that would be ultra-awesome) donation to the Library Society of the World's Louisville Free Public Library fundraiser, which at the very least will bring a smile to the faces of the poor people who work there and are dealing with this big ol' suck-fest on a daily basis. This is only a small contribution, but when you're in a bad situation, kindness (and especially the kindness of strangers) can make a huge difference in giving you the strength to push on and persevere.

For more information about the drive, and the person who started it (librarian Steve Lawson): check out this blog post, although it refers to the blogathon that this post is part of, so I hope I'm not getting you caught in some sort of recursive loop. My sincerest apologies if that occurs.

If you'd rather just send money directly to the LFPL Foundation (www.lfplfoundation.org/), here's the info:

The Library Foundation
Attn: Flood
301 York St.
Louisville, KY 40203
(502) 574-1709

PS- Thanks to Steve Lawson and Andy Woodworth for organizing this effort, you both are obviously on the side of awesome. For more info on the LFPL blogathon: http://lfplblogathon.pbworks.com.

Twitter for Libraries preso follow-up

2009-07-31T13:52:00.006-04:00

Ok, I haven't listened to the recording yet (and am dreading it), but I have to say that presenting strictly in an online format at yesterday's Handheld Librarian conference definitely threw me off a little, so I'm sorry if I sounded super nervous (it always makes me uncomfortable when a presenter sounds nervous.) Anyway, I underestimated how much I rely on reading people's expressions to direct my talks (bored, confused, nodding in agreement...), and the radio silence (and relative chat silence) kind of left me flailing a bit. Because of that, I feel like there were some questions/issues I didn't fully address, so I just wanted to do a follow-up post to clarify and expand on some of those issues.

First of all, in case you missed it (it's ok if you were in Joe Murphy's SMS talk, he's teh awsum), here are the slides: http://www.slideshare.net/val_forrestal/twitter-for-libraries-handheld-librarian-709

One of the biggest concerns people had was: What should libraries be tweeting about? I tried to express that that really depends on your audience, and you have to cater to what you think they will find interesting/helpful/informative, but I understand that getting started can seem a little overwhelming, so here are some good posts that talk about how precisely libraries can use Twitter:

Those pretty much cover the spectrum of what tweet from our library account (@scwLibrary). After the conference I was kicking myself for not just going to our page so I could show everyone what we tweet about (and that page is less controversial than my own Twitter feed, which I felt really guilty about showing everyone because of privacy issues for the people I follow - because some of their feeds are private/protected, and so I had to just show it super fast and then leave the page, which was probably dizzying for everyone, kind of like this sentence.)

Another thing that came up was finding the "correct" hashtag for a topic or event. I still maintain that the best way to do this is to a.) try searching some possible hashtags by guessing and seeing which is the most popular; or b.) just ask the twittersphere (ex. "hey does anyone know the official hashtag for the Handheld Librarian conference today?"). Your followers or people searching for the same event/topic by name will usually let you know the answer. However, there are places where you can "register" a hashtag, and it's possible that people do use these as hashtag directories, even if they are not widely adopted right now, so I'll mention a few:

(For some really good info on the history and usefulness of hashtags, see here.)

Speaking of hashtags, another thing I completely forgot to mention: there's a fairly new hashtag going around for recommending librarians to follow. This is an off-shoot of a popular trend called "follow friday", where people recommend their favorite people to follow every Friday. Anyway, if you're looking for librarians to follow to get you started, do a Twitter search for #followalibrarian (or just click on the handy link I made for you there, heh...)

Someone also asked for examples of how people are using Twitter in educational/classroom settings. I think this post has some great advice/links for how instructors can use the medium: http://www.bestcollegesonline.com/blog/2009/07/21/100-serious-twitter-tips-for-academics/

You can also follow KSU professor Michael Wesch's blog, Digital Ethnography (he often experiments with using social media in his classes), or @itsanno on Twitter (she mentioned recently that she will be using Twitter with the students in one of her upcoming classes.)

Ok, so this is a long post, so I'll wrap it up now. I think at some point I will do a follow-up to this follow-up, with some tips for more advanced users. With 200 people in a presentation, it's really hard to know how much time to spend on the basics (as I'm sure there were some beginners there) and the advanced tips (for you "power users"). Some future topics I'd like to cover:

Twitter integration w/blogs, Facebook, websites, etc.
Mashups (using social media aggregation sites like FriendFeed or Netvibes)
Twitter mobile apps (which I really wish I had covered, seeing as this was a conference about mobile technology!)
Twitter for reference

Is there anything I missed? Any lingering questions/comments/doubts? Let me know here in the comments, or on Twitter (@val_forrestal).

I don't want to be a reference and research services librarian anymore!

2009-07-23T14:41:00.005-04:00

Well, I think I've done it. Given ridiculous restrictions on what words I could use in my new job title (web and digital are out, because we already have a 'web services librarian' and plan on hiring a 'digital initiatives librarian'), I think I've finally come up with a title that works. The thing is, I feel this new title actually helps me out in terms of focusing on what I really do here, what I am good at, and what I can bring my workplace that is unique and necessary. Ok, so here goes:

Communications and New Media Strategies Librarian.

There you have it. Wordy, sure, but aren't most library-related titles? I'd actually love it to be 'Communications and Digital Strategies', but as I mentioned before, I can't use the word digital so that it can be used in a title for a job that doesn't actually exist yet. But don't get me started on that, this is a positive post, dammit!

Aaaaanyway... The reason I'm mentioning this here at all (especially since I haven't actually pitched this to my boss yet, though she knows I want a new title, and is open to it) is that it really helped me rethink exactly what it is I do here. I feel like I play with technology all day, trying out new tools (read: web 2.0 crap) and sometimes I feel like it's not important or appreciated at all. But that's not really what it's all about... Technology is just a medium, not a message. Sure, I'm good at researching and using new media, and that's necessary for what I do, but the most important part is the message.

The message is that the library is not dying; that it's a vibrant and useful place, full of helpful people and services. So that's my job, that's what I love doing, and what I am good at: evangelizing on behalf of the library. Getting the word out to everyone in our community, however possible, about all the great things we can do for them, and that they can do with us. The technology just helps me do that, because you need to get your message out wherever you can, to reach people wherever they may be.

The funny part of this whole thing is that I feel like I've come full circle career-wise. I was a mass communications/advertising major as an undergrad, and got my first masters in media production, and those are areas that are intimately linked to what I do now, which is, in some form, marketing. So I feel like this new title and (semi-)new role really make sense for me. I know this stuff, and I've been using that education all along, I just didn't realize it at the time.

So yeah, this makes me very happy, and I hope my boss goes for it, because I really feel like I can be an asset to my library if given the go-ahead to move full-force in this direction.

Anyone have any suggestions/advice regarding how I can convince my boss this is a good idea, and that marketing, especially with social media, is vital for libraries at this point? I have some pretty good points worked out so far for the pitch, but I could use all the ammunition I can get!

Update: I totally forgot to mention the "you can't say no to this idea" phrase I will use in my pitch: building and engaging a community around your brand. Um, doesn't every organization need someone to do that? Oh, and that community will advocate for us. I think that pretty much hits all the buzzwords directors love to hear, no?

Social Media Snobbery (or, Twitter is a tool, but you don't have to be.)

2009-05-11T15:32:00.002-04:00

(This article was cross-posted over at LISNews.)

If someone corrects me one more time when I say that I “twittered” something (“um, you mean you tweeted?”) I am going to scream. Really. Right at them. And is the term “social media” passé already? I un-followed the person who tweeted that about thirty seconds after I read that tweet. See, the thing is, I really love Twitter. I follow smart people, who have interesting discussions all day. It’s wonderful. And for the people in my life who say that it’s sad that I have to find those kinds of relationships online, I say: “well why can’t you be more interesting then? Why do you make me go outside our friendship to find satisfying, intellectual conversation? YOU forced me into this!” Ahem. Sorry. Anyway, my point… Ah, yes: Twitter is just a medium. It’s just another method of communication, and in the same way it drives me bonkers when people say it breeds stupidity and hysteria (more so than any other medium? Really? Cable news anyone?...) it also drives me crazy when people act like it’s an exclusive club. So if I don’t get the terminology right, or I don't use the right hashtag, or if I say I just use the Twitter website instead of the Twitter app du jour (Tweetdeck, Tweetie, Seesmic, take your choice...) I’m persona non grata?

Now, don’t get me wrong, there’s got to be rules, right? Seriously, if you only send updates telling me about your new blog posts, or trying to sell your services, or to post pictures of your cat (ok that last one I would probably forgive, and actually secretly enjoy) I will most likely not follow you. As with any community, online or not, it is wise to spend some time getting to know the culture and attempting to fit in to a certain degree. But if no one ever goes out on a limb, there will be no innovation, no growth in the community. We wouldn’t have retweets, or #followfriday, or any other cool uses for the services that weren’t imagined within the first weeks of its debut.

Do you remember when “web 2.0” was all the rage? And do you also remember how anyone who actually worked in any way with web 2.0 was no longer allowed to call it that lest they incur the derision of all their web-savvy colleagues? If you tell me that I can’t use “social media” anymore either, I’m running out of names to call what I do. Seriously, I’m about 5 minutes away from calling myself the “kewl stuff on teh intarwebz” librarian, and nobody wants that. Ok I’m lying, I want that, I totally do. But I can tell you right now that my boss isn’t going to go for it, so can we all chill out with the social media snobbery already? Maybe all the Twitter/Facebook/FriendFeed/whatever-haters will stop picking on us so much if we stop being so darn obnoxious to them… although probably not.

(For anyone not in the super-cool Twitter club already, here’s a cheat sheet to all the Twitter-related stuff mentioned here: http://www.webdesignerdepot.com/2009/03/the-ultimate-guide-for-everything-twitter/. Oh, and I’m val_forrestal on Twitter, and I promise not to make you feel stupid, even if you still call it “web 2.0”.)

A snarky librarian by any other name is still a snarky librarian

2009-04-04T04:33:00.005-04:00

So, yes, I've changed the name of the blog, how nice of you to notice! Honestly, I had grown tired of the whole "info babe" moniker (I think I thought it was cute at one point, but it just seems a bit silly now, and I don't really think of myself as a "babe"...) but I thought I was too entrenched in my little social networking world under that username, and I figured I would never get rid of it. But after a particularly good session on social network profile management at last week's Computers in Libraries conference (especially the talk by Greg Schwartz) I decided to make the move to use my real name for all my online identities (val_forrestal or vforrestal).

Another reason for this decision also stems from the conference. I was meeting in person people who I had only previously known through online connections, and I find it incredibly awkward to have to follow my introduction with "you might know me as the info babe?" Ick. And I'm really working on networking and presenting these days (how tacky of me to admit, I know. For shame!), so I'd like to be able to make a more professional impression. I guess I can also use that as a lead in to mention that I'll also now be blogging LISNews.org, so keep an eye out for me over there!

Oh, and if you're wondering where the new blog title came from, it's from the headline I gave my Shovers and Makers profile (which I think I mentioned in the last post, but if you feel so inclined and have not yet done so, you can find here.) I don't know where I came up with it, other than to say that for some reason I enjoy the word 'ubiquitous', and that the time I spend wandering around the vast realms of the internet is nothing short of ridiculous.

About Me

2009-03-26T18:52:00.012-04:00

I am the Communications and New Media Strategies Librarian at Stevens Institute of Technology in Hoboken, NJ, and faculty liaison for the Humanities (as well as Mechanical, Electrical and Civil Engineering) My specialty is innovation and digital strategies in libraries.

Education:

As an undergrad at the University of Maine, I studied Mass Communications, specifically marketing and new media. My senior year, I took classes in video and audio production, which I loved, so I headed off to Emerson College in Boston for a masters in media production. It was there that I first learned how to build a webpage, which broadened my love of technology to include pretty much all forms of digital media.

After that I attended Rutgers for my MLIS, where I worked pretty intensively in digital archives (as the student project manager for the NJEDL and as archive assistant and consultant for the Institute of Jazz Studies.) As a consultant for Poet's House in NYC, I created AudioArchiving.net, an annotated web resource for all aspects of audio digitization and archiving.

Current research:

Currently, my interests lie chiefly in educational technology, information and communication technologies (ICT) and technology-enhanced learning and teaching (TELT.) I think that online education should be more than just posting your powerpoint slides in Moodle. I love the idea of using social media to build discussions around course content and also to create personal learning networks.

Oh yeah, and like any decent librarian, I wear glasses and have cats.

Publications:

Forrestal, Valerie. (Jan 2011). "Making Twitter Work: A Guide for the Uninitiated, the Skeptical, and the Pragmatic ", The Reference Librarian, Taylor & Francis. 52 (1&2), 146-151.

Professional speaking:
May 2011: NJLA (New Jersey Library Association) Annual Conference - Presenter/Panel Speaker, "Technology Innovation Forum" and "Web & Mobile Tools for Improving Library Services"
March 2011: Library Technology Conference (Macalester College, St. Paul, MN) - Presenter, "Bridging the gap from Wikipedia to scholarly sources: a simple discovery solution"
January 2011: VALE Annual Conference - Speaker, "Bridging the gap from Wikipedia to scholarly sources"
December 2010: METRO Webinar - Presenter, "Three Tech Tools, One Objective: Improving Library Services"
January 2010: VALE (Virtual Academic Library Environment) Annual Conference - Speaker, "Teaching the New Literacy"
December 2009: Yale Handheld Librarian (Lecture Series) - Speaker, "Twitter for Libraries"
October 2009: NSBE (National Society of Black Engineers) Zone Conference - Speaker, "Internet Literacy & Online Networking"
July 2009: Handheld Librarian (Online Conference) - Speaker, "Twittering in Libraries"
June 2009: METRO Library 2.0 SIG - Featured Speaker, "Twitter for Libraries"
June 2009: LibraryCampNYC 2009 (UnConference) - Co-facilitator, "Social Media Marketing for libraries"

More info:

Google Scholar Profile
Linked in
Curriculum Vitae
Slideshare (my presentations)
Twitter (val_forrestal)
Facebook

I'd like to take a moment to whine about all your whining. Thank you.

2009-03-20T14:33:00.006-04:00

I feel like much ado has been made lately about Twitter. I shouldn't even tell you that Twitter is a micro-blogging service, and instead imply that if you don't know what it is, you live under a rock and should be ashamed of yourself. But the truth is, if you don't know or care what micro-blogging is, I would much rather you didn't know about it, because then you couldn't possibly complain about its existence.

I've been using Twitter for awhile now (not sure about how long, but long enough to have posted 328 updates...) When I first learned about it, I didn't get it either. It seemed silly to me that I would want to post/read status updates all day. So, for awhile, because I thought it was stupid, I just didn't use it. Imagine that. And then at some point I gave it a try, and believe it or not, I managed to find some value in it. I subscribed to the updates of other librarians, and they posted links to interesting things: articles, videos, websites, etc... and that was cool. Plus it created a network of people in my field who could be tapped for impromptu surveys (who's using what technology and how successful has it been?) Sure, there's ~~some~~ lots of "getting my morning coffee"/banal chatter too, but you learn to filter out the noise after awhile.

Recently I also started up a Twitter account for my library (http://twitter.com/scwLibrary), and on there I (we) can subscribe to all sorts of science, technology and engineering people and organizations, so I get fed all kinds of great sources in that area. I can also use that account to broadcast (retweet) those links as well as interesting ones I've found myself. I can also use it as a quick way to post brief communications about the library (see: stapler crisis '09) that don't warrant a blog post or website announcement.

Right. So all I'm saying is that I have found some value in the service. I'm not an evangelist for it though (as I matter of fact I don't even recommend it to people unless I think it would serve a specific purpose for them) because I realize that to a lot of people it just doesn't make any sense. And that's fine. But I feel like the haters reeeeeeally enjoy hating on this one (check out this video, which, I have to admit is kind of funny, but also pretty insulting.)

Still, web 2.0, or whatever you crazy kids are calling it these days, is all about trying new things, and if you don't like them, or see a purpose for them, you don't have to use them. I just don't quite understand the culture of tearing down things we don't understand, or don't think we need. It's so damn hipster if you ask me... Anything mainstream is evil and stupid.

Still, I find Twitter to pretty much be what you make of it. If you and your friends use it as a way to just keep track of what you're all up to, then those "mundane" updates can actually be a way to get more insight into each other's lives, and to effortlessly "keep up" with each other (and also make the whole thing look kind of stupid if you're basing your opinion on the updates of people you don't know or care about.) If you use it in a more professional context, it's actually a wonderful way of communicating amongst colleagues and peers, and a great way to tap into a potentially extremely useful collective mind. (I also thought this was another interesting take on what's so cool about Twitter, found, fittingly, via a tweet from Connie Crosby.)

(UPDATE: I just wanted to add this link to a recent ReadWriteWeb post on Twitter, that elaborates on the potential of Twitter way better than I did here...)

(UPDATE 2: Ok, and here's another good link: The Ultimate Guide for Everything Twitter)

as a form of protest, i refuse to come up with a witty title for this post

2009-02-19T14:56:00.004-05:00

ok, i feel like i should maybe weigh in on this whole Rutgers dropping 'library' from SCILS situation. i posted a comment on my friend mike's blog, and i guess if i'm gonna speak my mind there, i might as well post it here as well. since i am lazy and don't really feel like spending much time or effort stressing over the whole thing, i'm just going to copy and paste my comment. (and what an easy way to drop a post in, since i haven't written in awhile. heh.)

this whole debacle annoys me for two reasons:

1) isn't this whole name change thing taking up time and money (meetings, new letterhead, signage, etc) that could be better spent on just improving the school in general, including the library curriculum? i mean, really, all this effort just to remove the word "library" from your name? …and

2) how did they think that going to all that trouble to remove library from the name was not going to insult all of us libeerians? it's like they're distancing themselves from one of their largest constituencies (largest if you're talking about the grad school.) no matter what their reasoning is, that's going to be hurtful, and going to alienate us.

what i really wish is that instead of trying to distance ourselves from the word "librarian", we would redefine it as the tech-savvy, tech-centered, information-aggregating career it should and could be. we don't need to turn ourselves into "information professionals", we need to bring the field of librarianship into the future (and the now…) i know that's a bit off-topic, but i feel like we don't need to scrap the title, it's not completely a lost cause, we can still redeem ourselves! (maybe all we need is a good PR campaign?)

Just shoot me now.

2008-10-09T18:37:00.003-04:00

Ok, so I have another entirely non-library related post for you, so bear with me here. Sarah Palin is driving me bonkers. Really. I mean, I'm sure she's actually a fairly intelligent person, or she wouldn't have gotten as far as she has, but did McCain really have to pick someone who comes off so ditsy and quaint? For all the feminists thinking of voting for McCain just because they're pissed off that Hillary didn't get the nomination (and I'm just guessing that there are some of you out there) please don't do it. Palin is the anti-feminist. And I'm not even going to get into the whole abortion/making rape victims pay for rape kits thing, as if that's not bad enough. I'm just annoyed that given all the really smart, independent, well-read, politically-savvy women out there in America, McCain had to go for the folksy, quaint, down-home mother figure. Now I'm sure he just picked her because she's cute and could get his campaign lots of attention, attention that he was aggravated kept being paid to mr. rock-star Obama, but come on! I feel like maybe this country still isn't ready for real women in power, because they're just more comfortable with women who still embody their pretty, dippy, soccer-mom ideal. Everyone was so hard on Hillary for just about everything, but now we should cut Palin some slack because... um... she's cuter than Hillary? Oh, and Mrs. Hockey Mom Joe Sixpack? When it comes to running this country, give me the fancy-shmancy highly educated elites any day of the week. I mean, Joe Sixpack and I are great friends, and I'll grab beers with him whenever, but I don't want dumbasses running my country... anymore, that is.

Hell hath no fury like a pissed-off blogger...

2008-09-24T12:21:00.003-04:00

Ok, so I know this is not library-related, but it's about my cat, and it's a very librarian-ish thing to do to have a cat, so, by the transitive property of blogging, this is library-related, no? Anyway, yesterday I had to bring my cat to the vet to have her put to sleep, because she had FIP (Feline Infectious Peritonitis), which is 100% fatal and eventually causes their bodies to attack themselves, and all her organs had begun shutting down. Ridiculously sad, right?

So I call during the day yesterday to make an appointment for today, and they tell me they can take me that same day at 7pm. Not my first choice, because I definitely wanted more time to spend with her, but I know it is selfish to keep her suffering just for me, so I take the appointment. I leave work early and take her in the yard all afternoon, because she loves it there, and then take her right from the yard to the vets', so that her peaceful time outside will be her last memories.

When I get to the vets' office however, I am ignored and left waiting for AN HOUR, with no explainations and no apologies, and when my boyfriend finally has the NERVE to actually complain, the girl at the desk is rude to him and tells us it's our fault for not alerting them when we signed in why we were there. Gee, I'm sorry I'm a wreck because I'm having my beloved pet put down and just assumed that you had an appointment book somewhere with the reason for my visit, which I clearly stated when I made the appointment EARLIER THAT SAME DAY. And nowhere in all her blame-shifting and aggressiveness was there any sort of an apology. Then, when we are finally taken in the room and the procedure is underway, the girl is in the back with some other workers, laughing and joking around, and generally having a merry old time, despite the fact that we are now THE ONLY people left in the office, and she obviously knows what is going on in the room....ARGH!!!!!!!

So maybe there is some small lesson in here for librarians, or anyone who works with the public all day: BE NICE. If she had just apologized when we complained, and was nice to us, it would have ended there and I wouldn't be ranting to everyone I know about how I'm never going back there and how they should tell everyone they know not to ever go there. That's it, just be nice. Even when people are frustrated with you, be nice. Even if they are short with you, be nice.

As a matter of fact, I think Patrick Swayze said it best in roadhouse... Oh the wisdom of the Swayz...

Ennui, setting in...

2008-09-15T17:05:00.007-04:00

I know I don't post much here anymore (and I know that the "why I haven't been posting lately" post is one of the blogosphere's most popular refrains), but I'm truly uncertain as to why this poor blog is experiencing such a dry spell. It certainly isn't from a lack of ideas. I think of topics to blog on all the time. In fact, I often compose eloquent (read:verbose) posts in my head while on the way home from work, or while trying to fall asleep at night. There's certainly a lot to talk about in the world of information, and I do a ton of professional reading, but for some reason once I'm in front of a computer, all my inspiration just peters out.

It's true that I've been extremely busy at work, but that's really no excuse either, seeing as I seem to find the time to check Facebook, IM with my peeps and read about a hundred rss feeds a day...

Maybe it is the echo chamber that is the library and tech blogging worlds, making me feel like I just don't have anything unique to say, or maybe it's the frustration of constantly defending the continued existence of my profession making me feel like i don't have anything interesting to say, or maybe, just maybe (and this is probably the most likely excuse) I am simply just too lazy to try and make sense of the sad mish-mash of triage efforts that my job has become.

At some point you become very disillusioned with all the wonderful, helpful things you could be doing for your patrons, because you are too busy trying to be all things to all people. That is the sad life of an 'Information Services' librarian. I mean, what *are* information services anyway? Pretty much only everything that goes on in a library. Sometimes doing a little bit of everything is a great way to keep from getting bored with your career, and sometimes it is just a recipe for feeling like you are constantly trying to move forward in all directions at once, a feat not easily accomplished, and sure to leave you exhausted on a fairly consistent basis.

OK, now I'm just griping, I know. So I guess you should just be thankful for my lack of posting, shouldn't you? I'm sure you have better things to do than listen to me complain... like checking your Facebook.

The Info Babe Turns Thirty...

2008-06-26T16:37:00.003-04:00

...and surprisingly, no tears were shed. There was nary even a frown. In actuality, it was a quite good birthday, with my friends and co-workers throwing me a lovely surprise party (one of them, who is a pastry chef, even made me a cake!) I really didn't even need the flood of "30s are the new 20s" sentiments that came my way. I'm 30, and I'm perfectly ok with it.

I have to admit, I'm feeling pretty lucky lately. I finally found myself a nice, geeky boy to settle down with (in fact, he's in the process of moving in with me right now.) I am surrounded by a great family and good friends. I have a job I like (most of the time), and a career I love (all of the time.) Oh, and a cat, a really awesome cat.

I celebrated the actual day like any mature, 30-year-old adult would, with a new tattoo and cheese fries at the diner. Oh, and ice cream cake, of course.

The Next Big Project

2008-06-06T15:04:00.006-04:00

So last post I mentioned wanting to get back into working on some of my own pet projects, and I figure I might as well mention the big one at the top of the list.

A professor at my university has a collection of interviews with famous scientists (he's a science journalist, so he taped his interviews for reference when writing them later.) These are mostly on cassette, and in decent condition (although sometimes the sound quality is not great due to background/ambient noise.) This professor now wants to showcase these interviews on his website, so, seeing that he works at an engineering school, he Googled "audio engineer" and "stevens institute", figuring he could find an actual sound or audio engineer right here on campus.

Well, instead he found little ol' me :) I am by no means an audio engineer of any sort, but I do have a masters in audio production (a field that moves so quickly that anything I learned way back in 2001 when I was in school is now sadly out of date...) Also, I have worked on a few audio archiving projects before, namely at Rutgers' Institute of Jazz Studies, and at a poetry library in Manhattan called Poet's House (for which I created a website of audio archiving resources now located at AudioArchiving.net). But these were projects that I was involved in only briefly, as a student in library school, so the idea of working on a project like this from start to finish scares the crap out of me.

In preparation for the project, I have been brushing up on my reading (most notably: Sound Directions: Best Practices for Audio Preservation, the CDP Digital Audio Working Group Best Practices, and Matrix @ MSU’s Historical Voices.) I have also been taking some CONTENTdm workshops (that's the digital repository software we use.)

I advised the professor in charge to send the cassettes out to a company that specializes in audio reformatting and transcription to convert the files to digital, but I think he is trying to get students to do it instead (NOT the best idea for conistent, superior quality in my opinion, but certainly the most cost-effective.)

So mostly my role will be to import the compressed (probably mp3) versions of the files into CONTENTdm, and to catalogue them. This is pretty intimidating to me, seeing as I somehow managed to skip taking any cataloguing classes in school (there were just so many interesting tech ones to take.... Oops!)

Oddly enough, I think my toughest challenge has been convincing the professor to use the library's software to catalogue and make these recordings available. He seems to think it would be easier and better to just have a student build a website around them from scratch, or just post them on their website (which I guess results in something like this, with no good search interface or descriptive records/pages.)

Ok, I've gone on way longer than I intended. I just wanted to put this out there, in case anyone else is working on anything similar and wants to trade advice, experiences or just complaints!

(Oh, and the CONTENTdm rep recommended that we set up a 'streaming server' for the files. Does anybody have any knowledge/experience with doing that?)

Remember me?

2008-05-30T17:28:00.005-04:00

Well, after many months of being m.i.a., I'm finally back in the good ol' web 2.0 mentality, trying to get back into the world of the social web. Mind you, I've been good and active on Facebook, Twitter, feed-reading, etc., and even trying new apps like friendfeed and Digsby, but just haven't found the time, energy or inclination to blog. Go figure.

Anyway, my library's new website is almost ready for the public (the official launch date is July 1st, but the content is pretty much all there, we're mostly just doing user testing and working out bugs at the moment). Yes, this will be a full 9 months after we were supposed to launch, but rebuilding a site from scratch is not an easy task, no matter how badly the powers that be want it to be one...

But with most of the stress involved with the website out of the way, and the campus nearly empty for summer break, I feel like I have a little time to myself again, to ease back into my own projects and pursuits, blogging being one of them (cleaning my desk/work area being another one... I'm ashamed, librarians should be more organized than this, shouldn't we?!)

Turns out we've been hip all along...

2007-08-27T13:41:00.000-04:00

I just loved this article in the Washington Times, reviewing Heidi Ardizzone's new book "An Illuminated Life", about librarian Belle de Costa Greene, curator of J.P. Morgan's massive personal (now public) library. Given all the hype lately (does it count as "hype" if it's just within the library community?...) about librarian stereotypes and images, this article does a great job of actually talking about the professional side of this intriguing woman's life. The book is not getting great reviews in general, but I definitely want to learn more about this woman, who proved a long time ago that librarians can actually have (gasp) lives.

I think she may be new my idol... :)

Back in Business...

2007-08-23T13:11:00.001-04:00

Well, I'm finally back from vacation, still freaking out about the upcoming semester and the new website... The new students arrived this week, so we've been pretty busy with orientation and outreach efforts.

On an entirely different note, did anyone see Andrew Keen on The Colbert Report? Is it just me, or is his entire persona pretty much pretentious and obnoxious? I mean, I definitely disagree with most of his viewpoints, but I had never actually seen an interview with him, and I didn't realize his whole personality and demeanor were so condescending in general. Ick-o-rama.

And seriously, what is his deal? Can he really believe the internet is killing culture, or is this all just a guy putting on a show to be controversial and sell a lot of books (which would make it kind of ironic that he was on the Colbert Report, no?) I mean, I can't seem to grasp his argument that the internet is putting "real" artists out of business.

What the heck is a "real" artist anyway? I would think the internet just allows all artists to put their work out there, and let the world decide what's good and what stinks. I see it as a great tool for discovering talent and a promoter of the arts. I just can't seem to wrap my head around his argument enough to really find all that much sense in it...

Panic, Setting In...

2007-08-13T16:40:00.000-04:00

Well, it's already two weeks into August, and I'm officially starting to freak out. I can't believe the fall semester starts in two weeks! On top of planning our library instruction sessions for the term, as well as our outreach and promotion, we just found out that we are a go on the new website, but the person who will be designing the CMS template (and so basically, the site) will be leaving at the end of September, so we need to be ready to launch by the end of August.

Wait, what?!!! You'd think with all my complaining and scheming and daydreaming that I would be ready for this by now, but when you actually start to put your ideas in motion, all sorts of problems and issues arise. Suddenly we are getting very critical of our planned navigation, and how will we deal with third and fourth-level nav, and what about server stuff, and what are our online forms coded in?! Oh, and we want to overhaul the content too, so new pages have to be created for all the first and second-level links. Yikes!!!

Some issues we've already encountered:

What to call that pesky database page? People obviously get confused by the term (and rightly so, in my eyes.) So far we've settled on Online Resources.
What links should go down the left-hand side of the page? These will be our main navigation, and will stay consistent on all pages, so they need to be helpful and fairly self-explanatory. (Right now we're thinking of using Research Tools, Library Services, Special Collections, About the Library, FAQ, and Contact Us.
What size screen/resolution to design for? Too big and there will be side-scrolling, too small and there's way too much white space. We're thinking 1024x768 might be a good middle ground...

The homepage will also feature a box that gets populated from our blog, and a MeeboMe widget for IM reference.

So, yeah, I'm definitely freaking out a bit here. But alas, my dream of a site redesign is finally being realized, so the scary deadline is also a sign that we will actually get the new site we were hoping for in the foreseeable future.

If anyone has any insight on good library website design, or sites they think are particularly well-done, please send them this way, I know for a fact that I am in over my head, and would be so thankful for any tips!

No Lolz

2007-08-07T09:55:00.000-04:00

This is how you know you read I Can Has Cheezburger? way too much. Here is how I "called" in sick last week:

Hakia: Semantic Search Engine

2007-07-31T13:05:00.000-04:00

From ars technica:

Search engines generally don't understand either content on the Web or the content of user queries; they work through keyword analysis, link weighting, and other statistical methods that allow an engine to produce more or less relevant results without ever needing to understand the implicit question in the search query. [Hakia] recognizes the concepts that lie behind the search terms and attempts to match those rather than keywords. Read more...>>

Libraries, Librarians and the Press

2007-07-30T15:13:00.000-04:00

A lot of people complained about the pieces in the NY Times and NY Sun about a group of "hip librarians" in Brooklyn. The general consensus among the dissenters was a desire for more substantive articles on modern libraries and librarians.

I generally didn't have a feeling one way or the other about the stories. As I've pointed out to friends in the past, although I do get irked by the librarian stereotype and the general ignorance of people in general as to what the heck it is we actually do (why do people assume the job is the same as it was in the 1950s? They don't seem to make that assumption with other fields, they logically assume those other fields have evolved and changed over the years...) But in all honesty, as a young single gal, I have in fact used the "sexy librarian" stereotype to my advantage (just saying you are a librarian makes for a great pick-up line...) So you see I'm leery of biting the hand that feeds, so to speak.

Anyway, in response to the call for better library-related stories, I just wanted to point out a good article on CNET.com. It doesn't talk about anything that's news to the library world, but it does serve as a great little reminder to the general public that libraries have grown and changed over the years, and that we are attempting to compete in the digital domain.

I think sometimes we librarians spend so much time around our resources that we forget how little the outside world knows about them. Sometimes it's enough to simply point out what's available at your library, even if it's nothing new or "exciting"...

(Oh yeah, and for two more good links on the topic: Cultural Images of Librarians by John Hubbard and Hipster Status, Determining Your from A Librarian's Guide to Etiquette--too funny!)

Fun with GovDocs

2007-07-27T13:13:00.000-04:00

I know this post is old, but it's just too funny... I'm not sure which is my favorite report title, "The Index of Blank Forms", or "Let Potatoes Fight", or the "PMS Blue Book" (I know you guys could really use that one...)

Ok, no, I have the winner, it would have to be the Canadian government document: "Who Are the Zombie Masters, and What Do They Want?". That's your hard-earned tax dollars at work Canada. (And yet they still have money for national healthcare... go figure!)

I love the digital age, but oh how i miss the smell of good ol' books!

2007-07-18T14:21:00.000-04:00

Um, I totally want this, I looooove the smell of books! So cliche for a librarian, I know, but I've actually always loved the smell... I think I'll get it and spray it on all the computers here at the library, you know, for authenticity's sake. hehehe...

(thanks to cat in the stacks for the heads up!)

New Feed! Humble Apologies! Advice-Seeking! Act Now!!!

2007-07-10T15:29:00.001-04:00

Ok, so despite the fact that I've had a personal blog for a long time now, I'm still getting used to having a professional-type one, and still learning all the ways to use the blogging software to its maximum potential (and also learning ways of promoting the blog...)

So in that spirit, I've gotten a Feedburner account and made that feed the default feed for the blog. Not that I imagine there are tons of readers out there, but if anyone who subscribed before say, last week, could kindly switch to the new feed (http://feeds.feedburner.com/TheInfoBabe) that would be just the awesomest! :)

Oh, and also, I only just now realized that I hadn't set my account to email me when I had a new comment, so imagine my surprise to see that I actually had a few! Thanks guys, and I'm sorry I didn't reply to them, I didn't know they were there! In the future I promise to be better with that.

And from the other bloggers out there, any tips for a n00b? Good ways to promote yourself without being obnoxious (self-promotion is a tricky subject indeed...)? Or technical stuff regarding blogs that all serious bloggers should know (aggregation, archiving, spam, tracking and analytics...)? Any and all advice is greatly appreciated!

Desperately Seeking Direction

2007-07-09T16:23:00.000-04:00

This summer, only my second as an "official" librarian, has been a tough one for me. As an academic librarian, summers are usually our slow season, and last summer afforded me plenty of time to unwind from the regular school year, and to work on my own little "projects" that got me all ramped up for the fall semester. But this year, unfortunately, we've been stuck working on our strategic plan, as necessary for the school's upcoming accreditation review, so I haven't had much time to work on my pet projects (read: new website new website please good god can we get a new website?!)

So with all the strategic planning sucking up the majority of my brain-power (and patience), I've been a little scattered in other areas. Mainly, I've had some trouble figuring out just what exactly I'm supposed to be doing with the rest of my day. Ok, that sounds bad, I know. But my job title is a bit vague, at best: I'm an information services librarian. Seriously, that's about as specific as my undergraduate degree (in mass communications. Heh.)

Now there are two parts of my job that are fairly self-explanatory, the instruction and the reference parts. When I'm performing those duties, I'm either in a training classroom teaching students how to use the library and its resources, or I'm sitting at the reference desk (usually reading my RSS feeds.)

The third part of my job is outreach, and over the summer, that is slow to say the least, seeing as no one is really around to reach out to.

So any free time I have falls into the tenebrous category of "professional development". I try really desperately to keep up with what's going on in the world of technology, and to find ways to apply relevant technologies to the world of library science. But given the broad interpretation of my job description that my library likes to take, it has become increasingly hard to focus. I like to think I'm generally on top of things concept-wise, but I'm having a lot of trouble finding ways to use that knowledge practically.

My library (like many others, I suspect), is sadly behind in terms of using technology to optimize itself, and I desperately long to re-establish our relevance on campus, but I have no idea where to start, and I am fast growing weary of trying to be the agent of change on a staff where half the people are just patiently waiting to retire, and really don't want to be bothered with all my upstart nonsense.

What to do, what to do?! No really, tell me, cuz I really am kinda clueless on this one. Any suggestions?

(Oh and mind you Blogger is not helping by acting so buggy today! Please, I am a girl with four blogs, this is the fastest way to drive me insane!)

The Death of Internet Radio?

2007-06-26T13:54:00.000-04:00

Just to prove to the naysayers that library's have changed, and are not all solemn, silent, intimidating places, I like to play music at work (ok, that's totally a lie, I just really like listening to music...) So imagine my surprise when I log on to Pandora today, only to find out that today there will be no internet radio. I had heard rumblings of this disaster for a little while now, but I guess the proverbial crap has officially hit the proverbial fan.

As the internetz-luvin' peeps of the world are oft want to do, they are protesting, and there is a website set up to fight the bill. They are encouraging people to contact their congressperson to support the Internet Radio Equality Act (you can find your congressperson's contact info on the site...)

I don't usually weigh in on copyright issues, (I'm a songwriter myself, and I do understand wanting credit and compensation for your work...) but this just seems like another case of the recording industry fighting tooth-and-nail against progress and technology, instead of figuring out how to capitalize on it.

Gorman: You're a Dumbass, Part II

2007-06-14T13:57:00.001-04:00

In light of the most recent Gorman crapola-fest, some interesting reading/watching... The first is an article in Library Philosophy and Practice about socially-driven authority, and the second is a clip from The Daily Show of an interview of political strategist Bob Shrum. If you let the video load and then shoot ahead to about 5 minutes in, he makes the following statement: "The blogosphere was a lot more right about Iraq than all the experts..." I just thought it was quite the cooincidence that that quote could come the day after Gorman's ranting about the lack of authority on the web.

I'll Tell You Where You Can File Your Authority...

2007-06-13T13:42:00.001-04:00

Ok, I am not even going to comment on the Gorman thing. Seriously, he's like a message board troll. I think dumbasses are sometimes best dealt with by not giving them the satisfaction of knowing they riled you up. I won't even link to his recent remarks, you can read about them here and here and here and here and here if you like.

In fact, the only reason I bring this up at all is because the whole issue is being brought to my attention right after a conversation about writing I had yesterday. I was talking to a friend about how I am interested in foraying into the world of academic publication, why I enjoy blogging, and how I think my blogging has actually made me a better writer in general.

You see, I love electronic publishing in general for the ability it affords to provide instant clarification, background or support for what you are saying (through hyperlinks.) I loved this idea from the very first time I read Vannevar Bush's "As We May Think" where he expounded upon the idea of hypertext. To me, this allows authors the ability to add so much more value to their writing, linking to relevant definition, sites, audio and video. (Man, there are some books that I would love to be re-published online with hypertext, so I could get all the author's allusions and references.)

Not to mention, publishing on the internet gives us the ability to instantly fact check... and that makes me strive to be more accurate, not less. Now I'm not saying that the internet is not rife with crap, of course it is, but without leaving my computer I can more easily distinguish between fact and fiction. This leads me to evaluate content based on its own accuracy and reasonability, rather than just based on the reputation of the author and the publication.

In fact, it is this desire to be accurate and back up my statements that has made me a much better scholarly writer, because it has taught me how to recognize vague or opinionated statements when I make them, so I know when I need to cite my sources or provide additional information, a skill that is not always so easy as it sounds.

And the truth is, I have two separate blogs, a personal one and a professional one, and I do in fact treat them differently. For example, in casual writing, I tend not to use capital letters (yes, I know this can be annoying, but it's been a habit of mine for years now...) My writing style here is a little more formal, and I hardly ever mention personal issues that don't deal with librarianship, my career, my education, or my job. (Not that there is anything wrong with mixing the two, my personal life is just a little too personal for general public consumption.)

I honestly don't know what's up the Gormster's bum (besides his head, of course...) If you don't like blogs, don't read them. If you want to get your information elsewhere, well, then, um... get it elsewhere. I don't see how you can feel so strongly against blogging in a world full of war and poverty and suffering. Ok, now I've resorted to commenting on the issue, which I said I wouldn't do... But hey, I'm just a lowly blogger, so you can't trust anything I say anyway...

You Don't Scare Me, Google!!!

2007-06-04T16:49:00.000-04:00

So, I was reading this excellent post, Cult of the Pundit, on the excellent blog, Bokardo, and I got to thinking about something that annoys me greatly, namely, people asking me if I'm scared I will lose my job to Google, implying (or outright stating, often with a malicious sneer) that internet search engines, or even the internet itself, has rendered my profession obsolete. I mean, as a librarian (if you are a librarian) I'm sure you get that one a lot (along with the ever-so-witty "do you know the Dewey Decimal System?")

Aaaaaanyway, that post made me think about the web, and how it allows pretty much everybody who has access to it (along with proper equipment and bandwidth) to try their hand at pretty much anything (ok, I'm over-simplifying, I know, there probably aren't a lot of easily accessible tools and programs for molecular biology... But you get the point.) But for many mainstream professions, it's true... Anyone with a blog can be a reporter... And anyone with iMovie can be a producer. And I seem to remember from grad school that you can download older versions of ProTools for free, so why not try your hand at music?

Does this mean that professional reporters, producers and musicians are now obsolete? Should we trash those professions altogether? I doubt anyone is suggesting that, so why is it that they are suggesting that librarians are no longer necessary just because anyone can perform an internet search? Doing something as a hobby or on a small scale versus doing it as a profession are two very different things, marked by notably different skill levels. No one is saying that Google can't help you find information, we are just saying that librarians are better at it. 90% of the time Google will find you the information you want, and that's fine, but there are times when you need to consult an expert.

Now please don't get me wrong, I am not against Google, or blogging, or personal podcasting or whatever, mainly because I <3 web 2.0 in all its glory, and am not paranoid about it stealing my thunder (or my job...) I think it's great that so many people can have a voice where once things were much more homogenized. And I also think it's a great method for discovering talent. Really good bloggers don't stay anonymous for long, they become well-known and well-read, and are often considered professional "reporters" in their fields. Just because you start small on the internet does not mean you are forever an amateur... I just don't see why web 2.0 must hail the death of the librarian. Vive la librarian!!!

hehehe

2007-06-04T10:28:00.000-04:00

Tit okay, but cock is out

no comment...

On the Professional Advantages of Being a Slacker and a Librarian

2007-05-25T11:57:00.000-04:00

One quick clarification on that title, note that I did not say "slacker librarian", but slacker AND librarian. I liked the sound of the first one better, but I think when you stay late at work just to finish reading all your library 2.0 feeds, and are kept up late at night envisioning all the ways you can optimize web 2.0 concepts in library contexts, you nullify your eligibility for the slacker librarian title. Aaaaaaaanyway...

This past weekend I met up with some college friends in Vegas (you can check out my pics here, if you feel so inclined...), and they expressed their continuing disbelief that I am actually a librarian. My obsessions with organization and technology (which no one actually associates with librarianship anyway, much to my constant chagrin) not withstanding, I think I actually stepped foot in my undergraduate library four, maybe five times tops in my four years there.

Now, at first this dirty little secret brought me much shame (along with the fact that I never actually took a reference or cataloguing class in grad school, shhhh! Don't tell!!! There were just so many fun tech classes I wanted to take more...) But on further thought, I think my college library neglect actually makes me a better academic librarian. Now THAT is going out on a limb, right?

But seriously, how many librarians do you know insist on sticking their head in the sand about the reality of how libraries are actually perceived? I think one of the great things about the library 2.0 movement is that we are truly aiming to reinvent the traditional library, and to once again make it a thriving, relevant presence in the lives of our users.

I know how undergraduates think, because I was a very, very typical one, and not all that long ago. So instead of fighting the same old battle of pushing the traditional vision of the library on them, I can imagine what would have actually gotten me to notice and use the library, and take it from there.

Why My Library Should Invest in Overhauling Its Online Presence

2007-05-23T11:29:00.000-04:00

How is it that, in today's technological atmosphere, where users expect to be able to access virtually everything online (no pun intended, but a good one nonetheless, haha...) it is such a struggle to get the administration to realize the importance of our website? Why am I practically begging for them to at least provide me some support in my effort to streamline and enhance our digital presence, and to see our website as a branch of the library, offering all services the physical branch offers?

My justification to them for such an expense? Here goes...

First and foremost, the library’s website is long overdue for an update, ideally including a redesign. Although the redesign of any website inherently carries some risks, probably the most notable of which is making major changes to a resource that is already familiar to its users, the ever-evolving nature of the internet and the emergence of web 2.0[1] concepts makes an update desirable, if not necessary. Website success can often be traced back to several important concepts, including simplicity in design, logical organization and navigation, media richness, and interactivity[2]. In that vein, the new site should be more intuitive to navigate, and organized to facilitate ease of finding information for all levels of user experience. There should be a focus on technologies enabling communication and interactivity throughout the site, and access to resources and services should be seamless[3].

The chief goals of the new site would be:

- Optimize space on homepage
- Improve navigation
- Integrate web 2.0 technology (interactability)
- Clean up content
- Improve access to resources and services

These changes would make the site more intuitive to navigate, and support users of varying levels of expertise:

- Guided navigation for new users (on homepage only)
- Logical hierarchical navigation for normal users (on left-hand side of each page)
- Quicklinks – direct to resources – for expert users (on top right of every page)

The site would also make better use of web 2.0 technology, featuring a news blog to relay important information about the library and information resources in general. The blog would be updated regularly and be featured on the library’s homepage.

A library blog can be a very useful tool for reaching all of the academic community, not just regular library users. It can be used to draw attention to information about library services and resources that might otherwise be buried in the library’s regular website content. It will also act as a witness to how active and necessary the library is, and can promote the role of the library as an information source and guide even to those not currently using “traditional” library services, by also focusing on general web resources, services and applications. In other words, the blog will seek to make the library visible to faculty and students who have “forgotten” about it.

To better reach the students, care must be taken to keep current on what technologies they are currently using, and to integrate those technologies into library services. For example, instant messaging (IM) could be for reference, and social networking software (such as Facebook and Myspace) can be used for outreach and promotion.

Some guiding questions for integrating technology into library services:

- What technologies are the students and professors already using? Let’s bring the library to them (without investing in new technology just because it’s “new and cool”)…
- Can we find a way for professors to create course/subject pages with important links, or a way for professors to contribute to our “resources by discipline” (since they are the subject-specialists)
- Is there some way to allow users in general to identify relevant resources?

Another important issue is online access to library resources and services. The library currently uses a proxy server to authenticate off-campus users, and users also have to register with the library (with their student ID number) to receive a PIN to access certain services. Ideally, they could log in with their username and password and that would provide seamless access to all library resources and services.

[1] McFedries, P. (2006). The Web, Take Two. IEEE Spectrum, 43(6), 68-68. Retrieved April 2007 from the IEEE database.

[2] Palmer, J. (2002). Web Site Usability, Design, and Performance Metrics. Information Systems Research, 13(2), 151-167. Retrieved April 2007 from the Business Source Premier database.

[3] See ACRLog: Formula for Academic Library Success (http://acrlblog.org/2007/05/14/formula-for-academic-library-success/academic-library-success/academic-library-success/)

For my super-awesome powerpoint presentation for this proposal click here.

Designing for the New Web

2007-05-17T11:40:00.000-04:00

Ok, I am officially going crazy. The other night I was up until 3am because I couldn't stop my brain... With my library's proposed website redesign (which I am somehow in charge of, simply because I suggested that perhaps an institute of technology should not have a library website that looked like it was done in 1993...) and also my obsession with optimizing web 2.0 concepts for the new site and for our library, I just couldn't make my damn internal voice shut up! Grrr... But thankfully, tonight I am heading off to Vegas for the weekend, and I am leaving all logical, library-related thought blissfully behind.

In my absense, I leave you this post from Ellyssa Kroski at InfoTangle on designing for the new web. It is from her CIL presentation on the topic, and it put into words a lot of what I have been considering for our new site design. I think I had been absorbing all that advice from playing with web 2.0 apps, but it's really great that she put it all down in words and organized it for me :) Anyway, I attended one of Ellyssa's workshops at METRO and I'm so glad I redescovered her blog through the Library2.0 network.

cyber schizophrenia

2007-05-15T15:39:00.000-04:00

Managing my online identities has been a bit of a challenge for me lately. With all these cool web 2.0 apps out there, I really am finding it hard to keep track of it all... I find that just keeping up on my rss feeds and checking out all my social networking profiles is eating up a more and more significant portion of my day.

And as if that's not enough, the other day I had a bit of drama that had me back-tracking my internet steps for about an hour. Now, being the forward-thinking librarian that I am, I try to maintain a "professional" presence online (through this blog, as well as Myspace and Facebook pages, among other things.) But I also have a personal life online, and I work with members of the general population who I do not want knowing everything about me on such a personal level as some of my online entities allow. I generally try very hard to make sure there are as few as possible linkages between my professional and personal online personas. (Obviously I realize that a savvy user can track me down if they really want to, but still, I do my best to maintain a distance between the two...)

So the other day I decided to start writing a new library-related blog (which would allow me to speak as myself, instead of being the "royal we" of my library's blog that I maintain). All was fine until I foolishly went into my Technorati account and claimed my new blog under my old username (which I had used to claim my [very] personal blog). Duh. Super-duh. Because you see, I had included a link in this new blog to my work blog. Now when you looked up my work blog in Technorati, it showed that this new blog linked to it, and when you clicked on the author of this new blog, you saw it was also the author of my [very] personal blog (wow, that was a mouthful, huh?). So I spent the next hour unclaiming and unfavoriting blogs in Technorati so as to destroy the chain of association. Oh yeah, and I had to go into del.icio.us and un-share all my personal links, because this blog links to my blogroll through del.icio.us.

Is it me, or has my online life become incredibly more complicated than my real one?! I mean, I used to be one of those people who didn't really care that I was putting so much out there on the internet, because, really, who the heck was paying all that much attention to little old me? But then you read stories like this, and, little by little, paranoia starts to creep in.

At least I'm not the only one with web 2.0 fever... (And just in case YOU haven't caught it yet, check out The Cool Librarian's Social Software page, it's a great intro to some of the more popular 2.0 apps out there.) Oh, and speaking of cool web 2.0 stuff, if you haven't already seen this video, you NEED to check it out:

Mom, Can I to Library Camp This Year? PLEASE?!

2007-05-14T15:16:00.000-04:00

I told Stephen that i would post a link to Library Camp NYC, so here goes: http://librarycampnyc.wikispaces.com/

Looks pretty cool, I am def. planning on going as of now, at the very least I would love to spend some time shmoozing with other library tech geeks!!! (mmm... brains...)

If You Build It, Maybe They Will Come...

2007-05-14T14:33:00.000-04:00

http://acrlblog.org/2007/05/14/formula-for-academic-library-success/

My library has heretofore been focusing on outreach, but my position is this, we need a user-friendly, intuitive product to promote, or all the awareness in the world is not going to help us. Users have been known to simply ignore software and apps that they find difficult to use. And facing such popular rivals as Google and Wikipedia, we can't afford to send our students elsewhere for their information.

I Dreamed a Dream...

2007-05-09T15:30:00.000-04:00

My coworker and I were discussing online services the other day, and we decided to get all wacky, and describe the attributes of our dream academic library website. So, here goes...

1.) Authentication through username and password, NOT a proxy server that requires you to configure your browser or a VPN. I know this is not a crazy wish, just a little beyond our over-worked IT department right now (and by that I mean the university's IT dept., we don't have our own, so you can see why they're so over-worked). Once logged in, the users would not only have accesses to all online resources, but also all features of the OPAC, instead of needing a separate PIN number, like they do now.

2.) One interface. Uno. Un. Solamente. Dream big, right? The interface would be Ebscohost-like, for no other reason than I like that particular interface. Through this interface, students can access our books, books elsewhere, e-books, journals, journal articles, newspapers/articles, etc. etc. They would be able to customize their search through a series of checkboxes that allowed them to choose which databases they wanted to search, and/or what kind of results they wanted (what format/media, that is).

The results would be sorted not by database (unless they wanted them that way), but by format (I'm sure most users don't care what database the journal article is contained in, so why not put all the journal articles together in the results, thereby allowing for sorting across all of them, and eliminating duplication?)

This interface would also contain links or buttons that allowed students to immediately request an item through ILL/DDS directly from the record (like in WorldCat). For requests that require a fee, students would be given an option to immediately charge their student account (or credit card or whatever...) In the case of requested articles, once the fee is paid, the PDF is immediately e-mailed to the user (one of the complaints we get most often is from users wanting immediate access to articles... No big surprise there.)

You'll note here that I am not a propronent of a simple, Google-like interface that searches everything. I know that such an interface as I propose would be very complicated, and have a steep learning curve, but it would be so much easier to teach only one interface in our library instruction sessions than 5, or 12, or 20... and it would be so much more useful if the user had control over what they were searching in, what they were searching for, and how they wanted their results displayed/sorted.

I'm definitely not techie enough to know just how much of this is currently possible, but I am internet-obsessed enough to know that this is what users will come to expect, and hopefully the direction we are going in.

Well Hello There, You!

2007-05-07T15:00:00.000-04:00

My love of all things web 2.0 and my desire to play in the biblioblogosphere has given birth to yet another blog. I currently have a (very) personal blog, and also maintain a blog for my library, but this one seeks to merge the two me's- personal and professional- into a well-integrated, well-balanced (haha) whole.

When, exactly, I plan on finding time to maintain this blog, I have no idea, seeing as keeping up on the myriad of library/technology/design-related feeds I try to keep current with is fast becoming a full-time job on its own, but alas, I will, at least, try.

My interests in the world of libraries lie mainly in academic libraries, library technology, library 2.0, site design and usability, and supporting the distance student. I currently work as an information services (read: reference, outreach and instructional) librarian in an academic (engineering school) library.