new Welcome page for http://catalog.ccclib.org/

I finally got around to sprucing up the Contra Costa County Library “welcome” page on AquaBrowser. http://catalog.ccclib.org/

It’s more interesting,  more useful, and a lot more personal. It bothers me no end how library websites and library catalogs are SO separate. This helps it feel a bit more integrated. A tiny bit.

Introduction to Social Discovery and the Library Catalog

I attended a really informative seminar today, thanks CALIFA for hosting it. There was talk of the BiblioCommons product, and Oakville Public Library’s very successful implementation, but Beth Jefferson has a lot to say about Web2.0 vs. Lib2.0, subject guides, and the future of reference.

When I’m putting together training for ccclib.org Guide Owners, I want to talk about some of the things I learned today that really had a impact on me.  Of course, the reason to offer subject guides is because you’ve anticpated a need. You offer this information one-to-one in a reference interview, but you know others will need the information too.  The best part about a subject guide is that the resources are “curated” (that’s Beth’s word and I’m going to steal it).  We want our Guide Owners to find the best sites, including those that are most relevant to our local users, and to annotate those in a way that’s meaningful.

Subject guides tie in to the future of reference in that they can be used to both amplify librarians’ voices and to invite the community to participate in providing answers to people.  We hestitate to turn on the feature in LibGuides where users can suggest a site, but after today I have no qualms about it.  I say, let the people participate.  It goes back to my previous posts about IL2008 where I heard (and completely latched onto) the idea that libraries ought to be providing platforms for participation.

highlights of day 1 IL2008: digital marketing

I always enjoy presentations by Sarah Houghton-Jan.  she turned me on to a few new things today including wikimapia, and a reminder to get podcasts listed in directories.

Also, I was reminded that it’s a good idea to market librarians.  I wonder if I can get some buy-in from my colleages on that one.  Would community library managers post their photos on wikimapia or google maps or yelp! entries?  hmm.

highlights of day 1 IL2008: marketing and advocacy

Nancy Dowd, of the NJ State Library, talked about collecting and telling user stories. We all need to do more of that. This event was the highlight of the day for me. I got a lot of ideas about things to do at ccclib.org from listening to Nancy.

Also, her comments about library databases and showing vendors the door when their products are inadequate is an issue that I am currently struggling with. I am through talking about databases to patrons. I now talk exclusively about where to find Consumer Reports, Bon Apetit, Real Simple, etc. I really hate the word “database.”

highlights of day 1 IL2008: opening remarks

I twittered through much of the day but now I ought to process a bit of what I learned today. I enjoyed Howard Rheingold’s opening talk; I see that a lot of what we’re trying to do in libraries, especially Contra Costa County where our mission is “bringing people and ideas together,” is about providing a platform for participation. We know very well that our users are into leveraged self-interest, that is, creating something for themselves that others can use and build on. Our users have a very personal interest in their library and an emotional connection. If we don’t provide people with an opportunity to interact with us, we cease to become relevant.

I get that.

Internet Librarian Conference 2008

I’m here in Monterey and perusing the program before the start of the conference tomorrow.  It all looks really interesting and I don’t know what I’m going to be doing.  Four of my colleagues are here, so we’ll coordinate and cover all the bases, I imagine.  the opening keynote speaker is Howard Reingold, speaking on a favorite topic, the social mobile world.  I intend to be both social and mobile over the next three days; Twitter via Jott is my tool of choice.  I’m logging my mini thoughts there and decompressing here when time permits.  I’m NOT carrying my laptop because it’s just not as mobile as I want to be.

Wildcard: Twitter

Twitter is like a bite-sized blog.  You have 140 characters to say what it is that you’re doing. You can follow other people who Twitter if you’re interested in what they’re doing and you can gain your own followers. You’d be surprised to learn just how many people (strangers, even!)  want to know what a librarian is doing.

It’s not nearly as intimidating as a blog and you can update your status once a week or once an hour (or more); it’s up to you. I sometimes Twitter from my phone using text.

This would be a fun tool to use on the job to recommend books. When I Twitter in my daily life, I often say something about what I’m reading and link to WorldCat. It would a great tool if a handful of internet savvy staff Twittered about their great finds Their followers (staff and patrons) could bookmark the interesting stuff for use later.

Web 2.0 is definitely not a passing fad.  As I said on ning, libraries will continue to be relevant to people if we allow them to comment and participate just as they are accustomed to doing in the wider world. It’s expected. Moreover, if we don’t know about a lot of the tools out there, how will we help people use them?  How can we expect to remain information experts if we don’t keep up with what’s happening with the latest internet gizmos?

Podcasts, Videos, and YouTube

It is a real time suck, and so much fun, to search for video on the web. I love looking at old Sesame Street clips like this one of Cookie Monster in the library: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZJlkplvYdgA.

For animation, Simon’s Cat is hilarious: http://www.youtube.com/user/simonscat. The audio is so funny.

I would like to make a video of someone (any volunteers?) using Library-a-go-go.  I’d actually like to make two videos, one where someone borrows a book and another where someone returns a book.  That would be suitable for YouTube where people might really be interested in how it works. It would be good, too, to film the presentations we give at conferences.  We might not post those to YouTube, but they’d be great on StaffNet for those who missed the original presentation.

Social Networks

I belong to the ning network, TLC Indigo. It’s a forum for learning about the new CARL product, the visual OPAC. http://www.seeindigo.com/default.asp. I’m not sure if the forum is open to any and all, but if so, staff should be aware of something that’s in development.

RSS

I subscribed to a ccclib.org calendar feed for author events.  However, I didn’t get information about author events. Instead I received information about Literacy Month and The Book Giveaway in my Bloglines account. I think I’ll have to play around with it a bit more to make it do just what I want.

Bloglines and RSS are essential tools. I am tired of a full email box from all the websites I gave my email address to.  I try not to sign up for anything anymore; I’d rather just subscribe. When I use RSS I don’t have to worry about SPAM and I don’t have that dreadful feeling that I get when I have a bunch of email I have to go through just to find the ones from my family and friends.