Earlier this week I was lucky enough to join in a podcast recording with the new Library 2.0 Gang:

I’m often asked when we are going to bring back the regular Library 2.0 Gang podcast show, especially after the special we did on Roy Tennant’s Library Software Manifesto, back in December.

The great news is that the Gang will be back - this month! The first show in a new improved regular Talis Library 2.0 Gang series is being recorded this week and, subject to technical wizardry, should be heading towards a podcast player near you, next week.

That’s right folks - the gang is back and I’m now a member Keep an eye out for our first podcast due to be released next week sometime - we talked with Aaron Schwartz about the Open Library. If you want a preview you can review my notes from Code4Lib on the subject.

Here is my presentation from today’s roundtable meeting:

• Library 2.0 & the Humanities
  NFAIS - Humanities Roundtable, New York, NY, October 22, 2007

Technorati Tags: nfais, library 2.0

Michael pointed me to this interview with John Blyberg - I haven’t finished it yet because lunch is over, but I’m sure it’s worth a listen/looksie

Remember this video? Almost every Web 2.0 talk starts with this video now. Thanks to Stephen I now know that this professor has put together more videos.

Information Revolution

A Vision of Students Today (This is the latest and it’s awesome! A MUST SEE VIDEO. I lve the creation process too.)

Other videos are available at the Moving Forward pages.

I just watched A Vision of Students Today and while it could use some editing (it was hard to read at some spots) it’s great! I just finished reading The Academic Library and the Net Gen Student by Susan Gibbons and while most of it was review for me (intro to Web 2.0 tools) it had some great points about understanding our students. I’ve also had the chance to talk to students and professors from the area (I’m loving being in an academic environment now!) and it’s shocking how little the students are consulted, interviewed or even considered regarding library matters. I repeat my comment from this morning:

As for the user experience - the only way to understand this is to - here's a shocker - ask the user!!! This is a hot button with me - how often do we ask our users what they want? I'm sure it's not as often as we sit it closed meetings with our colleagues discussing what we think the user wants/needs.

I was having a chat with Chris Schwartz the other day about which technologies we should be looking at for our library. She asked me if I thought we needed to pay attention to Second Life - if this was really where our students were. I don’t know the answer to this without asking the students, but based on those I’ve met, I don’t think we need to worry about Second Life just yet, but it might be good to look into some sort of IM or Virtual reference service.

In a comment to her own post the Annoyed Librarian says:

I don’t think it’s essential that all libraries have IM reference, or that all library directors blog, or anything like that.

And it’s so true! Reading that line just made me start to think about my chat with Chris and made me want to share with you all.

I’m all for everyone learning everything they possibly can, but not all tools are the right fit in all organizations. The problem is that people hear us techie librarians going on and on about the nifty new thing we learned how to use today and think we’re saying “If you don’t use this tool you’re lame.” - and maybe that is the case with some techie librarians - but with me, I just want to bring every tool I can to your attention - because one might just be the one you were looking for to solve that pesky little problem you were having

Tyler Rousseau has a great post over at Library Garden in which he asks:

But how did we get to this stage? Why do we have professional librarians who refuse to keep up with the professional and technological requirements? How did we reach a point where the patrons' needs were less important than the traditional way of doing things?

He is referring to the Librarian’s 2.0 Manifesto written by Laura Cohen.

Tyler is confused as to why we need to put something like this in writing and I agree with him! How did a profession that was one of the first to use the Internet and WWW become one that is so fearful of change and technology? How is it that our librarians have fallen behind the times so quickly? And why do battles have to be fought for what’s best for the patron?

And so I grow frustrated when I read the goals and responsibilities of the 2.0 Librarian, it should’ve been part of our profession all along.

I’m with you Tyler. I wish I had an answer to your question - or a relief to your frustration - but the most I can give you now is hopefully a bit of comfort in the fact that you’re not alone out there.

A post at Tame the Web by Juliette Loebl (an MLIS student) makes me a bit jealous!

I am not tech-savvy. I would never hire myself to design a professional-looking website, or create a complex database. Yet, during the last year and a half, in library school, I have had the opportunity to experiment with new technology. Like my classmates, I have read enough Library Crunch , The Shifted Librarian, Tame the Web, Librarian in Black , to now nonchalantly toss out terms like, Open API, Casey Bisson's WPopac, and open source . In my time at Dominican, I learned HTML, Dreamweaver, Greenstone Software for the creation of online digital galleries), I wrote clunky metadata and contrasted that with tagging, I created wikis for class projects, joined MySpace, and I fell in love with a the slightly clunky beta version of Google Docs and calendars.

How cool is that? When people ask me what I’m learning in library school I frequently comment on the fact that I’m shocked at how few of the new technologies we’re using. As an online student I depend heavily on a clunky (not Firefox friendly) portal and Blackboard (which has a discussion board that reminds me of the 90s). Many of my classmates seem not to know about Web 2.0 tools and aren’t being introduced to them.

In my management class this past term we had to do a group project and it was me (not the curriculum) that introduced many of my fellow group mates (I think a few were already aware) to collaborative work spaces. We put together our notes and added comments to the document by using WriteWith.

Our cataloging professor asked us if we would like to use a wiki to keep track of useful tools and a few class members felt that this was a great idea! She set it up and no one (except for me - at last check) has added any content.

Why is that? Why aren’t we given the chance to (or encouraged to) experiment with new tools - and when given the opportunity why are so many students leaving it up to others to do the experimenting?

Maybe in my case it’s because many of my classmates (like myself) have full time (or part time) jobs and responsibilities at home in addition to their school work - who knows. All I know is that either I’m taking the wrong classes or Drexel is a bit behind the times when it comes to using new tools.

Without realizing it, my classmates and I have adjusted quickly to the expectations of this Library 2.0 world. Suddenly, writing a paper without the ability to hyperlink or comment feels incorrect, cumbersome, and a lot like busywork. A twenty-page research paper has lost its purpose without reflective discussion imbedded directly in the document. Web 2.0 has dramatically changed our expectations for the work we do. Perhaps we are now spoiled with the sense of self-importance that this interconnectedness has allowed; nevertheless, it is the reality that we have embraced. Information in a vacuum"”like a simple print document, or a password restricted Blackboard posting, does not provide the strong context for learning that open posting or a wiki can. In my just-under-two years at Dominican University, words that used to form concise and meaningful sentences have now taken on a blurry, complex significance. Words like scholarly, authoritative, information, online resources, research paper, document, library, and librarian, have weighty and multifaceted connotations. Web 2.0 has changed these concepts into dynamic, experiential abstractions. In this constantly shifting framework, both new and experienced librarians will struggle between the security of the older definitions, and the excitement of the future.

I’m very happy for Juliette and her classmates - and wish I was able to take some of the classes they’re taking!!

Technorati Tags: library school, library 2.0

Next I heard David Lee King talk about Library 2.0 “Setting up the New Stuff”. While I obviously have a feel for some of the basic technologies that David went over, I’m still glad that I attended this event so that I can share what I learned with you all.

David broke the talk into 3 parts. Part 1 - He answered some questions.

Why?

Just cause we can isn’t a good enough reason (but it is a good reason in my opinion to play and experiment - if it’s free and easy - why not?). We need to think about how these tools will meet the changing customer needs (Like Lee said in the keynote - web users want to participate on our library websites - they want our sites to act like the rest of the web), how it will help us stay culturally relevant and how we’ll keep our digital spaces up to date.

What?

There are lots of options out there to choose from - once again think before jumping. Use your library’s mission to help you pick tools that will help you meet those goals. Think about what you want the end result to be - do you want a place to share library news and have users comment? Then a blog might be your answer. David asked how many people had a comment box in their library - and only 2 hands were raised - but he made a good point, don’t you think users would be more likely to leave a comment via a web form than that box sitting at the circ desk??

Who?

Specifically - who does the work? Both staff and patrons can do the work. Staff members should be chosen because of an interest in the topic - not because of the department they work in. Patrons can help by commenting, adding to wiki pages, and creating groups with a vested interest in the library and the library site.

How?

Always remember to include administrators and managers - you’re going to need them (you never know when you might need to request to equipment). Consider how much staff time you’re going to need - not just to start using the new tool - but to keep it going. Last and most importantly, ask yourselves - do we have willing participants, and if not, can we make them?

When?

To quote David “Like, yesterday”. A lot of these tools have simple install files or sign up pages, it takes nearly no time at all - remember the Web 2.0 video (The Machine in Using Us)? Well, towards the end of that they create a blog in less than 10 seconds. That said, it does depend on whether you want to start big or small - if you want to use the predefined settings and templates or create your own.

So - that doesn’t sound too scary does it?? Next David moved on to Part 2: Content, Container and Customer.

David asked us who had taken a writing for the web class - and not many people raised their hands - which is okay because it’s not just about writing anymore - it’s about video, voice, and so much more. You have to remember to keep a conversational tone when creating content for the web - this is a hard thing for some librarians because they were taught to be professional and proper at all times - well, that just ain’t so anymore Once you get the hang of it it really does make it more fun to create for the web. He also showed us a few library blogs started in 2005 that haven’t been posted on in as much time - you have to create often - if you can’t don’t try. If you think it looks unprofessional to write in a conversational tone, just imagine what it looks like to have a page that says “The newest news from our library” that was last updated in January of 2005.

Like I’m about to do with this summary - David says we don’t have to write for just one place - we can re-use content all over. I post these summaries to at least 3 (sometimes 4) blogs. David uses blip.tv to upload his videos because they have a service that lets him send his content to a bunch of other places as well. How does this apply to your library? At Internet Librarian last year I attended a session on RSS & JavaScript. The gist was that you don’t need to know how to code to get an RSS feed to print on your web page - you can use a blog and copy a bit of JavaScript and you’re set. This is one of those ways where you care publishing in 2 places. You can write to the blog, but others can read the content on your library website, pathfinder, or links page.

I mentioned the inviting participation series of posts a while back - what a great time to bring them back to the forefront. There are 2 ways of inviting participation. One is passive and that is to write compelling content and allow comments. There is also an active way (that sounds like a great idea). On David’s library’s blog (Papercuts) they write a weekly post they ask a question (What’s your favorite book? Who’s your favorite author? etc) and that makes people feel like their participation is appreciated. This goes for both staff and patrons!

Next the container. Like I said before, do you want your page to use the default template or a fancy-schmancy one? This doesn’t just go for you blog either - MySpace and other social networking sites offer you different design options. My recommendation is to play first and design later - make sure it’s going to stick before you spend too much time on it.

Last (but not least in my book) the customers. One of the ways that social networking is “social” is that most of these tools have a friends or contacts list. These don’t have to be your “real” friends, they can be your customers/patrons - by adding them as your friends they can easily subscribe to your content on Flickr, MySpace, etc etc. Allow your patrons to comment - this can’t be stressed too much!! Our customers can also be creators, let them participate and let them contribute - it’s what they want.

The last part was a list of the specifics for those I’ll point you to Michael Sauers’ summary (he was sitting next to me) - he did a great job of listing all of the specifics you’ll have to think about - since it looks like I’ve rambled on enough already!!

[update] See David’s Slides [/update]

Technorati Tags: cil2007, cil07

I’m currently reading The Long Tail (I know I’m behind the times) and loving it. I want to share a few things I read this morning on the way to work (for those who haven’t read the book yet).

The first was on page 64. Anderson is talking about how we can all be producers now - how computer games are coming with the tools to create your own movies:

However, once you know what’s behind the curtain, you begin to realize that it could be you. It is when the tools of production are transparent that we are inspired to create. When people understand how great work is made, they’re more likely to want to do it themselves.

While Anderson is using movies, music and writing as his examples - what about programming? That’s what I first thought of. That sense of “I did that” when you look at a working application you’ve developed for your library. Plus, if we share our code (open source) people are more likely to see that they too can do what we’ve done. There is a fear of programming - and I guess computers (a little bit still) that people might get over if they had the opportunity to learn a bit of programming and then see the code behind our great works. Now that I understand what the symbols mean and the syntax is I can look at other’s code and say - “OH! That’s how it’s done” and I can duplicate it. So for me (and probably for other programmers) open source is part of that Long Tail - and it’s a way for people without massive skills to still produce great works.

Next up - blogging.

I know a librarian (no names) who doesn’t find blogs as useful as I do. We constantly “discuss” the value of blogs. I’ve also had a lawyer ask me about authority when it comes to blogs. My answer was that I’m not looking at blogs for authority necessarily - I’m not using them for research I’m using them for enrichment - for learning about what’s going on out in the library world and then doing my own research to further my knowledge. Anderson says (pg 69):

Wikipedia should be the first source of information, not the last. It should be a site for information exploration, not the definitive source of facts. The same is true for blogs, no single one of which is authoritative. Blogs are the Long Tail, and it is always a mistake to generalize about the quality or nature of content in the Long Tail - it is, by definition, variable and diverse. But collectively blogs are proving more than equal to mainstream media. You just need to read more than one of them before making up your own mind.

That’s a much better way of making the same argument I was trying to make

Lastly, Anderson quotes Paul Graham (pg 70) who says:

Google doesn’t try to force things to happen their way. They try to figure out what’s going to happen, and arrange to be standing there when it does.

Libraries should think more like this Not that we’re forcing things to happen our way - but I also don’t think most of us are thinking to far into the future either. We all know that we’re going to have to let go of some of the control on our sites if we’re going to keep people visiting - I know I’ve had to let go a lot over the last 3 years - allowing anyone on the staff to make changes to the website without going through me first. While this has made my work life easier, it was a hard thing to let go of. And there are many similar situations that we’re going to be facing in our libraries and on our websites. Users want to participate and collaborate - that’s a big part of the Long Tail and we’re going to have to let go at some time.

Just my 2 cents after reading those few pages. Great book for anyone who hasn’t read it yet - I was a bit worried about it being too much about economics - but it’s very practical and easy to follow.

Technorati Tags: long tail, the long tail, chris anderson

David Lee King has a great post (a series to follow) on Inviting Participation in Web 2.0.

I've attended and/or read this past year, the presenters/writers have been saying that Web 2.0 and Library 2.0 are all about starting conversations, building community, and telling our stories. But the writer/presenter tends to skip over what I think is the most important part - they never explain how to do it. Instead, they continue on with the next Powerpoint slide or paragraph…

So David is going to tell us how! But it’s not as simple reading what he has to say - he’s asking us to participate - will you participate? I will!

Keep an eye on David’s blog for the next post in the series.

The entry for Library 2.0 in the Wikipedia is up for deletion. Add your own notes to the discussion page to keep this resource from being deleted. Learn more from Michael Casey.

librarytwopointzero has a comprehensive comparison of three social cataloging tools: Gurulib, LibraryThing, and Shelfari.

The conclusion?

I think you can see that Librarything is my favourite. I think, in comparison to the other two, Librarything really gives you that extra.

David Lee King has a great post about Making Time for Web 2.0. He has broken out his tips into 2 groups - one for admins & one for staff (but I think everyone should read both parts - it’s not that long after all).

One of the excuses that David (and all of us) hears from staff is:

“We don’t have enough staff to do these new things.” When I hear this excuse (because that’s really what it is), I think back to the NEKLS Technology Day I attended. I was on a discussion panel with a librarian at a small library. She is the ONLY staff member at her library, and yet she has time for a library blog and console gaming nights.

If a one-librarian library can do these things, then you can, too. Sometimes it’s not really a staffing change that’s needed; instead, a mental change, or a change in focus, is what’s needed.

That’s the whole point - a mental change is needed! Librarians need to realize the wealth of information out there - and it can be found simply by taking 20 minutes out of your day to read through the librar* blogs that are out there.

I have posted this post from David on our Intranet - I hope you all do the same for your staffs!

I have been trying to buy my textbooks for classes for the last 3 weeks, but Drexel does not make it easy - in fact they make it down-right difficult. First of all they “require” you to buy your books from their bookstore - how? Well you search for your class and section (using the most idiotic interface ever) and then you see the required texts - but you don’t see all of the info you need. You see the last name of the author and an abbreviated title. No edition, No ISBN, nothing that will make it easy to find the book elsewhere.

So I search the library to see what books they have for those classes - I find the ISBNs and email the professors to find out what the right ISBN is. One professor replies within minutes the others I wait for - finally I get an answer from another professor (still no word from the last - and I got a read-receipt for the email I sent). Now I have 2 definite ISBNs and 1 possible ISBN. I search online - I do Ebay, Amazon, ABE, Half, and BigWords. One of the books I need is supposed to have a CD with it - none of the above-mentioned sites says that there is a CD with it. The book in question is listed for $190 at the school bookstore and $60 on ABE - where would you buy it???

Anyway, I’m waiting to hear back from some sellers about the CD, all the while getting more and more frustrated that this information was not made clear in the first place!!

[update] Just got an email back from the instructor - CD is not necessary - so I’m off to buy my books. Saving myself over $100 by not shopping in the bookstore! [/update]

What a great article by Michael Casey and Laura Savastinuk! Found on LibraryJournal.com, Library 2.0 offers up a great definition of Library 2.0:

The heart of Library 2.0 is user-centered change. It is a model for library service that encourages constant and purposeful change, inviting user participation in the creation of both the physical and the virtual services they want, supported by consistently evaluating services. It also attempts to reach new users and better serve current ones through improved customer-driven offerings. Each component by itself is a step toward better serving our users; however, it is through the combined implementation of all of these that we can reach Library 2.0.

I want to go check out the libraries that are mentioned in this article to see what they are doing - but I also want to point out that they’re (almost) all Public libraries.

While you all know I’m supporter of Library 2.0 & new technologies in libraries - I sometimes wonder if our audience (lawyers) will ever want to participate in the creation of “both the physical and the virtual services” in the library. See with lawyers time is money - and I know that I don’t want to pay my lawyer extra because he was playing with the library catalog. I’ve been wrestling with this for a little while now - especially since we’ve been trying to implement new features in the catalog & on our website - will it matter if I add commenting to our blog? Will we get comments? Are our users rating books using the new rating system? Someone at my library (and I can’t remember who) made a good point - a treatise book is a treatise book - there’s not much else to it than that.

Anyway, this is a great article! And I’ll keep pushing for change - even if our patrons aren’t ready for it - who knows - maybe I’m wrong.

So this morning I got into work to find that I couldn’t open any of the files on our Intranet! Uh Oh!! The problem is that I get to work at 7:30am and the IT staff doesn’t arrive until 9am or later. So I twiddled my thumbs and read some blog posts. Turns out that one of the hard drives died - on our NEW server!! Anyway, when I left work the machine was still dead.

But the day wasn’t all bad. I spent the rest of the day in the Alliance Library System Online Innovation Institute Library 2.0 Extravaganza! Michael Stephens gave 4 great webinars on new technologies and how libraries can take advantage of them. I had to go in and out of the room, but we have 10 people from area libraries come and watch the webinar with us - so that was great!

I will put a link up to the presentations and podcasts once they’re available.

From OPAL-Online:

Thursday, June 15, 2006: Alliance Library System Online Innovation Institute Library 2.0 Extravaganza!

Speaker: Michael Stephens, Writer/Trainer/Teacher/Creator of the Tame the Web Blog

This special event is sponsored by the Alliance Online Innovation Institute.

Cost: Free for all Alliance Library System members; $25.00 for all other registrants. When you sign up you will be given the opportunity to select a payment option. Create an account to register online at the CLeO online registration service.

Please Note: Each of the four sessions in this one-day institute will last approximately one hour. The entire institute will be repeated on Friday, June 16, 2006. You may participate either in the OPAL room of the Alliance Innovation Institute or in the Alliance Second Life Library 2.0 through the virtual reality site Second Life.

9:30 a.m. Eastern Daylight Time, 8:30 a.m. Central, 7:30 a.m. Mountain, 6:30 a.m. Pacific and Second Life, and 1:30 p.m. GMT:
WEBLOGS & LIBRARIES: An in-depth look at the Biblioblogosphere — all things blogs, libraries and librarians. We’ll discuss best practices and lessons learned to make your library blog the most dynamic area of your web site!

11:00 a.m. Eastern Daylight Time, 10:00 a.m. Central, 9:00 a.m. Mountain, 8:00 a.m. Pacific and Second Life, and 3:00 p.m. GMT:
INSTANT MESSAGING: DO YOU IM? How are libraries and librarians using Instant Messaging? This session explores a grass roots effort by many libraries to meet users where they interact online. We’ll explore best practices and implementation strategies.

12:30 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time, 11:30 a.m. Central, 10:30 a.m. Mountain, 9:30 a.m. Pacific and Second Life, and 4:30 p.m. GMT:
SOCIAL SOFTWARE: A SURVEY OF WEB 2.0. Librarians are finding their users are interacting online is social spaces and sites: creating content, collaborating, and building communities? What are some of the thriving social sites? How can we participate in sites like MySpace and Facebook?

2:00 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time, 1:00 p.m. Central, noon Mountain, 11:00 a.m. Pacific and Second Life, and 6:00 p.m. GMT:
CREATING STAFF BUY IN FOR NEW TECHNOLOGIES: No matter what Web 2.0 technology you start with, a key element is staff buy in. We’ll present Ten Tips for Staff Buy in and offer takeaways to get the ball rolling.

If you have questions or need additional information, please contact Lori Bell, Director of Innovation at the Alliance Library System.

I am right now attending my very first meeting in the Library 2.0 in Second Life. It’s a meeting about what we want the library to be and how we can make it that.

The discussion started with the wish for us to be able to co-browse in SL so that we can show people where to find resources online - which makes sense - but isn’t possible yet.

Now we’re talking (well everyone else is - I’m just reading for now) about offering classes and renting out spaces for other in world groups to house their meetings.

Anyway, if you haven’t signed up yet - I recommend you do - if for no other reason than to meet up with other librarians in a new setting. For now you can check out my set on Flickr.

Learn about other events by keeping up with the Second Life Library 2.0 Blog.

Technorati Tags: second life, library 2.0, second life library

My Second Life Avatar
Originally uploaded by talia679.

I finally signed up for Second Life. I wanted to check out the Library 2.0 in the game. It was really amazing!

I was part of the beta testing for Second Life when the game first came out - after the beta was over I didn’t play anymore - I had my own property and had a bunch of money - but I gave it all away

Anyway, I joined up today and was a bit annoyed that to verify my account I had to either give them my PayPal info, CC info, or accept a text message - I don’t pay the extra for text messaging on my cell phone package - so I had to accept the charge - but I guess it’s less than most only games.

It took me a little while to find my inventory of clothing - so I’m still in the outfit they started me in - I’ll work on it.

There is an orientation on Weds the 31st, but I may not be able to attend because it’s right at the time I’ll be on my comute home Hopefully they offer another one soon.

[update]I forgot to tell you - my name in Second Life is Talia Nicholas[/update]

Technorati Tags: library 2.0, second life

A little while ago I posted about how I wasn’t sure how Second Life could be used by libraries - apparently OPAL and the Alliance Library System have come up with a way:

Alliance Library System and OPAL (Online Programming for All Libraries) are pleased to announce that selected OPAL programs will soon be offered in the online virtual reality game Second Life. Book discussions, training sessions, and other programs will be offered to current virtual residents. The goal of the project is to promote the real library and online library services to adults who might not otherwise use the library.

This from the Alliance Library System site.

What an interesting idea! I might just join back up for Second Life and see how this works out.

The first event is today:

Getting Along with IT staff for Librarians and Educators
Date: Friday, April 21, 2006 Time: 8:00AM - 9:00AM (60 minutes) Pacific time, 10:00 a.m. - 11:00 a.m. Central time 11:00-12:00 am Eastern time
Location: Juanita (217,241)

Keep up with this project at the Second Life Library 2.0 Blog.

Thanks Library TechBytes for pointing this out.

Paul Miller has posted a follow up to his presentation at CIL last week. He commented on our (the biblioblogosphere’s) doubts that vendors will ever live up to the dream he presented to us.

Change is hard. Change can hurt. Given where we are now, and where the wider world is going, change is essential. We need to work with libraries in order to ensure that they can project themselves and their services (both from the individual library and in various aggregate forms that will inevitably cross multiple vendors) outside their walls and beyond their web sites and into the lives of our users, whether actual or potential.

…

Rather than assume that your vendor will never change, why not incentivise that change (by asking for APIs, web services, etc, again and again and again), assist that change (by showing them what’s possible, and by locating and supporting the free thinkers who do exist within your vendor), and even help to force that change (by writing appropriate clauses into your specifications for new system procurements, and meaning it)?

He calls for us to discuss possiblities in the TDN, he asks that we point our vendors there and have like minded librarians join in as well.

“Small voices loosely coupled can be incredibly powerful.” - what a nice quote.

Technorati Tags: cil2006, cil06

It makes me sad. Well it makes me angry first, but then when that passes I’m sad. I was debating whether to say anything or not - considering how upset my last (seemingly innocent) post made people, but no one is in the library yet - so I only have you guys to share with.

Steven has a post on Library Stuff titled Back To Boolean? A Call to…Goodness Sake! - seemingly harmless title right? I just read through all of the comments on this post (which by the way are in reverse chronological order - if you’re like me and started reading at the top only to find you have no idea what people are talking about ) and that’s what made me sad.

There is such a us versus them mentality when it comes to Library 2.0 topics. Sarah from LibrarianInBlack comments:

You have created an “us vs. them” where there is no us or them, just a bunch of library folks trying to make things better for our users. That’s what we’re all after.

and

You talk about “sides” to Library 2.0. There shouldn’t be sides. There are some great ideas in Library 2.0. Take what you can from it, but don’t unnecessarily turn it into a polarizing issue.

Now, I have no idea when this mentality started - or who might have started it - but the sentiment is what I want to get across. Why are we arguing? Why are we nitpicking? Like Meredith says:

I’m sick of bloggers attacking people over 1 little tiny word they said while ignoring their actual message.

It makes me wish that a name was never given to these ideas. Because like Amanda Etches-Johnson pointed out in her presentation at the DigiTech forum at CIL these ideas have been around for ages - I think the oldest quote she showed us was from 1995 (I may be wrong) - so all we’ve done is take these ideas, lump them together and give them a name and now we’re split down the middle.

Anyone here watch Gilmore Girls? (no I’m not going off topic - bear with me here) I feel like the townspeople when Like Luke & Lorelai broke up - some of us should be wearing blue ribbons and the rest pink ribbons - that way we know who’s on what side and we don’t have to talk to each other. Maybe that’s extreme, but it’s that same sort of frustration and fear of upsetting someone that makes me so upset (sad upset - not mad upset).

Postscript: Now - to the people who are upset with me (although that was not my intent) please be aware that my spam blocker stops all comments - it is not a reflection on my feelings about what you have to say - I will approve all comments in good time.

Dave Hook has a good post over on his site about the controversy around the name “Library 2.0″.

If we’re going to come up with a name for these ideas, I’d prefer a name along the lines of ‘The Library 2.0 Movement’ or something else that implies continous improvement.

I think that’s a great idea - when I talked to Dave last week about this he said he didn’t like the idea of the name Library 2.0 because it means you’re either there or you’re not - and I can see how that would upset some people. So let’s say it’s a movement - which it is - and get moving

I know that you’ve been wondering since I posted about the Future of Catalogs what my favorite session was at CIL this year - well, here it is!

Paul Miller is the Technology Evangelist for Talis - how fun does that sound?? Paul said “One day I’ll have a normal job” but why would you want a normal job? Not only is Paul’s job title fun - he was fun - it was a great presentation and I loved every minute of it. My hand was hurting at the end because I was trying to take notes as fast as he talked.

To start, Paul wanted to bring us back to reality - We need to reach out of the library to reach people wherever they happen to be - he said “I have really bad news for you. The library isn’t necessarily the place they think they want to go everyday.” So we need to reach out to where they actually are and help them do what they want to do better. It’s not just about vendors - it’s about all of us too.

He asked “How do people find stuff?” We all answered Google - he then asked “How else?” and there was a series of other answers that came from the audience and Paul told them they were wrong. The correct answer was Google, Google and Google - accessed in different ways - Google desktop, Google toolbar, etc. So how do we compete? And should we compete?

He pointed us to a few publications that may be of interest.

• Johnson, O’Doherty. Vines, Eds. Mori. Understanding The Audience, CIE, 2005. (CIE, pub 2005). http://www.common-info.org.uk/docs/mori-report.pdf (not linked because the link is broken - if you can find it let me know)
• Perceptions of Libraries and Information Resources from OCLC
• another title that was cut off in his presentation about Library Stats in the UK

I could go into the stats that Paul shared with us, but you can see the graphs yourself on his presentation. In short people are still visiting the library and they trust us - so where did we go wrong online? Why are people still turning to Google first? According to the stats, a much lower number of people have visited the library website than those who have visited the building - and Paul thinks that most “were probably put off by what they saw”. He gave us an example from the Edinburgh University Library - look at this page - look at the length of this page - and the information on this page. It’s a list of databases - and we’re saying to the average user - “pick one”. The users do not need to know the names of all of the databases you have available - in fact they are probably overwhelmed and totally confused by this list.

So who - other than Google - are we up against? Paul put up the widely used image of Web 2.0 logos and let it scroll by. And he defined them as:

• Relevant
• Innovative
• Participative
• User-centric
• Nimble
• Responsive

Isn’t that what we want to be? How many of these things can we apply to ourselves at this point in time? The thing is - we can be all of these things, we can do it just as well if not better than these companies if we work together. Paul pointed us to the Talis whitepaper on Library 2.0 - it was in our conference packs, but you can read it online.

So how do we respond to this trend? Library 2.0 is about opening the library up and delivering content to our users where they are when they want it. We need to engage our users - which we are doing, but we need to do even more. Paul called for us to “disaggregate our monolithic library systems…”. He explained this to us like this: Imagine a great big black box which a vendor sells you and instead of taking everything the vendor offers you take only the bits you need. Plugging in bits of other applications - maybe from other vendors - or that you have written yourself. Which is what I have the hardest time with - we have this ILS that was written for primarily academic libraries and we’re forced to buy the whole package and use only 1/3 of this - then out comes an add on that makes more sense for us - but we have to pay extra to get it - why not let us pay for the core and then pick and choose the other pieces we’ll need - customizing our catalogs to our specific institution? Paul says library systems should be like Lego, you can build the picture on the box or you can build something new and different.

Sidenote: Keep an eye on Talking with Talis for a podcast from the Library 2.0 gang on the “Future of the OPAC”.

Some people don’t like the idea of Library 2.0 because it implies a need for technology that some libraries can’t afford - a need for a programmer - and not just any programmer - a programmer who understands libraries - but what if we all worked together instead of individually - what if libraries with programmers shared their skills and code so that libraries without could still have new innovations? Paul called this “shared innovation” - we need to work together to fill in the gaps and make all of our libraries better.

He then went on to show us what libraries are already doing like the wpOPAC and greasemonkey plugins for Amazon that show the status of a book in the library. It’s not about black or white - library or Amazon - it’s about bringing things together and letting the user choose. Maybe the library can’t get the book for 5 days, but Amazon can deliver tomorrow - or vice versa - it’s about empowering the user to make informed decisions. He also showed the new book covers from the Ann Arbor Superpatron Edward Vielmetti and John Blyberg’s card catalog images. Paul says “It’s about letting people to take ownership and feel a connection to the items in the library. It’s a little bit gimmicky - it’s not what we’re going to replace the OPAC with. But it’s about reaching out in different ways and leveraging the data you already have. Making the data work harder does not always have to be for some worthy cause.” (maybe not an exact quote - but close enough).

The problem with these examples is that everyone has a different vendor, a different library system so we’d have to start over and program it ourselves - we need to work together - “By working together we can do better” - and I agree 100%. We need a shared platform - something that crosses vendor divides.

Now the next part of Paul’s talk was very hopeful - but knowing what I know about our vendors - it’s probably never going to happen - unless we (librarians) refuse to work any other way - and that won’t happen either - maybe I’m being pessimistic - I sure hope I am, because I want what Paul is offering - I want to work on a shared platform, I want to be able to share information with other libraries and use what they have to share.

So here we go - what is the “platform”? It’s a set of core pieces that every library system will have - built as a collaborative effort to make our lives easier. Everybody doesn’t need to start from scratch every time - instead we can build on shared pools of data. An example that he used was recommendation services. An individual library probably doesn’t have enough data to do this effectively. A lawyer may have taken out a NJ law journal and a book of business forms - they’re not necessarily related, but because we only have 9000 members and so many books, we can’t give effective recommendations - but what if we could access the data from all of the other law libraries in the world?? In aggregate we have more data than Amazon does.

The platform breaks down barriers - it has to cross the divide between vendors - it doesn’t make any sense for us to not be able to work together because we have different ILS packages provided by different vendors. It is much easier now for us to do something about this. The vendors need to work together and define the areas where they’re going to work together - and where they’re going to compete. Why should they all invest their time and money in building the core infrastructure? Why not all build it together? If we all have the same core in our ILS packages we’ll be able to communicate. Our role in this is to push our vendors to cooperate.

The platform will also allow us to expose the data to others - Amazon, a CMS - thought a similar API. The API will be the same across vendors so that changing won’t require as much changing - consistent access to data and exposure of content will allow us to build off of the core to make what’s best for our library.

Talis has built such an application called Whisper - and you can demo it online. Paul went through how it works and it was pretty darn impressive. It includes plugins to Amazon, Map mashups and desktop widgets.

So where do we start? Well first off we need to tell our vendors what we want - and we need to tell them in the right way. We need to include IT staff in the decision making and discussion with vendors so that our requests are put in a way they understand - like Roy Tennant said - it is partly our faults that things are the way they are. We need to visit Talis’ Shared Innovation site:

This resource exists to support innovators across the global library domain. It is open to all and it is free.

Content includes advice, documentation, scripts, APIs, Web Services, SDKs and other relevant resources. It is applicable to users of any library automation solution.

We encourage all contributors to join us in sharing their contributions under a Creative Commons licence and providing any source code under the GNU General Public License.

So, this is your space. Please get involved and help to shape a community that meets your needs.

And participate. We need to join together and work together and share together to get the people into the library and if not - then at least get them to use our resources online.

What a wonderful presentation - I hope that someone in your library attended and bought the recording so you can listen to it - it was well worth it!

Technorati Tags: cil2006, cil06

John Blyberg has a post about Library 2.0 Websites (worth a looksie) in which he calls for us to share our code with one another (among many other things):

We ought to be developing on open-source then turning around and making our work freely available to one another. We are libraries after all, we ought to act like it, not just in the stacks and at the circulation desks, but in the server rooms and IT departments as well.

It was this that caught my attention. I whole heartedly agree that we should be sharing our code - but my problem is that I write my code for my library and when you look at it, it may give you ideas, but I can’t see you being able to easily port my code into your library’s site without some major work - so in addition to sharing our code, we have to learn how to write sharable code - by “we” I mean “I”

Anyway, if anyone wants me to share code that we’re using on our Intranet or our site, I’d love to - just keep in mind that I don’t know if it’s in sharable condition.